SPECS - Ranger 26
Ranger 26 This late 60’s/early 70’s IOR and MORC racer/cruiser was a hot boat in its day, and it still acquits itself reasonably well. But lightweight construction limits the 26’s suitability for offshore. LOA26' 3LWL21' 9Beam8' 8Draft4' 4Displacement5,850 lbs.Ballast2,050 lbs.Sail Area322 sq. ft.Jack Jensen, founder of Jensen Marine in 1957 and builder of Cal boats, was in the late 60s enjoying success with boats like the Bill Lapworth-designed Cal 40. But his boats sold better on the West Coast than in other areas of the country. In order to appeal to Easterners, Jensen formed Ranger Yachts and commissioned Gary Mull to design the boats. Both Cal and Ranger were located in Costa Mesa, California, and both were sold to the conglomerate Bangor Punta in 1973. When Bangor Punta moved production of Cal to Florida in early 1981, it pulled the plug on Ranger. In 1983, Bangor Punta sold Cal and O’Day to Lear Siegler, which produced a few small Rangers, and built the three lines in Fall Riv...Welcome to the Ranger Sailboat Owners Association web site.This is a web site dedicated to Ranger Sailboats Owners and enthusiasts.Our purpose is to be informative for your needs as a Ranger owner and to share our knowledge of the Ranger Line,maintenance,repair,cruising,racing and Ranger Rendezvous.We hope this site can be helpful in your needs as a Ranger owner. Gary Mull was a successful designer in the heydays and rebirth of light displacement boats of the mid sixties, His credits include the Santana 22, 27,and 37:the Ranger 22, 23, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33 and 37,:the Newport 30 and 33;the Freedom 28, 30, 36, 42, 45 and a wide variety of winning race boats from 1/4 Tonners to Two Tonners,6-meter match racers to the 12-Meter USA.His boats were built in many countries. Gary served as chairman of the International Technical Committee of the Offshore Racing Council,the group that administered the International Offshore Rule.A measure of a yacht designer is the number and record of people who apprentice under him and then go forth on their own,these people included Carl Shumacher,Ron Holland and Jim Antrim. (courtesy of Steve Henkel) Gary's first successful design the Santana 22 of which several hundred were sold led to the design of the Santana 27.The Santana 22 and 27 started cutting into the sales of the big competition of the era,the Cal's 20,25 and 28.As a result Jensen Marine,builders of the Cal line saw both a problem and opportunity.Jack Jensen had a exclusive agreement with Bill Lapworth,designer of the Cal line of boats,because of this agreement Jensen couldn't build anything but Lapworth boats.So in 1967 Jensen started a new company,Ranger Yachts,with the same exclusive agreement with Gary Mull. (courtesy of Steve Henkel)The first boat designed by Gary Mull for Ranger Yachts was the Ranger 26(1969) which later went on to win the North American 1/2 ton Championship,this was followed by the Ranger 33(1970)which to this day is almost legendary on the race course as well as cruising,then came the Ranger 29(1970) which became a successful racer in her own right and continues to win to this day in PHRF racing as well as a successful cruiser.The next boat in the line was the Ranger 23,she went on to win the Whitney Series and place second in the 1/4 Ton North Americans even though she wasn't designed to the IOR rule,she also went on to win the Yachting One of a Kind Regatta against all production boats to 30 feet.Page 2 of 2The first of Gary's Ranger IOR boats was the Ranger 37(1972) one ton which was the last production boat to win the SORC.This was followed by the Ranger 32 (1973)3/4 ton racer and successful PHRF racer. Next in this line of IOR boats was the Ranger 28 (1974)1/2 ton racer and later the Ranger 22 which was a successful quarter ton racer and advanced engineering one design and PHRF racer.Garys IOR racers were known for their sculpted beauty of their blister decks and tumblehome hulls, which has made these boats timeless in their beauty as Gary's earlier Ranger designs.Gary designed one later generation ultra light displacement Ranger 26,then parted ways with Ranger Yachts due to problems with the parent company Bangor Punta..Ranger Yachts created one last boat in the Ranger 30 which is a modern looking racer/cruiser and still command a good price because of their looks,roominess and sailing comfort.