Ranger
You’ve probably seen her at her berth in front of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and leading the annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade. Or perhaps you’ve seen her plying the waters of the Channel or serving as a backdrop for advertising and wedding portraits, but what do you really know about Ranger, the classic wooden fishing boat that serves as SBMM’s flagship?
Ranger was built at Fellows and Stewart, Inc. in San Pedro, California, a shipyard which was founded in 1896 by Joe Fellows, Victor Stewart, and naval architect Joseph Pugh. Her basic plumb-stemmed fantail design was inspired by boats used by the US Forest Service Rangers to patrol the Chugash and Tongass National Forests (and now you know the inspiration for her name!).
Built and launched in 1917, she was made to the specifications of Jimmy Jump, Commodore of the Catalina Island Tuna Club, and may be one of only three Fellows and Stewart yachts built during its first 20 years that is still afloat. Other classic yachts built by the yard include Rudolph Valentino’s yacht Charade (Valentino was also a member of the Tuna Club) and Stan Laurel’s Ida May, both built in 1926.
For many years, Ranger served as the flagship of the Catalina Island Tuna Club. The Tuna Club was formed by a group of sport fishing enthusiasts to establish a competition based on the size and variety of fish caught on various strengths of line and type of lure. Twenty-six trophy-winning fish were caught from Ranger; two of these light tackle records still stand: the largest tuna and the largest broadbill swordfish. Over the years, celebrities such as Humphrey Bogart, Zane Grey, John Wayne, and Errol Flynn fished from Ranger and, more recently, the vessel has been used for photo-shoots by Lands’ End and Kevin Costner.
Ranger has a full galley, and her living area is composed of four bunks with a table for four between the two aft bunks. Kerosene lanterns provided the original interior lighting; today she uses a 12-volt electric system, but she still has the original anchor winch and her 1917 kerosene running lights.
The comfortable cockpit originally featured two swivel fighting chairs with rod sockets. One of these chairs now sits in the Maritime Museum’s Ranger Exhibit, while the other is part of the Museum’s interactive Sport Fishing Exhibit
Ranger’s length is 41 feet, her overall beam (width) is 12 feet; her draft is 4 feet, 5 inches; and she has a displacement of 35,000 pounds. The wood mast and boom accommodate a stabilizing sail, which helped the boat to resist the pull of the largest game fish. Because of the high quality of her original design, construction, and materials, she is still seaworthy and continues to take passengers on tours of the Harbor and Channel. Originally built of 2”x 3” steamed oak ribs placed on 12” centers, her original cedar planking was fastened to the oak ribs with iron nails. She was also covered in one-inch teak planks fit over the original fir; but in the 1980s, her then owner Jack Morehart spent 13 years restoring her and had the hull coated with ferro-cement to protect the wooden core. In 1988, Morehart took the newly restored Ranger to Avalon for the 90th anniversary of the Tuna Club; and in 1997, he donated the boat to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.
Learn About Our Other Museum Exhibits
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has several other fascinating exhibits, and there's something fun for everyone in the family. Come learn about 13,000 years of human history in the Santa Barbara Channel, including the Chumash Indians, deep sea divers, shipwrecks, commercial fishing, and so much more. We also have several contemporary exhibits about the evolution of surfing, oil spills, whales, and marine life. There are several fun and interactive exhibits and activities for kids too.