Ranger Yachts was an American
boat builder founded by
Jack Jensen. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of
sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminology ...
s for the North American market.
History
The company was formed by Jensen in 1970 to complement his existing west coast
Cal Boats business. Jensen had already started
Jensen Marine and had an exclusive boat design contract with
William Lapworth
Charles William Lapworth (12 December 1919 – 3 April 2006) was an Americans, American naval architect who designed a large number of sailboats, many of them for Cal Yachts. He was active as a designer from the early 1950s until the 1980s. Des ...
. Jensen started Ranger Yachts both to serve the east coast American market and also to allow him to contract
Gary Mull
Gary Mull (September 27, 1937 – July 14, 1993) was an American yacht designer who created many popular fiberglass sailboats.
Early life and education
Gary Mull began his college career with a year at Pomona College as an English major, th ...
to design the Ranger boats.
Ranger boats were originally built in
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...
, but the operation was moved to
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
in 1981 to better serve the market.
The company was acquired by American
conglomerate Bangor Punta in 1973 and became part of
Lear Siegler
Lear Siegler Incorporated (LSI) is a diverse American corporation established in 1962. Its products range from car seats and brakes to weapons control systems for military fighter planes. The company's more than $2 billion-a-year annual sales come ...
when it bought out Bangor Punta in 1984.
As part of Lear Siegler's restructuring in the late 1980s the Ranger line was discontinued, the design contract with Mull terminated and the division was dissolved in 1987. Lear Siegler later ordered most of the Ranger boat molds destroyed.
Designs
The company's designs were all drawn by Mull, with the exception of the
Fun 23
The Fun 23 is a French trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Joubert-Nivelt for one design racing and first built in 1982. The design is out of production.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 125. Intern ...
, designed by
Joubert-Nivelt of France and the
Ranger 30, which was designed by
C. Raymond Hunt Associates.
Boats
Summary of boats built by Ranger Yachts:
*
Fun 23
The Fun 23 is a French trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Joubert-Nivelt for one design racing and first built in 1982. The design is out of production.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 125. Intern ...
*
Ranger 16
The Ranger 16 is an American sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull and first built in 1987.
Production
The boat was built by Ranger Yachts in the United States, starting in 1987, but is now out of production.
Design
The Ranger 16 is a sm ...
*
Ranger 22
The Ranger 22 is an American trailerable sailboat designed by Gary Mull as an International Offshore Rule Mini Ton class racer and first built in 1977.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 124. International Mar ...
*
Ranger 23
*
Ranger 26
*
Ranger 26-2
*
Ranger 28
*
Ranger 29
*
Ranger 30
*
Ranger 32
*
Ranger 33
*
Ranger 37
See also
*
Cal Yachts (aka Cal Boats aka Jensen Marine)
References
{{Ranger Yachts
Ranger Yachts