34" RANGER SAILBOAT

This is unassuming red and white sailboat actually has an interesting history and an amazing race record that I will share...

This model is a 34" reproduction of the Ranger, the winner of the 1937 America's Cup. It measures 34" tall.

Models come semi assembled. Mast has sails and lines already attached, you need to follow the diagram and attach the eyehooks to the eyelets. Generally takes just a few minutes. No tool required!

HISTORY: As the America's Cup winner, the Ranger was a tough act to follow - she came in first in the next 12 out of 13 races after the big America's Cup win. She raced 37 times in all in 1937.

The Ranger was a J-Class boat, a design classification that utilized new technologies that set a new standard in hull construction. Owned by wealthy Harold S. Vanderbilt, of the Vanderbilt fortune - a prominant Long Island family. The Ranger was designed by a talented engineering team. The Ranger had a steel hull and was built in a record 4 months, for a staggering $500,000 in 1936. Built by Bath Iron Works in Maine, she was a whopping 135 feet in length with a 21 foot beam and a 15 foot draught. The run of J-class yachts was short as they were afforded by only the most weathly yachtsmen. There were only 10 J-class boats ever built (3 of them owned by Harold S. Vanderbilt). Would you believe that the Ranger was hauled out the very same year she raced (1937) and was never sailed again. She was eventually sold for scrap in 1941 for just $12,000 as the war effort at the time required all available steel and lead - the Ranger having 115 tons of lead in her keel.

Owner, Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was born in OAKDALE, New York - just a bit down the road from the Seafarer Gift Shop - so it is exciting to have ties to the Ranger right here on Long Island's south shore!

Harold was a great-grandson of Corneilus Vanderbilt, the railroad and shipping tycoon. Harold inherited his multi million dollar fortune in 1920. It included a lot of coastal property with mansions. Most of the properties were gifted to local organizations. Some of the largest groupings of buildings now exist as the Dowling College campus and private homes. Vanderbilt's Idle Hour estate was 900 acres in all, on the bank of the Connetquot River - the original wood mansion had 110 rooms and 45 bathrooms. It burned to the ground and was rebuilt in brick. The property was divided and sold to developers for residences after Harold inherited his birthplace. Eventually a university purchased what is now Dowling. Harold died in 1970, and has the honor of having the yachting drink Stirling Punch named after him.