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

Excerpts from an e-mail by new owner James P.

Shortly after purchase: 
          I have never had a boat but have always been intrigued about sailing  ...and now I have my first boat ever.  I scrubbed and cleaned for two days and it looks like the one in the picture.  Awesome.  So far everything is ok and in working condition with some touch-ups and re-tightening.  According to the title I am the third owner.
          I have not been out in it yet for reason being that I will now go to the library and learn how to sail.  I read 4 books from the library and then asked a friend of mine if he would like to go and see if this boat sinks, he said he was a good swimmer.  I was joking but he was not.

Later that same week: 
          We took my Seabreeze 16 out on one of our lakes.  Our first time ever to sail. We had an exhilarating and scary time.  Every time it leaned over we had 100 mph heart pounding experience.  We did not want to flip it on our first time so we brought it back into the wind.  Then we anchored and dropped the sails to let a storm go by.
          Then we realized that the keel had never dropped down, we were glad we tried to keep it upright.  But while we were waiting for the storm to pass the keel dropped "kerplunck". The rest of the day was quite different and we had a blast.

The Largest,  the Smallest,  the Longest,  the First and the Last:  Submitted by Joanie

Luger Industries, Inc. manufactured over 100,000 kits during its 35 year reign as "The World's Largest Manufacturer of Kit Boats".  Ren Luger recalled first year sales totaling $10,000 - and within five years sales increased fifty-fold - reaching $500,000!  Keep in mind, those are 1950 statistics.  Those numbers are certainly impressive - But let's look into the "fun facts" behind those statistics and fiscal figures:

The LARGEST boat Luger Industries manufactured was the 40' Sunliner Houseboat-Yacht.  The catalog described it as having, "every luxury and convenience for gracious family living and entertaining afloat."  Sunliner's Split-Level arrangement had 330 sq. feet of interior living space, plus an expansive 495 sq. feet of additional outdoor luxury.  The hull could be ordered as molded fiberglass, 12 gauge steel or 3/4" plywood.  Cost?  If purchased during Luger's 1964 Spring Sale, the "fiberglass hull" model sold for only $5, 697.

40' Sunliner Houseboat-Yacht

Luger's SMALLEST fiberglass kit was an 8' Optimist.  The Optimist design was originally commissioned by "Optimist International", and is considered one of the most popular training sailers in the world.  Luger's kit was built in strict accordance with I.Y.R.U. specifications, and could qualify for competition in Optimist regattas. 

The FIRST boat manufactured and listed for sale was a wooden 8-foot Pram, and sold for $29 - total price.  Luger wanted no "hidden costs" behind their 1952 catalog price, so the catalog's listed prices included freight and any postage charges.
Note:  In the early 60s, the same wooden 8' Pram could be purchased with an optional "Sailing Kit" - and so, was actually THE first Luger sailboat - and shared "Luger's Smallest Sailboat" bragging rights (technically speaking) with the previ

The Leeward 16 sloop had the LONGEST production run of all the Luger sailboats - maintaining an uninterrupted presence in Luger catalogs from 1964 until the year Luger Boats closed for business in 1987.  For 23 years the 16' sloop introduced thousands of novice sailors to the joys of sailing, and experienced owners relished the challenges (and speed) her semi-planing hull provided. 

The LAST "new" sailboat added to Luger's line of sailing models was the 24' catamaran, "Sea Wind".  Introduced in 1987, it offered the same quality, high performance and trailerability of Luger's other sailboats, with a multi-hull's stability and accommodations required for safe family cruising.  With daggerboards up, her shallow draft was 12"; and the huge trampoline area made the Sea Wind a great dive platform or party boat.

Comment for Luger boat builders sent by Carole H:

      "Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs;
               the Titanic, by professionals."

Submitted by Connie & Dick M.   
   
          My '71 Westwind had a 160 pound steel centerboard.  It was flame cut, so I added steel half round to smooth the edge.  The mast step was a slotted aluminum casting that permitted raising it by myself with a helper to attach the forestay.
          A picture used in many of Luger's old catalogs shows me, my wife and daughter in the cockpit.  I sold it in 1987.  The caption below the picture stated,
          "In a series of West Shore Sail Club Races on lake Erie - under "performance handicap" rules - I finished ahead of a Monterey 24, and O'Day 22 and one of the

Grampian 23s in every race on an actual position basis.  With my 21-foot Luger Windward, I was able to beat a Santana 22, a Seafarer 24, a Clipper 21 and two other Grampian 23's at least half the time."

Dictionary definitions "D to M" to assist the Luger sailor...

    Dinghy - the sound of the ship's bell.

    Displacement - when you dock your
    boat and can't find it later.

    Estimated Position - a place you have
    marked on the chart where you are
    sure you are not.

    Fluke - The portion of an anchor that
    digs securely into the bottom, holding   
    the boat in place; also, any occasion
    when this occurs on the first try.

Freeboard - food and liquor supplied by the boat's owner.

Landlubber - anyone on board who wishes he were not.

Mizzen - an object you can't find.

Motor Sailer - A sailboat that alternates between sail/rigging problems and engine problems.

From the owner registration of Dick W.

          I bought the kit in 1969 and had it delivered to my parent's home.   Dad and I assembled it that summer.  Sailing quickly became a major summer activity.  The family yellow Labrador soon started checking to see if I had the boat when I came home for the weekend.  If the boat was behind my car, he'd get all excited, jumping and wiggling.  If I didn't have the boat, he'd lie down and ignore me.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
      Sailed off in a wooden shoe -
             Sailed on a river of crystal light
                    Into a sea of dew.

Quote attributed to Eugene Field; 
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Owner registration for Budd & Dorothy K.

          I was driving a backroad and found the "Luger" for sale at a vacant farmhouse.  I made several trips just to locate the owner, who claims that he used it for a fishing boat and never raised a sail.

          I plan to fully restore the boat but I have done other restoration projects (cars, houses, etc.), and learned a long time ago, it is sometimes better to do nothing at all until you have the correct information about "dos and don'ts" if you will.
          We certainly appreciate ANY suggestions (except to give up on the project).

Question posed by Joanie:

Is there a Law of Physics that best describes the direct correlation between a snow-laden limb's proximity to a boat, and the likelihood that it will break?


Disclaimer:  Absolutely no boats were harmed during the making of this webpage.

(From the owner: "As bad as it looks, the boat came out with no damage.")