Way back when I first started talking to Phil Bolger about possibly building a Loose Moose 2 he sent me a couple of cartoons (his description of a quick sketch to illustrate a point)…
One was his breakdown schooner…
The other was a design he was playing with for the guy who’d built the first Bolger Micro…
At the time I was somewhat attracted to the Breakdown schooner but not-so-much enthralled with Phil’s balance lug/leg-of-mutton ketch but I do remember clearly thinking that I quite liked the deck area and would have plenty of room to build the odd dinghy or surfboard if I felt the need. Of course, the lack of headroom was an issue but I’ve since learned that headroom is seldom a real positive factor in its own right and that a well designed interior with headroom only where needed makes a lot of sense.
Both designs featured water ballast and a beam of eight-feet as they were intended as maximum trailer sailers which makes all kinds of sense if you wanted a boat to pull behind a car or truck. That said, a beam of eight feet in a sharpie makes a lot of sense and since standard plywood is 4′ X 8′ it tends to make some sense as well where construction costs are concerned minimizing waste.
Hindsight being, as they say, 20/20, I’m pretty sure I missed just how much potential the ketch had and the last couple of weeks I seem to keep coming back to this cartoon and asking myself just what I’d change to make it a workable cruising boat.
More about that soonish…
The saloon without headroom will be a more pleasant space. You are dead right have it where you need it!
Looks like an AS 29 with a lug to me