j class yacht ranger

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Ranger J5 – the first completely new J Class yacht

• February 8, 2015

'The super J'

Designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens. Re-worked by Studio Scanu, Reichel-Pugh, and Fred Elliott

Build: Danish Yacht Boatyard in 2002/3

Identifying features: White hull, barrel bow

Odds: She has the most racing experience (along with Velsheda ), , and goes well in flat water.

Regular rockstar: Erle Williams race helm, Murray Jones tactics

As the first completely new J, Ranger is the forerunner of the new breed and interest in new replica J Class yachts. Her owner got hooked on J Class racing whilst watching Endeavour and Velsheda battle for spoils at Antigua Classics in 1998. He chartered Endeavour the following year to race the same regatta.

The formation of the J Class Association followed and class rules were set which allowed for replicas of original J designs to race, heralding the birth of the modern fleet.

Ranger is the original ‘Super J’. Starling Burgess and Olin J Stephens designed her for Harold Vanderbilt’s 1937 Cup defence against Sir Thomas Sopwith’s Endeavour II . ‘Super J’ refers to a J being built to the maximum waterline length governed by the rule (87ft). One reason it hadn’t been tried before Ranger, was that it brought with it the added concern of being able to keep the correspondingly high mast in one piece.

The original Ranger had the best record of all: she started 34 races and won 32. At 8.5ft longer than the previous defender Rainbow , and sporting a very distinct snub-nosed barrel bow, the scientific approach of the young Stephens influenced Ranger’s success. It was the first year tank tests were carried out on the models – arguably the reason Ranger defended the cup so imperiously.

Despite her ungainly flattened stern and unusual bow, model 77C was selected from eight Ranger designs as the best all rounder in 6-8 knots. The tank tests gave the designers the confidence to build such an unusual hull, and the need to keep it and the Duralumin rig as fare as possible. It was the first time a mast, boom and spinnaker booms were all built in aluminium.

Again Ranger was principally helmed and funded by Vanderbilt. She dominated the trials (averaging 11.01 knots). And once unanimously selected as the defender, Ranger went on to completely outclass Endeavour II , winning by over 17 and 18 minutes in the first two races .

Recent developments

Today’s Ranger is a seasoned competitor. Unlike the rest of the newbuilds, she has a steel hull (as per the original) – she is incredibly strong but comparatively heavy for the modern fleet. She sports a central cockpit wheelhouse largely made from carbon fibre, as well as weight-saving materials throughout her mahogany-veneered interior.

Ranger has been based in Antigua and campaigned impressively and exhaustively since her launch. She still remains with her original owner who has consistently updated her and kept longterm race and boat crews who know how to get the best out of her.

Essential figures: Specs: LOA 41.6m Beam:  6.4m Built in steel Draught: 4.9 m Manufacturer: Danish Yachts, Skagen Construction: Aluminium

In total nine J Class yachts are currently active, including three original surviving Js - Velsheda, Shamrock and Endeavour - and six replicas that have been built since 2003; Ranger, Rainbow, Hanuman, Lionheart, Topaz and Svea.

Endeavour, JK4

Velsheda, JK7

Rainbow, JKZ1

Shamrock V, JK3

Hanuman JK6

Lionheart, JH1

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J Class yacht: Ranger

Ranger is the first J Class yacht to be built since their heyday in the 1930s, and truly she is a thing of beauty. When John Williams, an American property tycoon, chartered the J Class yacht Endeavour in 1999 he saw the transom of Ranger displayed in the saloon, and that set him on the path to rebuild her. Of course there was nothing left of _Ranger _to rebuild (other than the transom) because she was broken up for scrap in 1941, so he had to start from scratch, using the original plans as a basis for the new build.

Calling on naval architect Paolo Scanu, whose family had owned Shamrock V for many years and whose father had looked into rebuilding Ranger himself, and Bill Sanderson as project coordinator, Williams set out to recreate Ranger . Many of the team had worked with Williams before.

Built in steel to maintain tradition and compete seriously with the other J Class yachts, _Ranger _conforms to the original yacht’s length and proportions, as designed by Starling Burgess. The only adjustment to _Ranger’s _hull lines was to add four extra inches to her freeboard. The J Class Association approved this modification in recognition of the extra weight imposed on modern yachts by comforts and machinery (and regulations) not envisioned in the 1930s.

Glade Johnson, the interior designer, is known for his meticulous attention to detail and insistence on quality of workmanship, and had to deal with restrictions placed on him by the yacht’s weight, as well as the acoustic engineers. Like other restored J Class yachts, the team decided on a deck house rather than the original flush deck of the day racers. A single deck house with an open helm station on deck was settled on, rather than the steering cockpit and two deckhouses of Velsheda . These are built with a carbon-fibre core, covered in varnished wood, as weight-saving was of paramount importance.

Modern conveniences caused a problem not just in terms of weight. The yacht was to be built with all the comforts of a modern motor yacht, and reconcile the equipment of a 136-foot sailing mega-yacht in just over half its beam. The eventual length along the water line became 91 feet – just longer than the original, and again at the very limit of what was allowed. Every weight-saving avenue was explored, from thinner pipes to plastic plumbing.

Danish Yacht, located at the northern tip of Jutland, seemed an unlikely candidate to build Ranger , but it ended up being a god-send as the price of materials in Denmark forced the builders to be more efficient and cost-conscious. Like the original, Ranger was not a money-no-object yacht, but rather one where money was spent judiciously, where it needed to be.

Another Danish company, Modus, produced more detailed interior drawings based on Johnson’s design concepts. This lead _Ranger _from Denmark to Sardinia, where the joiners created a meticulously-crafted interior. When weight concerns once again reared their head, the acoustical engineers, J & A, suggested a high-tech solution – to ‘float’ the raised panels of Johnson’s interior on a thermo-plastic honeycomb foam.

Like the original Ranger , the team pushed boundaries in terms of technology and speed. While appearing very similar to the original sail plan, aluminium and cotton were replaced with carbon-fibre, Mylar, and Kevlar. And, like the original builders, a premium was placed on weight-saving. With modern technology, the rig could be made both safer and lighter than on the original J Class yachts, while enabling the new Ranger to be handled by a smaller crew in cases such as chartering. The solution was a combined runner checkstay system, with the mast stiffened even more by raking back the spreaders.

Again moving around the world, Ranger’s construction drawings for her steel hull and deck were assigned to Fred Elliot, a designer in London. His task was made more complicated by the fact that Ranger was to be built to meet Lloyd’s and MCA requirements. Every stage of the process was subject to inspection by the agencies.

Back in Denmark, the yard at Danish Yachts had a subcontractor build the hull in two sections – the topsides and deck as one unit, the bottom and keel another. Project Manager Don Tracey described the moment when the steel parts were married-up as ‘an anxious moment’, but the gamble paid off, with the entire hull finished with pin-point accuracy.

Simultaneous to the work going on shaping Ranger’s interior and body, Nancy Williams in the USA worked with Glade Johnson to select her ‘soft materials’. A beautiful interior was created by varnished wood panels and the lush fabrics of furnishings and rugs.

The finished boat is absolutely stunning, and a wonderful tribute to those beautiful sailing yachts of the 1930s. In the words of John Williams: ‘ Ranger is a little bit history, a little bit art.’ And you can’t argue with that.

All photos courtesy of Dana Jinkins

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Classic Yacht Under Sail

1900’s America’s Cup Defender ” Yacht Columbia”

Shamrock V Racing via marsemfim

J Class Lionheart Sailboat Onboard

J Class Yacht “Lionheart”

J Class Wooden Yacht Model Replica “Lionheart” 

 1937 America’s Cup J Yacht Ranger Wooden Sailboat Model 

The J-class yacht Ranger won the 1937 America’s Cup, defeating 4-0 the Endeavour II of Britain, raced at Newport, Rhode Island. It would be the last time huge J-class yachts would race in the America’s Cup.

Vintage Photo Shamrock V off Rhode Island J Yacht,  America’s Cup

1895 Yacht Iverna at Full Sail 

In 1890, Iverna represented a new design of great racing cutter – a handsome yacht with her distinctive fiddle or cutter bow and undercut stern. Commissioned by John Jameson (of the Irish whisky family), designed by Alexander Richardson and built by J G Fay in Southampton, she was 98ft. in length – 118ft. with her bowsprit – with a beam of 18ft. and a sail area of 8157 sq. ft.

J Class Yachts Rainbow and Vesheda Under Sails source

Shamrock V Yacht via jclassyachts

Shamrock was originally owned by Sir Thomas Lipton, the owner of the English grocery chain ‘ LIPTON ’, and famous for his import of Lipton Tea from India.

Shamrock V was built in 1930 for Sir Thomas’s fifth and last America’s Cup challenge. Designed by Nicholson, she was the first British yacht to be built to the new J Class Rule and is the only remaining J to have been built in wood. After launch she was continually upgraded with changes to hull shape and rudder. The rig was also modified to create the most effective racing sail plan but she was no match for the faster US design “Enterprise”.

Sir Thomas made all five of his America’s Cup challenges as a member of Royal Ulster Yacht Club, a club that continues to this day to have a strong involvement with The Cup.

Shamrock V was sold in 1933 to Sir Richard Fairey (Fairey Aviation) who again was a keen yachtsman who campaigned it in company of two new steel J’s built during 1933 – 1934, Velsheda and Endeavour. After World War II, Italian owner Mario Crespi installed the elegant bird’s-eye maple interior.

America’s Cup Shamrock Wooden Sailboat Model

Sails and Rigging Wooden Mast

  1934 J-Class Yacht Rainbow Model 

J Class Yacht Velsheda Model 

Designed by Charles Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholson in 1933 for Mr W.L. Stephenson, Owner of Woolworth chain of shops, she was built in 1933 at Gosport. She was Nicholson’s second design for a J Class and Stephenson’s second big yacht.

“Velsheda” was named after Stephenson’s three daughters, Velma, Sheila and Daphne. She raced with the greatest names in classic yachting including “Britannia”, “Endeavour” and “Shamrock” between 1933 and 1936.

In her second season she won more than 40 races and achieved an outstanding record of success at Regatta’s from Southend to Dartmouth. Other venues included Torbay, Swanage and of course the Solent, all under the control of the very famous Captain Mountfield.

The permanent racing crew at that time was probably around 16 men and this would have been augmented to around 30 for racing. When not required for sail changes, spare crew were moved to below decks.

1966 Queen Elizabeth with birthday gift for Prince Andrew age 6. Sailboat was a gift via flickriver

J Class Yacht Velsheda via source

Schooner Atlantic source

On the Deck at the Helm photo by Terry Hilbert

Atlantic Schooner Ship Model 

Commissioned by New York Yacht Club member Wilson Marshall, the Atlantic was launched in 1903. William Gardner, one of America’s foremost designers of large yachts, designed her. From the moment Atlantic went to sea, it was clear that she was an exceptionally fast and beautiful schooner. When a yacht in 1903 hits twenty knots during her sea trials, she is a promising yacht, but even then nobody could imagine two years later this yacht would set a record that would stand unmatched for almost a century.

 Sailing Yacht Atlantic – Photo credit to Kees Stuip

1934 America’s Cup Race Yacht Rainbow source

J Class Yacht Endeavour via jclassyachts

Endeavour was commissioned by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith to challenge for the America’s Cup in 1934. Having prepared his campaign in Shamrock V, Sopwith was keen to ensure that this yacht was the most advanced design possible. With his experience designing aircraft Sopwith applied aviation technology to Endeavour’s rig and winches and spared nothing to make her the finest vessel of her day. From launching in 1934 she continued her preparation by competing against Shamrock V (then owned by Sir Richard Fairey) and the newly launched Velsheda (owned by W.L Stephenson).

The Yacht Magic 

America’s Cup Rainbow Yacht Model 

Yacht Rainbow via yachtworld

Olympic Class Racer Dragon  Model Ship 

 Vanderbilt at helm of RAINBOW, New York Yacht Club Cruise,1934 source mysticseaport

Concours Racing 

Bluenose Schooner source

Bluenose Schooner Model Ship 

Classic Yacht on the Deck

Classic Sailing Yacht

Classic Yacht J Class  Endeavour photo Yoshi Yabe

 America’s Cup Sailboat Endeavour Fully Assembled Model Ship 

SPARKMAN & STEPHENS 40 FT SLOOP 1964  source

Sailing Schooner Under Sail source

Sailboat Love this Rigging source

Windjammer Schooner Heritage of Main  schoonerheritage

the coast of Maine has been the foundation of the schooner’s design

 Luxury Sailing Yacht SY Huckleberry source

Classic Sailing Yacht source

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