Ranger 26 Corrosion?

[SeaplaneDriver]

Hi folks,

Found a gorgeous Ranger 26 for a good deal I'm interested in, but I have heard the model tends to have some serious corrosion issues on the keel and stanchion sheave. Any experiences with these?

Starting out in NC on a lake, but hope to move down to FL within the year, Would these corrosion issues make saltwater a no-go?

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by SeaplaneDriver

Hi folks,

Found a gorgeous Ranger 26 for a good deal I'm interested in, but I have heard the model tends to have some serious corrosion issues on the keel and stanchion sheave. Any experiences with these?

Starting out in NC on a lake, but hope to move down to FL within the year, Would these corrosion issues make saltwater a no-go?

I cannot say for sure but I thought I'd give this thread a boost. The Ranger 26s were really popular when I was a kid on the bay in San Francisco. I know the keels are cast iron and so I'd probably want to replace the keel bolts now no matter what. I am not sure what you mean by the "stanchion sheave," I'll leave that to the real Ranger 26 afficionados out there.

[CarlF]

I assume you mean the original late 60's early 70's Ranger 26? Not the Mull design of the 1980's.

These were pretty well built boats but 40 years is a long time. I haven't heard of Rangers having worse corrosion than other iron keel boats of the era. Unless the owner can show you paperwork of replacing the keel bolts, just assume they need to be replaced. The new bolts will be good for longer than you'll own the boat. Same with the stanchion bedding. Unless the owner's already done it, assume they have to be unbolted and the bedding replaced.

The wildcard is rot in the balsa cored deck. Don't be scared off by a few small soft spots - very few boats of this age don't have some. But big rotted areas are simply uneconomical to fix on a low price boat like this.

[GordMay]

Centreboard?

“... Probably the one Achilles heel of the Ranger 26 is the centerboard design. What is great about it is that you can pull it up when in 28″ of water, lower it part way when reaching, and put it all the way down to assist when pointing. This humble little swing board turns the ranger from a wallowing sow into a reasonable performer when sailing or even close quarters maneuvering. It also has been know to fall out and disappear. Not many, but a couple times Ranger skippers have found themselves dragging their board, or even losing it altogether. Not fun, but not insurmountable to repair or replace. Here age drawings that will help you do so if you ever find your self up the creek without a centerboard...”

See ➥ Tech Drawings | Ranger 26 Sailboats

[Don C L]

Wow, I had never see THAT Ranger 26, Gord Must be a UK boat?
The one I am familiar with is:
RANGER 26 (MULL) sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com