I think I'm buying a Ranger 26 (Mull)-First boat

JimDaddy · #1 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

I looked at a 74 Ranger 26 today. Its pretty rough around the edges. Has a few small blisters, and only two sails. It's in dry storage awaiting my surveyor. Its had its keel bolts replaced with stainless ones at one point.

My question is..Did it originally come with a adjustable backstay?

and...

Where the heck do you get spreader replacements? Originals are wood and look rough. The standing rigging looks good, but I'm sure it's over ten years old.

The wood cap to the rail is also pretty rough. Is this a pain to replace?
What else should I concerned about?

Freesail99 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

You may want to have a look at craigslist, I saw more then a few Rangers listed at fair to good prices.

JimDaddy · #3 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freesail99

You may want to have a look at craigslist, I saw more then a few Rangers listed at fair to good prices.

That's where I found it. All original. So its pretty ugly. But, being its my first boat, it'll get uglier.

Guesser · #4 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

If you're getting it for a good price ($2500?) then it's worth it. Most of the repairs you mentioned are not too difficult, and you should be able to find parts like spreaders, used or easily modified from another boat. I believe they did have a split backstay, but only with turnbuckle adjusters.

JimDaddy · #5 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guesser

If you're getting it for a good price ($2500?) then it's worth it. Most of the repairs you mentioned are not too difficult, and you should be able to find parts like spreaders, used or easily modified from another boat. I believe they did have a split backstay, but only with turnbuckle adjusters.

This one has a split backstay with a couple of blocks and line instead of wire on one side. >2500 bucks, but like I said, its pretty rough. I'm going out tomorrow to meet the owner and look at it again; I need to look at the mast support..etc...

Oh man, what am I getting myself in to? I was happy crewing on a J-24.

sailingdog · #6 (**permalink**) 03-30-2007

You can also make your own spreaders... they're not all that difficult to make. Mull's Ranger line of boats were very nice little boats.

tenuki · #7 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimDaddy

Oh man, what am I getting myself in to? I was happy crewing on a J-24.

The good news is no matter what you buy you'll have a lot fewer bruises than you got on that J-24..

Faster · #8 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007

The Ranger 26 is a great boat - and a real PHRF sleeper too.......

Any mast outfit can fabricate new spreaders, or you can make them from tubing. The only thing is that the mast brackets for a wooden spreader will not work well for tube. However many of the standard "airfoil" spreaders could be adapted.

Also, "looking ugly" could just be bad finish - probe to see how bad they really are. Could be they'll be fine for a while if they are simply refinished .

JimDaddy · #9 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007

Well I think the ranger is too much of a project for the money (and my exp. level). I think I need to find a boat on a trailer thats ready to sail; like a Santana 22. The Ranger is a good platform to rebuild, but I'm not ready for it. Thanks for all the input. Someone may want to look at it though. I found it on SF craigslist.

sailingdog · #10 (**permalink**) 04-02-2007

Oh well.. on to more boats.com listings for ya...