Ranger 33 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Mull came into the limelight as chief designer of the newly formed Ranger Yachts, an affiliate of Jensen Marine. According to inventor Roger Jones, the 33 was the pride and joy of everyone in the plant.

George Bristol headed the production team and recalled spirited debates with Mull over the boat’s beam during planning. Mull initially wanted a very narrow, racy boat, but he was gradually won over by the marketability of a combination racer-cruiser.

The result was a fiberglass sloop with a subtle, graceful sheer, reverse transom, and relatively low cabin trunk. It had a classy, modern look when introduced in 1969. Her moderate fin keel carries 4,500 lbs of lead encased in fiberglass, while the spade rudder made her responsive. With a displacement of 10,500 lbs, the boat has a 40 percent ballast/displacement ratio.

Early boats had teak toerails and trim, along with modular fiberglass interior moldings. By the mid-1970s, slotted aluminum toerails were standard, and teak trim and paneling had replaced much of the modular interior.

Rig and Handling

The masthead rig allowed the Ranger 33 to carry a powerful chute. Short spreaders and inboard chainplates provided narrower sheeting angles for better upwind performance.

Buyers could choose a tall or short rig. On the R-33, the masts stood 45 feet and 42 feet above the water, respectively, a difference that amounted to about 80 square feet of working sail area. The earliest boats were tiller-steered; by the mid-1970s, wheel steering was standard.

Despite the 40 percent ballast/displacement ratio, the narrow beam gives the Ranger 33 somewhat less initial stability than many dual-purpose boats built today. Owners also report that weather helm develops rapidly as she heels. Writing in Latitude 38, the designer’s own assessment was that she is good looking, well-balanced, and sails well on all points of sail.

These 10,500-lb displacement hulls never actually surf, but they sail well to a PHRF rating of 150 to 159, depending on mast height and venue. The Ranger 33 would still be a pretty good choice for an entry-level club racer.

Accommodations

Below, the Ranger 33 has a cruising-oriented interior that is reasonably comfortable. There’s more than 6 feet of headroom throughout, and the boat can sleep six in a pinch. Most examples have pressure water and a shower in an enclosed, teak-paneled head, as well as a workable chart table and small galley.

The interior is quite livable for two and can accommodate four on short cruises, making the boat an appealing bargain cruiser for a couple or small family. Phil Lambert, who lived aboard one while starting his company, later copied the salon’s general feel when designing the Outbound 44. He noted that the Ranger’s large ports let in plenty of light.

Lambert summed up the design philosophy neatly: built before the IOR and before companies sold from the inside out, she sails great and will lock the helm and go.

Racing and Voyaging Record

The combination-boat brief was no idle claim. Ted Morgan’s Seattle-based Diminished Capacity won Division A in the 2000 Pacific Cup. In 2002, Bob Gray’s Oakland-based Coquelicot placed second in Division A and sixth in the fleet.

Michael Yovino-Young’s modified Boogie Woogie has probably won more Friday Night Races at Berkeley YC than any other boat in the series’ history. He claims she is at her best in nasty, choppy conditions, where she can keep up with J/105s and Tartan 10s.

Beyond the buoys, untold numbers of Ranger 33s have proved successful as coastal cruisers, and at least a few have crossed oceans. Owners have sailed them to the South Pacific, across the Caribbean, up the Eastern Seaboard to the Great Lakes, and to Mexico.

Bob Gray once encountered 50 knots while sailing to Drake’s Bay, and the boat did fine. Peter Weiss survived two hurricanes aboard his Ranger 33 during a trip up from Mexico.

Engines and Production Changes

Production ran at roughly one boat per week. The line ended when Bangor Punta destroyed the molds rather than allow it to continue under new ownership.

Early R-33s carried gasoline-powered Atomic 4 engines. By mid-decade, 16-horse Universal diesels were a popular option, and from 1975 a 16 hp Universal diesel was optional. Boats built after 1974 are generally considered more desirable because of their restyled interiors and the diesel option.

Known Issues

Several structural and maintenance concerns deserve attention from buyers and owners. Some owners have had to strengthen the support for the mast’s compression post below the cabin sole, while others have replaced and improved the rudder bushings. Several owners say the support system for the deck-stepped mast isn’t strong enough.

On early boats, no bearings support the rudder stock. As the tube wears, this can eventually produce slop. One owner eliminated the play by fitting Teflon shims between the stock and tube.

Hull-to-deck joints can also be troublesome. Some have leaked badly enough to require removal of the toerails before recaulking, while owners also report smaller leaks along the joint and around the chainplates. Several owners criticize the boom’s lack of stiffness under high vang loads, and some wiring is inaccessible.

Ownership

Alan Andrews, whose parents owned 1971 hull #5, called the design still a great family boat at 33 years old. The venerable Ranger 33 also often appears among the top 10 worthwhile plastic classics.

The Verdict

The Ranger 33 is a genuinely dual-purpose Mull design that rewards sailors who want club-racing sparkle without giving up cruising livability. She is well mannered upwind, tough in a blow, and has a bright interior with a usable, if compact, layout.

The caveats are typical of her era: modest tankage, reported mast-step and hull-to-deck joint problems, and a helm that demands respect as the boat heels.

Pros