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

As told by Ren Luger

          "Luger Industries" was not the company's original name - previously, the business was named "Minnesota Marine".  The "Luger Industries" title was used on the company's 1952 catalog, but "Formerly Minnesota Marine" was also printed on the cover as a reference to the previous name. 
          The change to "Luger Industries" was made in anticipation of a nation-wide marketing plan the brothers had for their company.  The strategy was to allow future product line expansion, should they diversify the company's interests or if another endeavor become more advantageous. 

Submitted by Joanie

Speaking of market diversification:  An endeavor was made to expand their product line in the late sixties when Luger Industries offered mail order snowmobile kits. 
The conventional "one track/two-ski" snowmobiles could be equipped with front-mount JLO or Kohler engines.

Interested in some specifications?  In 1969 Luger offered six snowmobiles.  The customer had a choice between 15 or 18 inch track widths, and engine sizes ranged from 227cc to 399cc. 
Luger's Model 12-15 kit with a 227cc JLO engine was 8' in length, 47" high and 32.5" wide.  The 295 pound model had a 15" track, carried two passengers and had an estimated top speed of 30 - 35 mph.

Most models were equipped with the JLO engine, but Luger's top-of-the-line "Model 12-18" was outfitted with a Kohler 399cc engine, had an 18" track, weighed 360 pounds, and could attain an estimated speed of 55 mph.

Submitted by Claude Gendron

          So, you have discovered that Luger Industries diversified into the snowmobile industry for a short period.  According to my information, Luger snowmobile kits were produced only in 1969 and 1970.
          Herters, Inc. of Waseca, Minnesota manufactured the snowmobiles for Luger Industries of Burnsville, MN.  Many snowmobiles of this period were manufactured by other than the brand name that appeared on the sled.  It was far cheaper for a company in a field other than snowmobiles to have them manufactured by another established company and have their name added, rather than invest in costly R&D, tooling, assembly lines & other stuff.  Plus, both companies were located in Minnesota, which makes sense that they did business together.

You will find that the 1969-70 Luger snowmobiles are clones to the 1969-70 Herters.Especially when you compare the 1970 Herters to this color photo (found on David's site) of an actual red 1970 Luger.  They are exactly the same except for the name.

An abridged version  of "South Seas Adventure in a Luger Sloop"
Submitted by Joanie - October 2004

          It was in the Spring of 1975 that two inexperienced 20 year old sailors, Jeff Mootz and Mark Strandjord, had an idea to "take on a real challenge" as well as find a way to raise money for world hunger relief.  The two college students began a series of tasks that would eventually have them set their sails for a 2,000-mile ocean voyage from Miami, Florida to Colombia, South America.  With no previous experience in either boating or assembling a boat, the two students secured a bank loan, purchased Luger's  21-foot Windward kit, assembled the boat in their parents' backyard, and took a course in sailing.
          With Fall closing in, the two friends planned a shakedown cruise on Lake Superior's choppy September waters.  It would be their last sailing effort prior to the planned South Seas departure date from Miami that winter.  "We learned a lot on Lake Superior," the two agreed. 
          "We only had one anchor, for example, and we also found that the winds weren't always strong enough to take us out past the breakers.  We didn't have a motor for that.  The first night out we ran aground and our boat had to sit all night on its keel.  It wasn't damaged, though.  The next day we encountered heavy winds and almost had to call the Coast Guard after we overshot our destination."
          "After three days on lake Superior, though, we were getting the feel of things.  Besides the extra anchor and a 6HP motor, we added some extra rigging to the boat for the big trip."
          Back home arrangements were completed with several churches to have money pledged for each mile of the boys' cruise to South America.  The boat was christened "Espiritu de Esperanza" (The Spirit of Hope) and was trailered to Florida.  With extra provisions of peanut butter sandwiches and candy bars, they set sail for Bimini on the evening of February 1, 1976.
          "We used just a compass, charts and parallels,"  Jeff explained.  "We went pretty much on dead reckoning for the whole trip.  We motorsailed across the Gulf Stream all that night to Bimini.  From then on, we mostly sailed."
          After three days in Bimini, they sailed another full night to Chub Chay where they tied up on a marker, rested and did some skin diving.  With favorable winds, they pushed on to Nassau.
          We stayed in the Bahamas two weeks, relaxing and painting some blue trim on the boat.  People would pass by and say, "That's a cute little boat, but what's it doing here?"

          From Nassau "Espirit du Esperanza" stopped in the Exumas before heading for Haiti.  It was while they were enroute to Haiti that the two friends encountered a slight misadventure.
          "Winds were weak,"  Jeff went on, "and we had to make a huge tack towards Cuba to reach our ultimate destination.  Somehow we got off course."  The next day the waters became very rough.  The boat's angle was severe and prevented cooking and comfortable sleeping.  "We never really got scared because the boat was sound, but we spent a couple days beating in the wind and it became very tiring."  Once they relocated themselves, the two could see Cuba, and when they realized trouble with their rudder they decided to head for land and fix it.  "We knew it wasn't good to set into Cuba, but we were so tired and beat we didn't care."
          Friendly fishermen spotted them and led them into Moa Harbor and helped the boys fix the boat, but soon Cuban officials detained Jeff and Mark until they could thoroughly check their credentials.  "They were friendly, but they kept us in kind of house arrest at a farm house.  We had showers and beds, but we were sure glad when we got going again."
          Once they arrived in Haiti, they spent three weeks relaxing, and making other minor repairs before beginning the final 700-mile leg of their voyage to Cartagena in Colombia, South America. 
          "There was a point, for four and a half days, that we didn't see land,"  Jeff said.  "Winds were at our backs, though, and we spent 2 hours on, 2 hours off and had a real "sleigh ride" into Cartagena."
          Upon arrival, they arranged to sell their Windward.  It wasn't difficult.  Less than an hour after tieing up their sloop, an enthusiastic buyer offered them more than they had paid for it.  Jeff and Mark returned to the United States, and eventually arrived back to their homes in Le Seur, Minnesota. 

          The South Seas Adventure of Jeff Mootz and Mark Strandjorg raised more than $6,000 for world hunger relief, and fulfilled the boys' quest for "a real challenge" - for awhile at least. 

"The pessimist complains about the wind; 
            the optimist expects it to change; 
                       the realist adjusts the sails."

    - William A. Ward

Submitted by Joanie

          The Leeward 16 is probably the best example of "Model Evolution" as a result of the marine industry's improvements in fiberglass component production:  The 16-foot sloop's design remained very much the same over its many years of production - from the early 1960's to the company's closing in 1987.  The Leeward did, however, change in its assembly and construction methods over those years. 

This 1970 Leeward was shipped as
10 separate fiberglass pieces: 
(1)  lower hull;    (2,3)   two sides;
(4)  transom;   (5,6)  two bench seats;
(7)  deck;    (8,9)  2-piece center-
board well;   (10)  cabin.

By 1979, advances in fiberglass methods eventually reduced the number of fiberglass components to only four:  Hull, deck (with cabin, bench seats and tabernacle as a one-piece unit), and the two-piece centerboard well.

In 1966, the Leeward was furnished in 3 separate fiberglass sections:
1) the lower hull, 2) the upper hull/deck, and 3) the cabin. 
The lower hull was reinforced with factory pre-cut interlocking marine plywood reinforcing members.  In this early version, the centerboard well and both bench seats (top and sides) were wood (not fibergalss, as in later years).

Owner registration for Patrick M.

          The boat belongs to my wife's uncle and he has shanghai'd me to sail it in the annual Mug Race here in Jax.  I recently completed a sailing course (Dinghy) and he feels I am qualified to race!   
          I plan on taking her out for some lake sailing while we develop crew coordination (and learn how to tack - LOL ).  I was especially glad to learn she is self-righting.  HA HA.  My dinghy experience has taught me how to get a mast out of the bottom of the St Johns river.  We are having fun and plan to have a lot more.

* Page Three Acknowledgements:  Thank you to new Canadian friends:
        - David, and his website, David's Vintage Snowmobile Page for information and images. 
        - Additional BIG thanks to Germain Beausejour, along with Dave and Andrew Taylor for their
           invaluable assistance with the snowmobile images and data.

        Interested in more info on vintage snowmobniles?  Go to: http://www.vintagesnowmobiles.50megs.com/