Practical Sailor's gear and boat reviews take the guesswork out of your buying decisions.

Volume 25
Number 15
August 1, 1999

Ranger 26

This late 60’s/early 70’s IOR and MORC racer/cruiser was a hot boat in its day, and it still acquits itself reasonably well. But lightweight construction limits the 26’s suitability for offshore.

Jack Jensen, founder of Jensen Marine in 1957 and builder of Cal boats, was in the late 60s enjoying success with boats like the Bill Lapworth-designed Cal 40. But his boats sold better on the West Coast than in other areas of the country. In order to appeal to Easterners, Jensen formed Ranger Yachts and commissioned Gary Mull to design the boats. Both Cal and Ranger were located in Costa Mesa, California, and both were sold to the conglomerate Bangor Punta in 1973. When Bangor Punta moved production of Cal to Florida in early 1981, it pulled the plug on Ranger. In 1983, Bangor Punta sold Cal and O’Day to…

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