Luger Industries – A Minnesota Legend
By Lee Wangstad
In the late fifties, when most of the players in the recreational boating market had either sputtered to an inglorious halt, or had elevated themselves into that group that were writing their success stories, Luger Industries of Minneapolis made a bold move that would launch them into the winners circle.
The kit-boat market, never really feared by the front line boat manufacturers, was about to change with the introduction of Luger’s new fiberglass boat kits. Before this, the kit-boat industry was composed almost entirely of boats made of marine grade plywood fastened to hardwood frames.
At the start of the post World War II boating boom, these kits were extremely popular, not only with the average do-it-yourselfer, who felt that he could build anything better himself, but also with those boaters who now had the leisure time and necessary skills to build their own boat out in the garage. Looking back at the market, these home-built plywood outboard boats were very comparable in both looks and performance to the professionally built outboard boats turned out by the manufacturers.
While not for everyone, this was boating at a cost level that almost everyone could enjoy. Maybe this is also where the habit of leaving the family automobile outside over those cold Minnesota winters began, leaving enough room in the garage for a nice sized boat shop. The garage would become a place where the guys in the neighborhood could come on a cold winter evening and discuss the merits of the Johnson versus the Mercury, or more likely in this atmosphere, the Buccaneer and the Wizard.
Towards the end of the fifties, the recreational boating market had changed dramatically. While fiberglass and aluminum boats were a novelty in the early fifties, within a few short years they had taken over the market. While a kit boat looked right at home in 1955, by 1958 the kits were looking slightly behind the times.
The new fiberglass kit line from Luger would change the way kit boats were perceived by the boat buying public. They were easy to build, cost up to 60% less than a manufactured boat, and most importantly, had all of the good looks and styling features of a professionally built boat.
Their initial offering in 1959 had three models: the Skylark, an open utility type boat; the Royal Lancer, with seat backs and a walk-through front seat; and the Le Continental, their top of the line runabout with all of the features expected to be included on a premium boat in this market.
The basic kit came in three pieces: the deck, the hull, and the upper hull. Luger advertising claimed that it could be “easily assembled in one enjoyable evening!” The three main pieces were interlocking and after assembly were screwed together with stainless steel screws. The joints were then reinforced from the inside of the boat with fiberglass mat and resin. The only tools needed were a screwdriver and a hand drill.
The Luger boats came with decks available in any of three color options: Tropic Coral; Bali Blue; or Harbor Green, all with a Harbor White hull.
The boats featured molded-in flotation chambers in the seat bottoms, full length molded fiberglass stringers, and a transom consisting of two layers of 3/4″ plywood with a 1/4″ layer of fiberglass between them. This transom would hold either two 45 hp engines or one 90 hp outboard.
How far you wanted to take your Luger boat was entirely up to you and your budget. The back pages of their catalog had every accessory item imaginable, from windshields to deck hardware all the way to life jackets and upholstery kits. Of course, you could do any of these things through a local upholsterer or buy your hardware through a marine dealer, but it was made available through Luger.
The boats were designed by Orm and Ren Luger in collaboration with leading industrial designer Charles Butler & Associates of New York. The boat came to you with a molded-in gelcoat finish, relieving the builder of the hardest task in building a kit boat: a professional looking finish. The styling given to this boat is still as fresh and crisp today as it was in 1959.
“My brother Ren and I started Luger Industries in our garage in 1950,” remembers Orm Luger. “We had another company make the kits to our design, and we sold them.
It was just part time at first, until we became too busy. I was first to quit my job to work on the kits full time. Ren soon followed, and we were in business.”
“The boat business was just starting to gel at the time. We were just in the right business at the right time with the right product,” claims Orm. “We had always had an interest in boats while growing up.”
“In 1959 we developed the first fiberglass kit boat,” says Orm Luger. “The fiberglass industry was still in its infancy back then, so we did the fiberglass work ourselves. We used all hand lay-up. After we started to sell fiberglass boats, there were no more wood boat kits developed.”
Just as the rest of the marine industry had seen great changes in methods and materials during the fifties and sixties, the boat kit manufacturers also had to adapt. At one time there were over fourteen boat kit producers in the market, but by the 80’s this number had dwindled to just three, with Luger still among them. Ren and Orm sold Luger Industries in 1986, but both continue their involvement in boating today.
- Forums New posts Unanswered threads Register Top Posts Email
- What's new New posts New Posts (legacy) Latest activity New media
- Media New media New comments
- Boat Info Downloads Weekly Quiz Topic FAQ 10000boatnames.com
- Classifieds Sell Your Boat Used Gear for Sale
- Parts General Marine Parts Hunter Beneteau Catalina MacGregor Oday
- Help Terms of Use Monday Mail Subscribe Monday Mail Unsubscribe
What to you know about the Luger? The boat not the gun/
- Thread starter caguy
- Start date Dec 14, 2009
- Forums for All Owners
- Ask All Sailors
I am going to look at a Luger sailboat that I found on Craigslist after work today. It is a 30 footer on a three axle trailer. Looks to be a shoal keel with a retractable center board. There is little information about them other than they were offered as an in expensive kit construction project. There were no pictures of the inside. I will take some and post tonight. My question is that as a construction project done by who-knows-who, what should I look for. Has anyone ever built one of these or others. The boat is only $1000 so if it doesn't work out I can always sell or scuttle. I am pretty good in the DIY department and have resources. The boat according to the current owner hasn't been in the water for 20 years. I like the fact that I can keep it in mast-up storage and not have to tow this behemoth back and forth. I also like that the outside configuration looks like it has a pretty roomy interior. Here are a couple of links I managed to find. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/boa/1504802065.html http://www.westportsailing.com/VIEWRECORD.ASP?CLASS_ID=4796 http://www.iboats.com/boats/marine--1/boats--10/sailboats--104/cruising_sailboats--1087/198969.html
Check out these sites: http://www.lugerboats.com/ http://lugerhybrid.tripod.com/home/
In my opinion a heavy 30-footer would not work well with an outboard. One of your links mentions a 20hp diesel so maybe some were inboards. There are two on YachtWorld, both outboards. One is the same as one of your links I think. But for your area I really do not like an outboard. Might be OK on an inland lake.
Well the trailer is worth $1000 The trailer is easily worth $1000 if it is structurally sound. Could be worth 3-5x that if it is better than just marginal. I don't think you could even donate a 30-foot Luger though, so be sure that the thing is sound before you buy it. You may be handy, but if the deck core is shot (saturated) on that boat you might end up better off with a big dumpster and a chain saw than in investing all the time and effort in fixing it. Do yourself a favor and tap around the deck like a woodpecker with the handle of a screwdriver or a plastic hammer). Sharp sounds are good. Dull thuds are bad. Start in a spot with no neaby objects bolted onto the deck. That should be dry and sharp sounding. Near any deck penetrations, such as the chain plates, you are more likely to find wetness. Good luck. Bought my first boat for $1000 (sans trailer) and never regretted it. However I sold it for $1350 after putting much more than $350 into it. Money isn't everything though!
You put your finger on it: "they were offered as an inexpensive kit construction project." So, quality could be all over the map. There could be gaps in the hull-deck joint, clumsy assembly, lots of unneeded holes and loose joints, or (and probably not obvious to you at this point) things in the wrong places. Or, it could have been assembled with care and quality. If you're handy and willing to bet $1,000, at least you'll have a hull and deck and mast and sails and an engine, and that's more than a lot of people ever do.
Barnacle Bill
Lugers were sold as kits in Minnesota by two brothers, of which Orm is still with us (last I knew). They ran a very successful business in Burnsville, MN and provided both power and sail kit boats. They put Holsclaw trailers under them. Eventually they sold the company to someone else in Missouri and now they are gone as a business. But there are a lot of Lugers. The 16' Leeward was the smallest and the Luger 30 was the largest in the trailerable type of sailboats. There are not a lot of 30' trailerable sailboats around (or ever built). When I think of trailerable, I think of boats you can launch and retrieve yourself (shoal or retractible keel), step the mast yourself, tow down the road without a permit, etc. The Luger 30 was one such vessel. It was under 8.5' in beam, and you could do all of the above. A few other boats I can think of that did the same was the C&C Mega 30, designed by the late Peter Barrett (much better sailing boat -PHRF 138 - with the same characteristics), the Clipper 30 and I know MacGregor made a larger one, but doubt you could step the mast yourself, but I could be wrong. There might be more, but I don't recall them now. Any kit boat has to be inspected carefully. Since there were different owners with different skills and ideas on how to put them together, or create an interior, etc., you can find anything from something over built by some anal engineer types, to the person who doesn't know which end of a screw driver to hold on to and anyone in between. I remember the Luger 30 mast was quite short in comparison to most 30 footers, but that was probably to keep the combined center of effort low so the boat was not too overpowered, probably because of the narrow beam and perhaps poor righting angle of the keep appendage they used. They (Luger) basically provided someone an inexpensive, entry level boat, where you could get into a larger vessel for a lot less money than a production boat already built for you. They weren't considered to be keen sailing vessels, but a good project for the adventurous and, of course, they provided lots of enjoyment for families for many years. There are a lot of them around.
I took a look at the boat today and it looks bad but it is mostly cosmetic. The hull appears solid with no cracks or blisters. Couldn't see the deck because it was covered. I have a feeling it is good however. Someone removed all of the ports on it. They weren't to be seen but may still be around. The inside was a mess although the possums seem to call it home. The wood needs to be refinished but is not rotted. The plywood floors are remarkably in good shape. Needles to say the cushions are shot. It appears that the sails were all protected except for the main which is still lashed to the boom and tucked under the boat. As Novelman pointed out it doesn't look like it was exposed to the sun. The mast and standing rigging appear to be in good shape as well as the 2 winches. The pulpit and the stern rail is crapply made out of aluminum. There are no electronics on board. Questions that came up were: What size motor will it need? What is the tow weight of the boat and will my F250 handle it? What is the tolerance capacity of my wife and can I handle it? I've attached some pictures not for the faint hearted.
Attachments
I know you are interested... but could you consider a Mac 26S or 26X? I was in college a long time ago and wanted to buy one of these real "bad!!!!"... but - as it goes - wast too poor.... Now.. comparing to an X or a S, I don't think I would have liked it.... 30 is nice - but how you use it matters a lot... --jr
If it were me, I would keep looking.
Patrick17430
X2 That thing is trashed. Unless its free. I wouldn't give any $ for it. He should pay you to haul it away for him . It would take a massive amount of time and money to sort that mess out. There's more back yard boats out there in that price range that probably wouldn't require that much work.
dvideohd said: but could you consider a Mac 26S or 26X? I was in college a long time ago and wanted to buy one of these real "bad!!!!"... but - as it goes - wast too poor.... Now.. comparing to an X or a S, I don't think I would have liked it.... 30 is nice - but how you use it matters a lot... --jr Click to expand
Bad Obsession
Why not take all the money that it will cost you to get that boat up to snuff and buy yourself and nice Catalina 30 MKI. There is MUCH more room in the Catalina 30, it is built well, it sails well, and it has a ton more room!
I'm guessing but I don't think it will take more the $3k to get this one in shape.
Sorry...but you are WAY off the mark. All marine items are EXPENSIVE!!!!! Sails alone, if the mainsail is bad are WELL over 1K. Don't assume that you can simply supplement marine stuff for regular hardware. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't, but you better be darn sure that you can before you do it unless you want to make a mess! Hell, just to fix the electrical systems and run new marine grade wiring (let someone fill you in on why you should do this) and add new batteries you are looking at, if you do the work yourself, at least $500. You may have to replace the standing rigging and that will cost money. You WILL have to replace the running rigging if it set and that will cost you money (don't put cheap stuff there unless you want to compromise safety and performance). If you have to replace wood inside of the hull you will want to use Marine Grade Plywood, at a minimum, or maybe even teake. That will cost you a lot of money. I am not sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. If you want to spend a lot of money on this boat and spend more time fixing it than sailing it than go for it but I think that it is a bad idea. I wouldn't take it if it was given to me!
Just found out about the deal breaker. I called Beaches and Harbors and found out they will only take 28', inspite of what their website says. I really don't feel like hauling this thing 23 miles 3 times a week Let alone stepping the mast. The upside is that the wife has softened to buying a bigger/newer boat.
They usually don't actually measure .....
Have to agree with Bad Obsession on the cost issue. Replacement of a half dozen ports, especially some large ones, might be nearly $2000 alone. This is quite a project boat. It could take years to sort out. My Wife would be running for the state line.
http://lugerowners.tripod.com/kelly/index.html Saw a few for sale. May need a 15hp outboard instead of a 10hp. The above link is okay. Has some nice interior shots.
shemandr said: They usually don't actually measure ..... Click to expand
caguy said: Just found out about the deal breaker. I called Beaches and Harbors and found out they will only take 28', inspite of what their website says. I really don't feel like hauling this thing 23 miles 3 times a week Let alone stepping the mast. The upside is that the wife has softened to buying a bigger/newer boat. Click to expand
- This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn more…
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Luger Industries (USA) Founded by the brothers Ren and Orm Luger in Burnsville, Minnesota USA. The firm began by building small kit powerboats and soon branched into the construction of sailing craft and became, according to it's own catalog, "The world's Largest Manufacturer of Kit Boats". The sailboat models ranged from 8 to 35 feet.
Overview. Founded by the brothers Ren and Orm Luger in Burnsville, Minnesota USA. The firm began by building small kit powerboats and soon branched into the construction of sailing craft and became, according to it's own catalog, "The world's Largest Manufacturer of Kit Boats". The sailboat models ranged from 8 to 35 feet.
A boat with a BN of 1.6 or greater is a boat that will be reefed often in offshore cruising. Derek Harvey, "Multihulls for Cruising and Racing", International Marine, Camden, Maine, 1991, states that a BN of 1 is generally accepted as the dividing line between so-called slow and fast multihulls.
Luger used sailboats for sale by owner. Home. Register & Post. View All Sailboats. Search. Avoid Fraud. ... Featured Sailboats (all): 47.3' Jeanneau 490 Longboat Key, Florida Asking $499,000. 36' Jeanneau Sunshine 36 Kent Island, Maryland Asking $19,900. 43 5' Hunter 410 Grand Rivers, Kentucky
The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more. Formula. 29.85. <16: under powered. 16-20: good performance. >20: high performance. Ballast/Displacement.
Luger Windward 21 is a 20′ 11″ / 6.4 m monohull sailboat designed by Ren and Orem Luger and built by Luger Industries between 1964 and 1987. Great choice! Your favorites are temporarily saved for this session.
The boats were designed by Orm and Ren Luger in collaboration with leading industrial designer Charles Butler & Associates of New York. The boat came to you with a molded-in gelcoat finish, relieving the builder of the hardest task in building a kit boat: a professional looking finish. The styling given to this boat is still as fresh and crisp ...
Sep 22, 2006. 4,004. Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey. Dec 14, 2009. #1. I am going to look at a Luger sailboat that I found on Craigslist after work today. It is a 30 footer on a three axle trailer. Looks to be a shoal keel with a retractable center board.
Luger used sailboats for sale by owner. Home. Register & Post. View All Sailboats. Search. Avoid Fraud. ... Featured Sailboats (all): 37' Endeavor 37 Cutter - Plan B Aransas Pass, Texas Asking $18,000. 30' Hunter H30 Stockton, Missouri Asking $5,000. 26.3' J Boats J/80 Indianapolis, Indiana
The Leeward 16 is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Luger Industries and first built in 1962. [1] [2] Production. The design was built by Luger Industries in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States starting in 1962. The company produced it as a kit boat for amateur construction, which the building time estimated at 10-15 hours. The ...
Luger Fairwinds 27 is a 26′ 11″ / 8.2 m monohull sailboat built by Luger Industries starting in 1980. Great choice! Your favorites are temporarily saved for this session.
Luger Industries was the largest supplier of kit boats for 35 years before going out of business in 1987. The Luger Owners' Association is dedicated to the dissemination and sharing of information about Luger sailboats and the experiences of Luger owners, as well as providing an established forum, photo albums of owner's sailboat projects ...
The Fairwinds 27 luger is a 26.92ft fractional sloop built in fiberglass by Luger Industries (USA) since 1980. The Fairwinds 27 luger is an ultralight sailboat which is a good performer. It is reasonably stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a day-boat. There is a very short water supply range.
The Luger Sailboat Mooring at www.lugerboats.com is the reference website for Luger sailboats. The website offers an extensive resource of photographs, catalog de-scriptions, detailed specifica-tions, an established owner Registration and many other useful links.
A boat with a BN of 1.6 or greater is a boat that will be reefed often in offshore cruising. Derek Harvey, "Multihulls for Cruising and Racing", International Marine, Camden, Maine, 1991, states that a BN of 1 is generally accepted as the dividing line between so-called slow and fast multihulls.
Massachusetts. $1,600. Description: 15 ft Luger Sailboat for sale! Includes trailer, hitch, and sails. Good condition. Must be able to pick up, asking $1600 OBO. Equipment:
A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize. Formula. 28.84. <40: less stiff, less powerful.
Welcome to The Luger Sailboat Mooring's presence on facebook. Please feel welcome to share your sailing stories -- the successes as well as the...
Post your sailboat for free and find a buyer. List Your Sailboat. Luger sailboats for sale.
A boat with a BN of 1.6 or greater is a boat that will be reefed often in offshore cruising. Derek Harvey, "Multihulls for Cruising and Racing", International Marine, Camden, Maine, 1991, states that a BN of 1 is generally accepted as the dividing line between so-called slow and fast multihulls.
Discover. Sailboats. Luger Voyager 30. 1979 — 1986. Luger Voyager 30 is a 29′ 11″/ 9.1 m monohull sailboat designed by Eric White and Edwin Monk Jr. and built by Luger Industries between 1979 and 1986. Designers.
Luger Southwind 21 is a 20′ 8″ / 6.3 m monohull sailboat designed by Luger Industries and built by Luger Industries starting in 1967. Great choice! Your favorites are temporarily saved for this session.
1978. 26'. 8'. 2'. Wisconsin. $8,475. Description: Please note as of 7/06/2015 I have lowered the price by $1000.00 And this was appraised at over $12,500.00 about 2 years ago. This is a 1978 Luger Tradewinds sailboat we have had since 1986.