THE LUGER SAILBOAT MOORING - SERVING LUGER SAILORS AND THE WEB SINCE 1999 AT HOME PORT WWW.LUGERBOATS.COM

Excerpt from an e-mail by Harry C.

          "I will say this - Luger built some really good boats and made them affordable to people who otherwise might not have had the fun and enjoyment of owning their own boat.  In my exuberance and inexperience back then, I have run aground several times - had the boat over on her side at extreme low tide once;  have hit docks and had other boats bang into mine.  I have sailed in calm weather with a bottle of white wine and cheese, and in weather so strong that the boat was making a good five knots on double reefed main alone.  These are tough boats and I have never once regretted buying my Voyager 30!"

Owner registration for Larry L.

          I built my daysailer in my garage.  As you know, fiberglass has a potent smell.  I built this in my garage over a 2 month period of the winter.  In order to get heat into the garage, I had to leave the door to the garage open to the kitchen.
          In February, my wife said the family needed a break from me building this boat so we took a trip down to the Oregon coast. When we arrived, we opened up the cookies the kids had baked, and they smelled and tasted like resin.  Some Break!

          My wife believes the "Dawn Treader" has lived it's lifetime, but I am committed to continuing my foraging into Lake Sammamish on this little craft.
          There are too many memories attached to this boat. A lot of kids learned to sail on it, and it has survived many a crash into the dock.

Owner registration for Andrew G.

          I'd like to register as a proud owner of a Luger Voyager.  I purchased the hull in '92, thinking it a 6-week project.
            Completed July of '96.

Dictionary definitions "A through C" to assist the Luger sailor...

Amidships - condition of being surrounded by boats.

Anchor - a device designed to bring up mud samples from the bottom at inopportune or unexpected times.

Anchor Light - a small light used to discharge the battery before daylight.

Berth - a little addition to the crew.

Bare Boat - Clothing Optional.

Bottom Paint - what you get when the cockpit seats are freshly painted.

Calm - Sea condition characterized by the simultaneous disappearance of the wind and the last cold beverage.

Chart - a type of map which tells you exactly where you are aground.

Excerpt from an e-mail by Mike M.

          Enclosed is a photo taken in 1974 of my original Luger Windward.  The photo was taken by a friend on one of its first sails.  The boat was sold after 8.5 seasons as I had become involved with crewing on a C&C 38 racer.

          The current owner claims to have paid $10,000!  The kit cost under $2,000 and was in the water with custom built trailer and 6HP M erc O/B for about $3,000.  The current owner could not believe his Luger had been a kit, until I told him what the HIN number was, and he went to check. 
          It is now moored in the lake at my home yacht club.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
          by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
          Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.

Quote attributed to Mark Twain,  1835-1910

Submitted by Joanie

Q:  What do Luger Industries, Corvettes and Dinah Shore all have in common?
A:  The 1963 Barry Toycraft Corvette Junior Car!

          Under a contract with the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, Barry Toycraft introduced a 12v Corvette "Junior Car" in 1963 to promote Chevrolet's newly-introduced full-sized Corvette.  The fiberglass bodies for the Toycraft Corvettes were produced by Luger Industries.  Luger produced all 1,200 of the fiberglass Mini Vettes in "Riverside Red" gelcoat.  Final assembly of the junior cars was done in a nearby St. Paul plant. 

          Chevrolet used the Kiddie Corvettes as giveaways in a national promotion, and were used in dealerships nationwide.  Children could enjoy their own "test drive" while Mom and Dad were shown full-sized Stingrays, Corvairs and Novas. 
          The first showing of the mini-Corvette was in New York, at the 1963 Toy Fair.  Toycraft produced the Mini Vette as a single-seater and power was derived from a standard car battery running a modified starter motor.  6 mph was the top speed, with forward and reverse, and a padded bucket-type seat.  The 230 pound Vettes measured 77" long and just over 29" wide.

Images courtesy Lee A. Exline *

And how does Dinah Shore enter into this riddle?  The "Kiddie Vettes" were promoted on The Dinah Shore Show - if you remember, Dinah was a national spokesperson for Chevrolet. 

Owner registration for Larry and Linda S.

          We own a 16' Leeward, sailed twice, turned over once.  We want to refurbish it this summer, and try sailing again while trying not to turtle.  Thank goodness there was a scuba class near by - 25 feet down!

Owner Registration for Ed A.

          I am the original owner of my '74 Leeward.  (That's 27 years, and I really need new sails!)   I've been sailing, total, about 60 years  -  I started on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.  I still have the boat's original 1974 Luger catalogue and parts list.
          The boat is pretty well the way it was built. Main improvement (?!). an automatic centerboard release fashioned from an old snow ski safety cable binding. I also replaced the original sheet cleats with cam cleats which helps a lot when sailing alone.

* Page One Acknowledgement:  Appreciations and a big "Thank you!" to Lee A. Exline for the images used in the Toycraft MiniCorvette bit of trivia.  For additional information on miniature promotional cars, please visit "Junior Central".