Ranger history

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Jake

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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Just curious. Home page says Ranger Tugs established 1958 but looks like the current line of tugs just started production around 2007. What did they build all those years prior :?:
 
Jake":2qhkwrg9 said:
Just curious. Home page says Ranger Tugs established 1958 but looks like the current line of tugs just started production around 2007. What did they build all those years prior :?:
Click to expand...
Here is one from 1997:
Laguna%252520Madre%252520October%252520001.JPG
 
Zundels,

Thanks, yes I had read the "about" section previuosly which is partly why I "wondered" since they don't speak of past boats and the "previous models" section only lists the R-25. Just thought it would be interesting to see the progression and change of the boats over the years.
 
I do believe there was some involvement with C-Dory. Our 2007 Ranger tug actually has a label that says C-Ranger tugs. The C was dropped later on. You can see the big C and smaller Ranger under the port hole in this picture... if you have good eyes (click on the picture to make it bigger)... 🙂
 
It would be interesting to see a complete list of boats built by Ranger. I know that in the 70's and 80's they built a number of sailboats. Around 1990 I bought an older Ranger 12 sailing dinghy that needed a lot of restoration. I contacted the Kent factory about some parts and they were very good about coming up with what I needed. While I was picking up the parts I noticed blueprints of a small tug hanging on the office wall. I must have been impressed because some 15 or 16 years later Pat and I were back in that same shop watching our own tug being built.
 
A couple of things.

THING ONE:
A couple of summers ago in Friday Harbor, WA I saw a canoe stern (rounded) R19 (or 18, or 20) putt past me at my dock. On the return pass the owner said he had owned it for 19 years. Definitly a Ranger 21 look-a-like, but the only one I've seen with the canoe stern. Unfortunately he kept on putting along and that was all the information I got. Sweet boat it was.

THING TWO.
In October 2011 Pacific Yachting did an article on Dave Livingston. Unfortunately this article is NOT on the Ranger Tugs web site (AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE ADDED BY RANGER because it's an extremely interesting article.) One paragraph:

"After three years at Regal, Dave (Livingston) was itching to start building Solara boats -- sleek 21-foot runabouts utilizing his latest hull designs. In 1998, before starting work on the new boat, Dave and his son John founded Fluid Motion, LLC. John then went to Howard Smith, owner of Ranger Tugs, to inquire about using his plant to build Solara molds. Howard, who was getting on in age, made an offer John could not refuse, and he bought the Ranger Tug Company in 1999."

Hope that helps -- and it sure would be nice to see that article posted!

Dave
"Lobo"
 
A good friend of mine bought a Solara a few years ago. My wife and I went aboard a few times and liked the boat quite a bit. Our friends cherished the boat until it sank for reasons unrelated to its seaworthiness.

Two years ago we looked at the Rangers at the Seattle Boat Show and were really impressed. We had no idea they were made by the same company that built Solara.

Last year we went to the Seattle Boat Show, stopped by the Rangers and ended up with a Cutwater. After letting our friends know about our decision, they filled in the blanks. Their Solara, built in Kent, was deferred to build Rangers, which eventually included Cutwaters. Add that to the other published history, and you have quite a story.
 
My previous boat was a C Dory, 19' Angler by Fluid Motion.....along comes the Ranger Tug by Fluid Motion....what next?

Phil
 
While waiting for our Ranger Tug R27 to be built last summer, we did some research on Ranger Tugs for an article we were writing for Boat US Cruising Logs. We've included the link to the article, it may be of interest to those curious about the history of Ranger Tugs, especially how the name of the company came to be.

http://www.boatus.com/cruising/kismet/p ... p?bid=3211
 
PhilR":215adtw9 said:
My previous boat was a C Dory, 19' Angler by Fluid Motion.....along comes the Ranger Tug by Fluid Motion....what next?

Phil
Click to expand...

Don't confuse Fluid Motion with Fluid Marine. Fluid Marine was the company that produced C-Dorys in between the Reynolds and (currently) Triton Marine.

Your C-Dory was not built by the folks who build Ranger Tugs. The "connection" between Ranger and C-Dory was in 2006, when the Ranger Tug 25 was being developed, and it was going to be marketed with/by C-Dory, built by the Livingstons. At that time, Jeff Messmer was still with C-Dory (we bought our 2007 CD-25 from him at the 2006 Seattle Boat Show). Frankly, there was a world of difference between the level of customer service in the two companies, and Jeff was obviously customer service oriented. When he left C-Dory, it was a BIG loss for them and a real gain for Ranger... and the divergent paths that those different companies took from there shows the impact of customer service.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Now isn't that c____! I wish the last picture was more clear so I could read the words in the article.
 
Jim B.

Thanks for mentioning the Fluid Motion/Fluid Marine distinction. I had also misread the names as being the same. Thought it was some kind of large holding company. Thanks for clearing things up.
 
Thanks Jim B, my mistake.

Phil
 
We have been scanning and indexing our photos. This is a picture sent to us in 1998 by my wife's college roommate. In 1998 it only struck me as a nice looking boat. I haven't seen it since then. Today when I saw it, it jumped out at me as a Ranger even before I saw the name on the side of the pilot house. Obviously a pre-1998 model and obviously an ancestor of our R21-EC.

Photo0220.jpg
 
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