CLASSIC CRUISERS
a complete guide to the best boats on the used market
Dell Quay Ranger 27
W
ho could mistake the classic lines of a Fairey hull? They are beautiful, elegant and iconic. Back in the early 60’s these hulls spawned a very different range of boats, a range that to this day has melted the hearts of many boaters in the British Isles, the Dell Quay Ranger. In the late 50’s and early 60’s Fairey Marine was successfully producing a range of shaftdriven wooden ‘express’ cruisers on the River Hamble. The company had adapted a hot moulding process, used originally in aircraft production, to
produce its hulls using layers of a material known as Agba, a West African mahogany. Fairey’s fast, deep V hulls were originally designed by American naval architect, Ray Hunt, and its range included the 23ft Huntress and the 28ft Huntsman, both designed by Alan Burnard. In 1961 the Dell Quay Yacht Company, based in Itchenor, started the development of a 25ft, wooden, aft cabin cruiser using a Fairey Marine Huntress hull. With rumours of a ‘cancelled order’ by the Ministry of Defence, it is believed that this boat was initially destined for military
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December 2015