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 Cal Yachts (also known as Jensen Marine and Cal Boats) was a manufacturer of performance oriented fiberglass sailboats from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Costa Mesa, California, headquartered company was founded in 1957, among the earliest of a ...

and had an exclusive boat design contract with

William Lapworth Charles William Lapworth (12 December 1919 – 3 April 2006) was an 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. Described a ...

. 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, t ...

to design the Ranger boats. Ranger boats were originally built in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...

, but the operation was moved to

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city'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 the seat of Hillsborough ...

in 1981 to better serve the market. The company was acquired by American

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** ...

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. Inte ...

, designed by Joubert-Nivelt of France and the

Ranger 30 The Ranger 30 is an American sailboat, that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and first built in 1977. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts in the United States, starting in 1977, but is now out of production. Design The ...

, which was designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates.

Boats

Summary of boats built by Ranger Yachts: *

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 s ...

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 M ...

Ranger 23 The Ranger 23 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull as an International Offshore Rule quarter-ton racer.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 120-121. Hough ...

Ranger 26 The Ranger 26 is an American sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull. The Ranger 26 is not related to the 1980 Mull designed Ranger 26-2, nor is it related to the Raymond Richards designed Ranger Boat Company 26 of 1978 or the Germán Frer ...

Ranger 26-2 The Ranger 26-2 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull. The Ranger 26-2 design is not related to the Ranger 26, which was designed by Mull in 1969. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts, in the United ...

Ranger 28 The Ranger 28 is an American sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull as an International Offshore Rule Half Ton class racer and first built in 1976. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts in the United States. Ranger yachts was a d ...

Ranger 29 The Ranger 29 is an American sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull and first built in 1971. The boat can be confused with the Philip Rhodes' 1960 Rhodes Ranger 29 design. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts in the United Stat ...

Ranger 32 The Ranger 32 is an American sailboat that was designed by Gary Mull as an International Offshore Rule Three-Quarter Ton class racer and first built in 1973. The design is out of production. The Ranger 32 is a development of ''Swampfire'', t ...

Ranger 33 The Ranger 33 is an American sailboat, that was designed by Gary Mull and first built in 1969. The design is out of production. Production The boat was built by Ranger Yachts, a division of Bangor Punta, in the United States starting in 196 ...

* Ranger 37

References

{{Ranger Yachts Ranger Yachts

History

Designs

Boats

See also

References