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Looked at the Ranger 26

6K views 54 replies 18 participants last post by  jimgo 
#1 ·
The good it is cheap. Asking $800 probably could get it for $500
Has a Honda outboard that started on 4th pull and ran great!
Standing rigging looked good. All cables looked newer to me with no fraying or corrosion.
Running rigging was bad. Needed it all replaced
Had a roller furling
Tiller moved good and seamed good

The bad
I found a soft spot in the middle of the cockpit I can get under to fix.
Inside the cabin there was water in the middle on top of the keel and it was really rusty. I don't know of this on normal or not!
Cabin was small and I could not stand up. None of the cushions or sails were on the boat when I was there. There was a bad smell in the cabin with visible mold. Probable from sitting all summer closed up. I thing the siding top to get in leaks. Not head! No sink!

No battery so I do t know if any of the electronics work. It had a small solar panel on the upper door segment. Was something to tell speed and depth that was about it. Very basic.

Over all its not the boat for me! But I might think about it just to learn on for next summer. My biggest concern is all the rust on top of the keel. I would not want it falling off in some rough seas. How hard is it to replace the running rigging with new rope.



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#2 ·
The question you need to ask yourself if you are considering buying it "just for next summer" is: how will you get rid of it/sell it at the end of next summer? Are you willing to sink a bunch of money into a $500 boat and then sell it for $500? Just as an FYI, if you are over five feet, it is unlikely you are going to find many boats in this size range that you can stand up in. You should go look at some more boats, its likely that you can find a much better one for $1000-$2000 more that you'll actually end up with less money in in the end. IMHO
 
#3 ·
I know what your saying about a putting more money in up front. And I don't know how much I would put into that boat. Part of its problem is its very very very dirty. Just from that 1 boat I know if I wanted to get a boat to keep for some time it would be closer to the 30' side for the head room alone.

Any idea if that rust in top of the keel area is really bad?

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#4 ·
It could be that it is a diamond in the rough, and once you polish the dirt away it will be great, but..be very very cautious. As to the rust, I do not know the design of this particular boat, it could be from iron ballast encapsulated in the keel that has had water seep into it and rust, or it could be rusted keel bolts if it is a bolt on keel...neither of which inspires confidence, but it could be not a big deal [or a very VERY big deal..]. It could also just be water that has pooled and had things grow in it that LOOK like rust.

I hear you on the ~30' boat being the ideal for room, we got the 26' with only 5'3" headroom that we have due to our local lake have a 26' maximum length restriction. If we lived up on Lake Michigan, we definitely would have been looking for something more in the 35' range...provided we could afford and find a slip... I don't think that we could have found a better 26' boat FOR US though, there are tons of boats in our club, and I can't say that I get any twinges of envy towards any of them and I love walking towards ours!
 
#5 ·
What 26' boat do you have?

It is a bolt on keel. It is most defiantly rust. The whole this was rusty and you can't tell by the pic but there is water about 1/8" deep on top of it. I think it's coming in from the top hatch. You could tell the caulk was bad.

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#6 · (Edited)
A few questions:

Did you get an excited feeling when you saw the boat? Did it look pleasing to your eye?

Do you still feel like the price is "too good to be true"?

Did the boat look anything like the pictures in the ad? If not, what does this tell you about the trustworthiness of the seller?

How long has this boat been on the market? If the price is so good, why hasn't it sold already?

Do you want to go sailing right away, or spend weeks/months/years getting it into seaworthy shape first?

How much money are you willing to spend before you're willing to trust your life to this boat?

How much would you be willing to pay someone to take this boat away next year if you can't find anyone to buy it when you're done with it?
 
#7 ·
What's your time worth?

You can put a few hundred hours of work and a couple thousand into fixing the boat up and find decent sails for it and end up with a boat worth around $5000-$8000 in the right market.

By my math that gets you about $7/hour at best, probably closer to $0-1/hour in reality.

From what I can see this is a neglected boat hull with no useful running rigging, questionable standing rigging, might or might not have sails, and an outboard that doesn't sound that great either, all for about the value of the outboard engine.

For a little more money you can get a lot more boat.
 
#8 ·
My advice? Walk away. Don't even consider it for next season. Want to prove it to yourself? Add up the costs. Running rigging isn't too expensive - expect $400-$500 if replacing it all. A portapotty (yes, you still need one occasionally) will set you back a few hundred, too. Maybe you can get one on craigslist, but don't count on it. Chasing after mold will be a problem, and you'll want to do it right so your wife and kids aren't exposed to mold. That's a good weekend (easily) and you'll also need solar vents or a dehumidifier. If you go the solar vent route, you're looking at $200 more (need 2 at that size). All of a sudden, the $500 boat has you spending another $1000-1500. You'll be amazed at the difference you can buy with that extra money. Most importantly, you'll be amazed at how much more ready the boat will be for your family and you to start enjoying her.
 
#9 ·
I've seen worse. The hard part is figuring out if it's a weekend or two of elbow grease and you have something sailable, or if you're just polishing a turd. FYI, my bilge was covered in a similar layer of rusty coloured crap, but it isn't rust, I have spent the last two days cleaning it up and now I can see clean bare fibreglass. Not a hint of rust on the keelbolts or anything else in there. The Ranger looks to have a very shallow bilge with no pump so any water that did get there is just going to stay there.
Did you get any photos of the rigging (running and standing), blocks, decks etc?
It's the bits you couldn't see (sails, cushions, battery) that are going to make/break it assuming everything else is OK.
If the cushions are gone then you are going to be looking at a thousand bucks if you do the work yourself, sails are going to be probably $1500 if they are shot. Running rigging for a 26' is only going to be a few hundred as long as the hardware is all good.
Also, you don't have to go to 30ft for something with standing room, my 27' has almost as much space a lot of 30' boats with standing headroom in the saloon at least.

Anyway, sounds like the boat didn't speak to you, so go look at some more, that's the fun part of buying a boat :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
You need to account for the sails and other parts. Sails are expensive. Blocks, winches, that sort of thing as well... expensive

I think it will clean up okay...I am not scared by the rust . A tiny bit of rust will stain acres of fiberglass. My old Volvo has rust and I drive that thing at 70 mph.


I almost walked away from my current boat. It was sitting in a storage yard in Jersey and looked like crap. Covered with black , well slime really. But underneath the dirt and neglect was a great boat. All it really cost me to commission her was time and elbow grease and a few parts off ebay. Not much really.
 
#12 ·
You need to account for the sails and other parts. Sails are expensive. Blocks, winches, that sort of thing as well... expensive

I think it will clean up okay...I am not scared by the rust . A tiny bit of rust will stain acres of fiberglass. My old Volvo has rust and I drive that thing at 70 mph.

I almost walked away from my current boat. It was sitting in a storage yard in Jersey and looked like crap. Covered with black , well slime really. But underneath the dirt and neglect was a great boat. All it really cost me to commission her was time and elbow grease and a few parts off ebay. Not much really.
What boat do you have?

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#11 ·
Thanks for the Reply's. I'm calling the guy today so we can talk about all the stuff not on the boat. Basically I'm going to tell him it's not worth much of anything but I won't even consider it unless all the stuff is there.

One thing I really liked is I can walk under the boom.

We didn't get to go in her but a few boats down was a nice 30' something that the guy paid $5500 for it. Me and the wife talked to the people 2 slips over for 45 min or more. That was good made my wife like the idea of staying there for the weekends. What's funny is this boat is in the marina I was planing on staying in. So we killed 2 birds by getting to check out the marina at the same time.
 
#20 ·
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#14 ·
Here's a tip from my search - the longer I looked, the more I became convinced that (in the 0-$15,000 boat purchase range for a boat this size) increasing the boat purchase kitty by another $3000 typically eliminated a similar amount of parts and labor I was going to have to do myself. In this price range you often get what you pay for.

Not saying there aren't bargains out there. But a good rule of thumb is that most people overstate the asking price for their boat. If the price is really cheap, this guy might actually pay you to take it off his hands, and maybe for good reason.
 
#15 ·
It sounds like this is a good deal but maybe not for you. If you want to be comfortable go up a little and get a 27-30'.
My US27 has 6' of standing room, a real head, and was turn key with winter storage included for $3500. It isn't going to be advertised as "like new" but it was cheap and is no less fun to sail than the $50K boat on the bay next to me;)
 
#17 · (Edited)
That was always the plan. She wanted to get a popup camper but instead I suggested a bigger boat that we could stay on. She liked the idea better then staying at a camp ground. We don't need a lot on the boat to stay on. Still young enough that its not a bother to "rough" it. But I still would like more head room. Could I live with less for now. Yes

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#18 ·
That was always the plan. She wanted to get a popup camper but instead I suggested a bigger boat that we could stay on. She liked the idea better then staying at a camp ground. We don't need a lot on the boat to stay on. Still young enough that its not a bother to "rough" it. But I still would like more head room. Could I live with less for now. Yes
I would concur with others that you should go ahead and get a boat you are more comfortable on. However, even jumping from a $500 boat to a $5000 boat will not solve all of your problems. A $5000 Catalina 27 will probably still need plenty of upgrades, or equipment replaced to make it safe and comfortable. But at that price should be ready to sail as soon as you buy it. I also agree that you are not going to find many boats <27 feet that have standing head room. Keep in mind that it made a lot of difference to me going from crouching head room (Catalina 22) to just shy of standing head room (Bristol 27).
 
#24 ·
At some point you just have to pull the trigger, or you'll never get a boat. Not saying this is the right one, just sayin. Don't overthink this too much. If you were going to buy a used car for a few grand, you go out and buy it. You don't spend months upon months test driving and looking at cars.

We decided last July that we wanted a boat. Bought the second boat we looked at--a Seafarer 26 for $6,300--on August 3. Sailed her away that day and spent nearly every weekend on the boat up through September, and all this summer as well. I did a lot of legwork online and basically knew what I wanted. Best purchase ever for our family.



Good luck -- and have fun!
 
#25 ·
Here is the story. This boat does not call to me. But it's cheap. It needs a lot of work. Most of it I think is cleaning. I know that for 2k more I can get a much nicer boat that includes haul out and winter storage with launch next spring. What I'm going to offer this guy if he does not want to pay winer storage ill take it off his hands for free and call the $800 ill spend to have it hauled out and storage the price of the boat but other then that I don't want it. If I end up with it ill post more pics for what needs to be fixed for safety reasons and what can be let go till I find out if we like sailing enough to spring for a 5-10k boat. If I get it free and give it to someone in a year no big deal.

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#26 ·
Careful with the free boats. Ask me how I know :)

Maybe offer to take it for free, with a condition - you get started cleaning it where it is, and if you discover any dealbreakers along the way, you renege and current owner has to deal with disposal.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Well, LakeMi, let me add to my message above. Pull the trigger and buy a boat.... BUT, buy a boat on which you can sail away today. Don't buy a fixer upper. From your other posts, it sounds like you and your family want a boat to spend time on. As I said above, we bought our boat and literally sailed away from the closing and spent the rest of the summer having fun. For 5 or 6 grand, you can buy a boat that is sail ready. Your wife and family will not enjoy you spending all your time working on the boat. My wife had never been on a sailboat before last August. Now I can't get her off the thing:

 
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