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The Ranger 22 is basically a midget
IOR boat with a fractional rig. I
think it's a good boat for a novice
sailor who wants a low priced, fast,
fun, starter boat, that would improve
the owners sail trim skills quickly.
I think fractional rigs are ideal
boats to perfect your skills.

It would also be a good boat for a more
experienced sailor that could appreciate
its value, design, and capabilities.

I let one of these Ranger 22's with
a dual axle galvanized trailer pass
me by recently. I have a boat in
this size range. Still it was very
tempting. That boat sold on eBay for
for $2026. Asking price is often in
the $4000-$6000 range.

Basically, the popular J-24 class puts
a price cap on them, and the smaller
production numbers of the R-22 makes
them harder to resell. Hence they must
be purchased at a low price because
the resale price will be low.

The below listed R-22 is worth the
"buy it now" price of $3000. And I
think it will sell at the same price
level as a similar boat which sold
on eBay for $2026 with trailer.

This boat has a new galvanized trailer,
which cost new $3400--more than the
"buy it now" price asked for boat and
trailer. Note there is a title probelm
with the trailer--sounds like a lien
takeover. I'd use the normal bid process,
not the "buy it now", and try to pick it
up for $2200.

If I didn't already have too many
boats, I'd buy this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?
ViewItem&rd=1&category=26433&item=2444453616

Or go to eBay and search for 2444453616

The R-22 has my preferred style, mid
cockpit traveller which gives you
something to hang onto while sailing
to weather in the chop, but might snag
you on the unexpected gybe.

It's got enough room to overnight on,
and you can store it in your back yard.
All you need is a yacht club with a
hoist or better yet, an inexpensive
mooring.

If I was young and couldn't afford
anything bigger, I'd buy one of these
and go cruise the Caribbean in it,
and unlike bigger boats which can be
work to sail, this one would be fun
and easy to sail it every day--even
a short sail around the harbor would
be a blast with very little effort
to manage the sails.

eBay Item number: 2444868920

Class Web Site:

http://www.strictlysailing.com/ranger22/boat.html

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RANGER 22 RANGER 23 comparison:
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I find the R-22 to be far prettier than
the R-23. I'm less interested in interior
room than I am the looks of the boat. And
I'll admit I'm a sucker for this IOR look.
The R-22 is a gorgeous little boat.

The R-23 has a longer waterline--20' vs
17.5', so I suspect it is a faster boat,
although at 2/3 the the weight of the
R-23, the R-22 has more appeal and I
think it would be lightning fast in
planing conditions with a spinnaker.

Who has sailed both can can report on
them? I welcome any serious comments.

Stats on the two boats.

Ranger 22 Ranger 23
Designer:........Gary Mull..Gary Mull
Year of Design...1976 (?)...1971
L.O.A............22'6"......22'11"
L.W.L............17'6"......20'0"
Beam.............7'10"......7'11"
Draft............4'3".......3'9"
Sail Area........209 sq.ft..263 sq.ft
Displacement.....2,182 lbs..3,394 lbs
Ballast..........900 lbs....1,500 lbs
SA/Dis...........19.88......18.63
DL Ratio.........179........189

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A few words about Gary Mull taken from:

http://members.dca.net/pwink/ranger/garymull.htm

Gary Mull was a successful designer. His
credits include the Santana 22, 27, and 37;
the Ranger 22, 23, 26, 29, 32, 33, and the
SORC-winning Ranger 37; the Newport 30 and
33; the Kalik 44; the Freedom Independence,
28, 30, 36, 42, 45; a variety of winning
raceboats from the Half-Tonner Hotflash,
built by the Gougeon Brothers in 1976, to
Two-Tonners like Carrot (1976), to the
12-Meter USA; the Capri 22, which he designed
with Catalina's Frank Butler in 1983 (more
than 800 sold); and custom designs including
the light-displacement speedster Improbable,
the 6-Meter match racers St. Francis IV, V,
and VI; Ranger, built by Goetz Custom Yachts
and raced by Ted Turner in the 1979 6-Meter
Worlds; and the maxi-boat, Sorcery.

His boats were built in numerous other
countries, including Australia, New Zealand,
Italy, Taiwan, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. He
also served as chairman of the International
Technical Committee of the Offshore Racing
Council, the group that administered the IOR
(International Offshore Rule).

He worked hard for several years on the
Golden Gate Challenge 12-Meter program
for the 1987 America's Cup. The result
was the radical forward-rudder USA
skippered by Tom Blackaller. She showed
promise but failed to win the trials.

(note current designers are returning
to this concept)