Oldest R21 Classic?

[cracker39]

For the record, the “Classic” R21, in my opinion is represented by the canoe stern, as opposed to the later semi-displacement hull. I’ve read that the first 21’ Tug (or Launch) was built in 1980, and that it was apparently a Livingston design. What the hull configuration was is still a mystery to me. My R21 was built in 1992 and, to date, the oldest other R21 I’m aware of is a 1993. That said, I think it would be interesting to hear from R21 owners (or previous Owners) to see who has, or had, the oldest R21. The “R21” tag did not appear until sometime between 1980 and 1992. The 2nd R21 ever built was sold In Kittery, Maine - however, my own boat began life in Michigan and was transported to Maine in 1995. My hull number is RFB02630E592 but I have been unable to obtain information from Ranger that would establish what the numbers mean - aside from the date being represented by the last two digits. Unless lost to some catastrophe, I would guess that early versions of this little tug are still plying the waters somewhere in the world, as they were ruggedly built to last.

 

[cracker39]

As an update, I was apparently wrong about the designer of the R-21. I’ve recently been told that it was designed by Raymond Richards (—-the original owner of Ranger) somewhere in the early ‘80s, and it was never meant to be a “tug.” It was, instead, patterned after purse seiners common to the Northwest, evolving first from a 16’ to 18’ double-ender that was propelled by oars, then the 18’ double-ender with a small diesel, and then the R-21 with the broader semi-rounded stern. The latter came about because of the heavy seine nets that were launched off a roller at the stern. The R-21, as was the R-18, had pure displacement hulls. I’m not certain of the launch date for the modified semi-displacement R-21 EC, but I believe that it was somewhere around 2003? I am anxious to find out more about the early history of Ranger.

 

[LAKERtoo]

.. I think that the R21EC came in about mid-2006 .. I have a 2005 R21 with the full displacement hull .. Rob

 

[cracker39]

.. I think that the R21EC came in about mid-2006 .. I have a 2005 R21 with the full displacement hull .. Rob

That should help to pin it down. I doubt if they ran both models concurrently. Surprisingly, Ranger doesn’t seem to maintain a very comprehensive data base.

 

[Wildog69]

I've got a 1995 Classic 21 with factory installed rear steering, right ahead of the rear seat on the starboard side. No way to control the engine, just steering. Anyone else ever heard of one like this one?

 

[Ard]

There’s a ‘93 in Homer, AK. Sea Turtle I believe. I have a 2002 I grow more in love with every year.

 

[cracker39]

I've got a 1995 Classic 21 with factory installed rear steering, right ahead of the rear seat on the starboard side. No way to control the engine, just steering. Anyone else ever heard of one like this one?

I added an interior view of my cockpit looking aft in my photo album. Note directly under the swim ladder there is an access plate in the floor - which is directly over the rudder post. It would be very simple to attach an aftermarket tiller assembly to the rudder post - at least on a 1992 R21. My only question is whether or not you have to detach the cable from the wheel - or does the wheel easily follow the tiller movements?

 

[Don Cardinal]

Hello Cracker and others.
I have a 1992 R-21 that I purchased from the original owner in Aug. 2011 It had sat in storage from 6 to 9 years prior to me finding it.
It is powered by the then optional 3 cyl. Yanmar engine.
As an aside I wonder why more people with all Ranger tug models do not include more info. in with their boat name and size.
It sure would save a lot of guessing as to what they have in power, year and models.
PM me if any questions.
Thanks Don

 

[cracker39]

Hello Cracker and others.
I have a 1992 R-21 that I purchased from the original owner in Aug. 2011 It had sat in storage from 6 to 9 years prior to me finding it.
It is powered by the then optional 3 cyl. Yanmar engine.
As an aside I wonder why more people with all Ranger tug models do not include more info. in with their boat name and size.
It sure would save a lot of guessing as to what they have in power, year and models.
PM me if any questions.
Thanks Don[/quote

Hey - great! Now we have two 1992 R21’s. Note in my first entry that I provided my hull
number. Can you provide yours so we can compare? We may have closely related boats.

 

[Don Cardinal]

Cracker 39
My hull S# is RFB02637G592
My thoughts on the S# are that your boat is older than mine.
I think the 30 in your # is the 30th boat out of the mold. Mine is #37
The letter E in your # stands for the fifth letter or May. My G is the 7th for July.
I stand to be corrected on this as it is only my guess.
Don't know how they identify the engine installed. You say that you have the 18 horse. Is it the Yanmar or the Volvo?
I know that they did have some Volvo's in the R-21 even that far back.
Don

 

[cracker39]

Don,

It would appear that your breakdown of the hull numbers is likely correct - with the only lingering question being whether or not the last letters (E and G) designate the month of completion, the engine fitted, or something else. I lean towards It signifying something else since, being somewhat hand-built, the month it came out of the mold would be rather insignificant. The other likely possibility is that the letter represents the specific mold used, as certainly a succession of molds were required to produce 37 hulls. That tidbit of information would be most useful in keeping track of minor changes. ———-but was there a mold designated “F” that only produced 6 hulls???

 

[cracker39]

Thinking once again - the hull number was set in the mold. At that time they probably had no idea what engine the boat would be getting. My vote is that the letter is a mold designation.

 

[Don Cardinal]

Thinking once again - the hull number was set in the mold. At that time they probably had no idea what engine the boat would be getting. My vote is that the letter is a mold designation.

Cracker
As I said I may be wrong in my assumptions but I do not think that the builder had more than one hull mould. They are very expensive to make and I believe that the R-21 had a two part hull mould. There would not be any way to get the boat out of it if it was one piece.
If my assumption is correct at my hull # being 37 it to me means that it is the 37th boat to come out of that mould since they started building that boat. The year is designated by the last two numbers and I still think that the letters designate the month of hull release.
If there is say 60 days between our boats and 8 boats built in that time, then I see that there is 7.5 days between boats or 1 per week. I think that that is very do-able with one mould..
Anyone else with thoughts please chime in.
Don

 

[cracker39]

Thanks for correcting my spelling! I looked at the word “mold” several times and it just did not look right - but I neglected to check it. If you’re right about the month designation - and the 7 1/2 day cycle - that would mean that as many as 4 boats would carry the same letter designation for the month the hull was released from the mould. It would be interesting to know how many boats you could expect to get out of any given mould? in any event, this would tend to imply that the first R21 was a 1991. The search is on for a 1991 R21!

 

[cracker39]

That still leaves “026” and “5” undefined. Maybe LAKERtoo, Wildog69, and Ard can provide their hull numbers to see if it helps to figure out what the numbers mean?

 

[Larry H]

Here is what BoatUS says about the HIN.

HINs By The Numbers

A typical hull identification number (HIN) consists of 12 letters and numbers, as in ABC12345D404.

Here's what the letters and numbers mean:

ABC: This is the U.S. Coast Guard-assigned manufacturer identification code (MIC). Go to the USCG Manufacturers Indentification page to access the Coast Guard's MIC database.

12345: This is the serial number assigned to the hull by the manufacturer. This may be a combination of letters and numbers. The letters "I," "O," and "Q" are excluded because they could be mistaken for numbers.

D: This is the month of certification, indicating the month in which construction began. "A" represents January and "L" represents December. In our example, "D" means April.

4: This is the year of certification. The number is the last digit of the year in which the boat was built. "4" in this case designates 2004.

04: This indicates the boat's model year.

The above is from this site: https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2017/february/hull-identification-numbers.asp

 

[cracker39]

OK - so now I really wonder about how to interpret the 592? If the “92” represents the model year, how do you interpret the “5”? I know for a fact that my boat was delivered to the original owner in July 1992. As for the “026”, it would still appear that the manufacturer could assign any feature to these numbers that he wanted to.

I have a letter verifying that an R21 was delivered in March of 1991. So, if that boat was molded in February of 1991, it would mean that 30 boats were moulded in the intervening 15 months, or an average of two per month. That further implies that as many as 20 - 22 R21s could have been moulded in 1991.

To put another question to bed, the R21-EC was introduced early in 2006.

 

[Wildog69]

The cable steering controls both the helm in the cabin, but also controls the one in the rear. When one helm moves, the other follows. It makes it nice controlling the steerage of the boat while setting on the rear cushion. Just wish it had a way to control the engine. I still have to go into the cabin to control the engine.

 

[cracker39]

I’m still waiting for more serial numbers and further discussion of what the numbers really mean.

 

[Wildog69]

Can anyone tell me what anchor was used on the Classic 21's. Mine is a 1995, named the Evergreen. I'll post hull # when I get back to the boat. I understand it was a claw anchor, but was wondering the weight. Thanks!