Ranger 30 Buyer's Guide
The Ranger 30 on the used market is a 1977-vintage fiberglass racer-cruiser designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and built by Ranger Yachts, a Bangor Punta company, in Costa Mesa, California. She was marketed from new as a practical cruiser precisely because she is a spirited racer, and that dual brief still defines what a buyer gets: a beamy, fin-keeled 30-foot sloop with a high-aspect rig and a belowdecks plan oriented to family crew and short-handed racing. Shopping one means weighing the original construction against four decades of owner use, with the available documentation offering little in the way of systemic defects but clear geometric and equipment parameters to check.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Ranger 30's beamy hull produces a "T" shaped cockpit arranged so the skipper has a better view of the sails and room to stay clear of crew cranking winches, with the beam carrying into a cabin that offers six bunks using five-inch foam. The "L" shaped galley keeps the stainless steel sink, icebox, and two-burner stove (with optional oven) handy to the cook, and lockers for food and cooking gear surround it. A navigator's table sits high enough to work at and big enough to plot a course on, with the chart table fitted with drawers for navigation gear and shelves for radios and instruments. Teak paneling and hand-built cabin furnishings carry through the interior, and storage bins fit under and behind the settee berths.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine at 30 horsepower, a period powerplant rather than a modern diesel. The rig details from the available documentation show estimated halyard and sheet lengths — mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards at 28.4 meters with 10 mm diameter, jib and genoa sheets at 9.1 meters with 12 mm, mainsheet at 22.9 meters with 12 mm, spinnaker sheet at 20.1 meters with 12 mm, plus Cunningham, kickingstrap, and clew-outhaul at 10 mm — useful benchmarks when assessing whether running rigging has been renewed to spec. Because the market brief lists no commonly fitted or often seen equipment tiers beyond the sources, buyers should treat any electronics, dodgers, or sail inventories as variable owner additions rather than standard.
What to Inspect
The documented authority material flags no structural or systems failures for the Ranger 30, so inspection centers on the measurable parameters the sources do record. The draft runs 5.51 to 5.81 feet dependent on load, so confirm keel integrity and any grounding history against that geometry. The immersion rate of about 955 pounds per inch means loaded trim shifts noticeably; check bilge and locker loading accordingly. The hull is solid fiberglass with a fin keel, and the Universal Atomic 4 gasoline inboard should be surveyed as aged period equipment. Rigging should be measured against the documented halyard and sheet lengths and diameters to verify whether replacements match original specifications.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Ranger 30 is found in the United States market. For a buyer, the takeaway is a solid, well-documented 1977 racer-cruiser with no flagged systemic defects and a layout that still functions for cruising and club racing.
- Confirm draft and keel condition against the 5.51–5.81 foot range
- Survey the Universal Atomic 4 gasoline inboard as period equipment
- Verify running rigging lengths and diameters against documented specs
- Check loaded trim given the 955 lbs/inch immersion rate
- Inspect wide side decks and recessed foredeck locker for wear from foredeck work
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Ranger 30. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 1 | $ 15,000 | — |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $ 15,000 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Ranger 30 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 15,000 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 30 (Mauric) | 29.36' | $ 32,046 | 41 | 12 |
| Judel/Vrolijk J/30 | 29.83' | $ 14,500 | 25 | 14 |
| Custom 30 | 29.75' | $ 15,833 | 17 | 1 |
| Tartan 30 | 29.92' | $ 10,250 | 16 | 7 |
| Ranger Yachts 33 | 33.17' | $ 9,950 | 7 | 1 |
| Ranger Yachts 30You are here | — | $ 15,000 | 1 | 0 |