Fairey Marine of Hamble have an enviable world-wide reputation for making wooden hulls using Agba veneers bonded together under high pressure and high temperature in an autoclave, thus forcing the glue into the pores of each veneer making a firm yet flexible long-lasting hull.

The Huntress was their 'break-through' design with a single engine on a shaft drive, penned by Alan V Burnard, and used as a Captain's boat in the Royal Navy.

Dell Quay of Bosham bought many Huntress hulls making Ranger 27 boats with a thicker transom to take twin stern-drives and with a more spacious superstructure.

Layout
Moving aft from the bow is the light and airy fore-cabin with windows on three sides plus either twin single berths in a 'Vee' layout or, with an in-fill, a single double berth. There is much storage space and a useful locker for hanging clothes.

The central cockpit of the Dell Quay Ranger 27 can be regarded as the hub of the boat.
On the port side is the helm position with all the engine controls for the two Volvo engines.  To starboard is the galley with the period gas cooker and hob as well as a food preparation area.

To port off the cockpit is the cubicle for the heads and shower, both with hot and cold water. The hot water is heated by a calorifier using engine heat and/or an electric immersion coil from the shore-power when in a marina.

Still moving aft, the saloon is reached by descending a few steps down from the central cockpit and has been recently re-furbished with a gleaming floor and traditional blue-covered settees to each side.  These settees make excellent single berths and the saloon, being some distance from the fore-cabin, achieves a sense of privacy.

Aft of the saloon is the sun-deck being the area above the two engine hatches.  On the stern are quarter push-pits and if dodgers were to be fitted, this also would be a relatively private area.

Navigation and Electrical
Garmin GPS 182 Colour Chart plotter

Garmin Fish finder echo-sounder

Standard Horizon GX1700 DSC VHF with built in GPS

Glomex omnidirectional TV aerial

12volt DC Power circuits for: internal lighting, steaming and anchor lights

Windscreen wipers, bilge pumps, shower and water pumps

Navigation equipment and engine instrumentation

USB Points in fore cabin, galley and aft cabin 

Shorepower

New 12volt batteries were fitted in 2023.

Engines, Fuel, and Water
Installed in 1999 and regularly serviced since the two Volvo TAMD 22PB four cylinder diesel engines drive through SX sterndrives fitted with counter-rotating propellors. 

A good speed of 25 knots is easily achieved although and economical cruising is best at 20 knots.

The two diesel fuel tanks, each of 50 gallons capacity and made of stainless steel, give a very useful range.
There is one water tank of 35 gallons capacity.

Deck Equipment
Anchor and chain

Stainless steel:
Pulpit at the bow
Stanchions around the deck with guide wires
Quarter push-pits at the stern

Custom built beaching legs

Manual bilge pump

Ropes and Fenders

Trim Tabs

Bought by the current owner from the previous who enjoyed the boat for over 25 years, and every winter brought the boat ashore for dry-storage.  It was he who, at a cost of over £25,000 in 1999 had the boat re-engined by Hunton Power Boats, Cambridge.
Those two Volvo Penta TAMD22P8 engines, each 105BHP, were fitted with Volvo SX Stern drives with new electrical looms and instrumentation.  

The current owner, a very knowledgeable Fairey Marine of Hamble enthusiast, has continued cherishing this lovely little ship, winterising the engines and dry storing the boat over winter.

Full-service history with 27 years of invoices and documentation.

2023 Refurbishment
The current owner continued cherishing this boat and sanded back the hull which was then primed and repainted with 2 coats of Epiphanes Mono urethane.

The Top Sides were also sanded back, primed and repainted with 2 coats of Epiphanes Mono urethane.

All the windows: were  removed; the frames powder coated; the windows re-sealed in the frames and refitted.

All the exterior woodwork was sanded back and re-varnished with 3 coats of International Yacht varnish.

All the internal decks removed, sanded, and coated with two coats of Epoxy varnish.

Hull and stern drives were abraded and given two coats of anti-foul.

New 'Tek-Dek' synthetic teak decks were laid.

2017 
New Jabsco heads

2015
Hull epoxy painted with 3 coats below waterline

After three exciting years and many enjoyable adventures cruising the French inland waterways, and more recently the Solent, 1963 Dell Quay Ranger Tiger C II is now ready to be handed over to a new custodian. 

This robust and capable little boat is presented in fine original order throughout, and has turned heads wherever we have been. She has spent the winter in Bembridge Boat storage and is currently being anti fouled and polished for the new season and will be in fine fettle and ready to go.

For those of you that don’t know, or who have not had the experience of a voyage in one of these little boats, then a pleasant surprise awaits.  This really is a little / big boat. Bags of space inside with an open galley and helm in the centre cockpit.  There's a spacious aft cabin with its sliding roof with much under-seat storage and a sizable wardrobe.  The fore-cabin can be configured as either two single or one double berth, also with under stowage, and a useful wardrobe with plenty of hanging space.
There's a heads with hot and cold shower off the central cockpit.

The canvas top can be configured in many ways from being totally shut, sides up, open back, bimini or all off.  If you want to be outside, there's a large deck pad above the engines where you can scatter cushions and enjoy the sun.

What’s she like to drive, I hear you say? Once again the phrase Little Big boat, comes to mind. Her steadfast sea keeping in all weathers belittles her size, with dual Volvo engines producing 210HP she can easily zoom along at 25 knots or ease back to 20 knots for an economical cruise.
When your passage is over then berthing is made easy with contra rotating propellors.

Complete with warps and fenders, recent anti-foul, and ready to go.

Nicolle Associates offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.

• This vessel is UK Tax paid
• As always photographs do not do justice so a viewing is highly recommended.
• This boat is lying ashore at Hayling Island.
• © 2026 Nicolle Associates.