To: 	ranger-list@sailnet.com
Subject: 	Ranger v. Ranger
Date: 20 January 1999

Ahoy!

I was commodore of the fleet of owners and ex-owners of sailboats produced under
the name "Ranger" here in the Seattle area (specifically Kent, WA).  All told,
about 600 20-footers and perhaps a hundred each 24- and 26-foot sailboats were
built during the late 1960s, '70s, and '80s.  (A few were built in a licensee's
factory in Salt Lake City.)

Some of you may already know that there was a bit of /confusion/ over the name
"Ranger".  The actual dispute between two companies was resolved (in the Kent
company's favor, as has been explained earlier (by another correspondent), but
some of the confusion remains--I am occasionally approached by folks who assume
that all Rangers are related.  Here is some of what I tell them.  (Some of what
follows reproduces information provided earlier.  I have no illusions about its
being comprehensive, although I believe it to be largely correct, as far as it
goes.  I shall appreciate being corrected where appropriate.)

Ranger Fiberglass Boats of Kent, WA, produced canoes, [sailing] dinghies of
various sizes, an open day-sailer, Ray Richards-designed 20-, 24-, and 26-foot
sailboats having Richards' characteristic tumblehome topsides, and a dissimilar
28-foot racer-cruiser by another designer.  These are no longer being actively
produced.  The factory's current darling is a 21-foot powerboat similar to a
seiner.  There may be other past boats about which I do not know.

The Richards boats are all pretty distinctive, each in its own way, and quite
unlike the California boats.

The 20 & 24 are similar with their moderate clipper bows, relatively large
cockpits with such amenities as self-draining seating and a footwell larger at
its bottom than at the top, distinctive tumblehome, and innovative interiors.

The 20 has a unique open cuddy cabin arrangement weatherproofed by a convertible
top ("dodger" & rear curtain) for overnighting.  Apparently intended as a small
family cruiser-racer, there is rather considerable stowage for such a small boat.
Covered and open bins, open shelves, and the open space beheath the raised
bridgedeck and the cockpit hold a camping-style galley, foodstuffs, seabags, a
portable toilet, cooler, and the small miscellaneous needed for even three weeks
of cruising in the protected waters of Puget Sound.  The v-berth is quite large
(better by a considerable margin than those in my Ericson 25 CB and some others).
A small section of the v-berth cushion removes so that a round table can slide
up on the compression post to open up a footwell and serve as a dinette table. 
There is enough flat cuddy sole to permit two 5'11" adults to stand upright
beneath the dodger, although things will go better if one sits on a bin cover
while the other stands.  The sole is large enough to permit the portable toilet
to be drawn out from beneath the bridgedeck and used there.  The cuddy sleeps
two, and two others (best they be somewhat narrow) can sleep in the cockpit
beneath the optional boom tent.  The boat will day-sail six adults comfortably,
with four in the large cockpit and two seated on the side bins in the cuddy,
dodger either up or down.

A large cockpit lazarette can contain mechanical stuff, including anchor & rode
(if not mounted on the pulpit with rode led through chainpipe to forepeak
storage), fuel, tools, _and the outboard_.  (It's large enough for a long-shaft
OB if not totally full of other stuff.)

The hull & decks are of uncored GRP.  The empty boat weighs 1550 lbs. including
550 lbs. of ballast outside the hull in a slotted stub keel through which the
swing centerboard falls.  Its trunk doesn't intrude into the cuddy.  Raising &
lowering the mast can be done by one fit person (i.e., one who has a good back
and fairly good upper-body strength), without extra gear.  The mast goes down to
the foredeck instead of to the cockpit.

With the modest clipper bow leading sleek, simple lines, this boat has a beauty
of its own, especially with the dodger down on a sunny day.  (It can be sailed
with the dodger up, which keeps the bedding and CD player dry.)  10 of them tied
near one another dockside always provoke positive comment.

The early history of the 20 is that the first owners focused on racing.  Pictures
in early Fleet yearbooks are of /guys/ hanging around [on] their moored boats and
of groups of the boats racing.  Later, the bulk of the organized activity has
been around cruising, with as many as 8 or 10 boats traveling in company among
the Canadian Gulf Islands, for example.  Wives are included now (or, more
correctly, /have included themselves/).  Some boats are still raced regularly, of
course.

We cruise these boats six+ months per year in Puget Sound's protected waters,
ranging from Olympia to the Canadian Gulf Islands and beyond.  Most of us trail
them into position for the big trips (which have included Barkley Sound, on the
west side of Vancouver Island, and Desolation Sound, up the inside passage
between Vancouver Is. and the Canadian mainland).

The R-24 looks like a "stretched" version of the R-20 (although I believe it may
actually predate it), and has a more normal enclosed cabin.  Its fixed portlights
are pure '70s design--somewhat odd on first viewing (to say the least);
"aggressively" modern, I would say.  Owners consider the interior reasonably well
laid-out, given the constraints of the boat's hull.  It's no Dana, any more than
the 20 is a Flicka, but it works for those who want a 2500-lb. trailable cruiser.

The R-26, although by the same architect, is similar only in its tumblehome,
which is less marked than in the two smaller craft, and in its attention to
detail at every level.  It is a _much_ larger boat. Where the 20 and 24 attempt
to look "modern," the 26 attempts to look very traditional (as someone on this
list has already noted), with a tall straight cabin, a nice little bowsprit with
scrollwork beneath (all of GRP, colored tan to look somewhat as if it were of
wood), a decorative feature on the transom-mounted rudder, and the outboard
hidden in a well (where applicable).  With 6' or perhaps 6'2" of headroom, these
are big little boats--4600 lb., I think I heard. (It, too, was designed as a
trailable boat.)  Their owners, a couple of whom sail them to Desolation Sound
every summer, love them.

There is also a 28' racing sailboat, about which I know very little.  I think an
owner had referred to it in this list.  We know nothing about it, having never
seen one.  (Some longtime Fleet members were incredulous even while looking at
the pix, but it is real.)  I believe I have heard that eight of them were built,
and that seven are on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho.

As has been noted, the only relationship between this company and the California
one was adversarial.  The Kent company is still in business, although the only
"big" boat they are actively promoting is a little power boat styled like a
seiner.

California Ranger boats are seen up here, and I know that there are boats from
_our_ factory down there.  (Someone on this list was once a dealer?)  A Kent
R-20 is moored next to a Nor'Sea 27 in one of their promotional photos.  I was
pretty startled on seeing it.

I hope this little summary has been helpful, and has not contained too many
errors, omissions, misstatements, misrepresentations, and stupidities.  Should
folks come along in future inquiring about Kent Rangers, I should appreciate your
referring them to me directly (i.e., not via this list).

That offer constitutes my sole reason for having subscribed to this list; I shall
quite soon unsubscribe myself, so please use the following e-mail address in
referring inquirers who want information about Rangers not built by the
California company:  socrates4718@yahoo.com.

It was not my intention for this to sound so much like an extended advertisement.
I have nothing for sale, and I do not represent the Ranger Boat Co. of Kent,
Washington.  I like their boats, and as commodore of the Fleet, I am willing to
help where that is appropriate.  Thank you for your indulgence.

Mark Kelsey_
Webmaster, Kent Ranger Sailing Association 
(formerly "Ranger 20 Racing & Cruising Association")
Seattle, WA
socrates4718@mac.com
20 January 1999

UPDATE 01 November 2002:  The company has been sold, and no longer deals in 
sailboats or sailboat things. 

At this autumn's big Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, the owner of a Kent 
Ranger 26 told of having an attendee (at that festival or at one like it) row over
for a chat, and to then circle the boat admiringly.  When he reached the bow,
he looked up under the plastic bowsprit, realized what was implied, and rowed
away in a silent huff.

Well, no kidding:  It _looks_ like it could be a classic wooden boat.

mdk_