Considering junk project

[smee]

Originally Posted by SoItGoes

If anyone is seriously interested in the design or voyaging in sharpies I'd be more than happy to answer questions...

Bob

Bob, I'm very interested in your Loose Moose. From what I've read on paper and online it seems like a great choice for building relatively cheaply, navigating down the TN river to the Tenn Tom waterway and then out to the gulf, the Caribbean, and through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. I'm also considering a few catamaran designs (around 30ft) because I really want shallow draft but the LM appears to be simpler, faster, and cheaper to build.

How hard is the LM for one person to handle? My wife would be with me but I'd need to be able to take care of the whole thing myself on most occasions. How was the ventilation of the boat in the Caribbean? Did you like the big gaff rig or would you have preferred something else? What was the headroom (I'm 6'4").

If you were to build it again would you change anything?

Thanks for your time!!

[SoItGoes]

Well at 18 inches Loose Moose 2 draws quite a bit less than any catamarans that you would find cruising! Cheaper and faster to build as well...

We sailed the boat some 20,000 miles and almost all of it was on a watch system with just the two of us so for all practical purposes it was all sailed single handed.

In hindsight if we were going to rebuild the boat I'd change the rig to a balanced lug schooner or keep the rig as designed and add a bowsprit and a more permanent jib...As most of our sailing we found the boat balanced better with a jib set flying. The only other thing I'd change is that the rudder needs to be a bit bigger as the design as drawn has a bit more weather helm than is fun making! I'm not a fan of the newer version of the Loose Moose as to my mind it addresses problems that did not exist and all of the changes make for a more complicated build. LM2 as we built it is pretty excellent and we had no problems. In hind sight I would add another bottom course of plywood and u the side panels from 0ne 15MM thickness to two layers of 10MM. Which would make for an easier build and a more robust boat.

headroom is good (I'm 6'6") and one of the reasons we had the boat designed was to have a boat I'd be comfortable in. Anywhere on the boat you NEED to stand up you have headroom.

Bob

http://boatbits.blogspot.com/
http://fishingundersail.blogspot.com/

[smee]

Thanks for the detailed response! A few more questions if you have time:

how was the motion of the narrow, inside-ballasted hull at sea? Did you use marine plywood to build or something less expensive? Was cleaning the hull especially problematic? I take it you have to haul out or dive to get at that flat bottom?

[SoItGoes]

The motion of Loose Moose was excellent and at anchor much better than most round bilge boats...

We used marine ply but it winds up being cheaper in the long run...Plus when you are buying 80 or so sheets at once you'll find you can get a pretty good discount.

The bottom as far as cleaning and suchlike is no different from a round bilge boat with a keel...Well except only being 18 inches deep you don't have to dive as deep!

[Roseladay123]

I came across this forum by chance and discovered this is one of the best thread ever. Thanks u guys so much for the information you give. So cool.

[Captain Lee]

ahoy all!

I"m new to this forum. An avid sailorette, I've moved here..or got dumped here by my ex back in 2003, on the Chesapeake Bay where we were to fit out a big Dickerson sailing vessel only to get dumped for his internet GF... well, I stayed and fell in love with the bay, the people and the boats. Yesterday, while getting some accupuncture done, the lady that was doing the needle work on me told me about her vessel, Wizard, and told me she wanted to find a good home for her. Well....................... how 'bout that?

I"ve always been fond of Phil Bolger designs I guess because he's kinda "out there" and very untraditional.. which is kinda like me. I'm a girl, sailor, artist... and lived aboard my Seafarer 38 for 6 yrs until I had 2 new knees put in and found the Seafarer a bit difficult to solo after that. But, I truly regret having sold her! Having terrible withdrawals from sailing, I found a little Catalina 27... I know.. i know... geeeeeeeeez.... but, she was very affordable... so I bought her. I'm not wealthy so the owner wanting to get rid of her, financed her for me and in 3 months, she was mine! Now.. she's not my cup of tea, but she sails, has a fully battened mainsail, which is very nice, (just hard to stow below so i keep it in my mercedes wagon). The boat was very well maintained for a '76, a lovely little cabin lay out, very cozy, tight below but, not my live aboard I dream of tho. Then, I met Betty last night and as she was sticking me with needles..... we talked boats. My FAVORITE topic of all time, BOATS.

Now.. I found out this lady is a sailor. Her boat, Wizard, is the 2nd "moose" built which is now slipped in maryland just brought up from Florida. She showed me the schematics and I fell in love. Yesssssss....looks are one thing, right. But, having dealt with looks all my life... (I have no looks so I know what it's like to be an ugly duckling and have no one think anything about you...etc)...I do know what I possess and that's lots of skill, talent, strength and know how. But, IF youre an ugly girl, an ugly boat is perfect and I really like her alot. Soooooo.. in a couple of weeks, I go with my new friend to take a gander at this floating condo. She's given me a workable price, a bit more than I originally wanted to finance but, I really like Phil Bolgers Designs and I do believe the man knows what he's doing. I like being different and I can just see myself sailing into some port somewhere and people turning their heads saying, "wow! would you look at that!! isn't that the ugliest thing ya ever saw!?" and then as soon as I land in some transient slip, everyone is gonna wanna come over and take a good look at her! I'll be the talk of the marinas for awhile and then I'll sail away, off to other ports. I do believe, I'll do the ICW first. Makes sense to me to see the US coast first, then make my way to the islands... find me a group to sail with across the Atlantic and visit my buds in merry ol' England!

Believe me, I do appreciate pretty lines but there's something about this design that intrigues me to no end! I"ve sailed hard chined boats. I've sailed skipjacks and similar boats in Maine. I"ve never had a problem with them other than the fact the heeling factor is a bit different, which is a given. But, I"m sooooo interested in her not to mention now, she's one of a kind after the Moose was struck by lightning. such a shame!

I started sailing at 25 after my husband died and left me with 3 little tiny children, 2 in diapers and 1 holding onto my skirt. We would go to the lake and swim and I'd blow up the rubber raft and we'd climb in and paddle around. What happened was, I got really tired of blowing up and patching rubber rafts for the kids so I bought myself a catamaran, which I don't recommend anyone doing for their 1st sail boat!...then bought the prettiest little boat I ever owned, a Victoria 18 and graduated after sailing the North Atlantic aboard a schooner for a summer, to the love of my life-27 foot USYacht sloop, the kids and I named Amigo, which i learned to single hand in the hardest of weather. You name it, I sailed whatever weather hit me. She took it! that was that! I was soo hooked on sailing at that point, that I put an ad in the paper to take people on rides... the rest is history!

Our little town of Enid, Oklahoma had a virgin access station that needed community producers and they would train you in all aspects of television production, etc. I became very interested when a couple of guys wanted to do a show from my boat on the lake. After that, I became an avid TV producer and aired over 100 "Oklahoma Sailor" episodes on our little station and won a few awards for doing so. Then, one fateful day, I met a guy on line who seduced me with a big boat, sailing the planet... etc. We got married, bought a big Dickerson fixer upper in Trappe, Md where I was dumped and left stranded there in that boat yard. (another story altogether! for another time!). I did what I could with the boat but ended up giving her back to the jerk that dumped me, much to the anger of his NEW wife! but.. oh well...and found the Seafarer which everything aboard worked! so, I bought her for 24K and had her paid off in 3 yrs. I kick myself now for letting her go but then again, things happen for a reason, right?
(or do they?)...

I have a strong feeling I"m going to buy Wizard. From what I've been told, from what I've seen, and for what I NEED.... she's perfect for me and Jakes, my yellowcat. I do believe I need to grab her and sail her over here to the eastern shore of Md, slip her in Cambridge, which, btw, seems to be a very decent hurricane hole just having experienced Irene aboard and did just fine. Some others north of me on the 'tank, didn't fair so well but they were blasted with monstrous winds where i'm a bit protected where i'm at. A GOOD thing! Also, the fact that the Bay is rather shoal, is another reason I'm pretty interested in her. I do believe this ugly boat and me will get along really well.

Now, I"m not partial to outboards! I think they are ugly also. My kids use to call them hangnails. I don't know where they got that from but it seems to fit?! My little Victoria had an outboard with a long shaft. She had the most elegant little stern, a counter stern with beautiful lines that were ruined by the 'hangnail', but, we'd pull it off, stow it below and sail off without it. I can manage the outboard, besides, according to what I've read, seems to be a pretty decent design working with the tiller/rudder..etc. I'm very excited to visit her! I'm a very open minded sailor gal and from what I"ve read from Bob, Mooses owner, I'm more impressed than usual. The coast of Africa? Sailed her from the Med? This is MY dream!! Sooooo.. IF he can do it aboard Moose, why won't Wizard take me also? I'll find her little idiosycs... however that word is spelled and while doing so, I'll get back into my television production and start that up again... from first viewing to ???? I"m going to document the rest of my sailing life, produce it and see what happens. IF anything, I can get my spots back at the station I worked for over 10 years! Give the girl something to do anyways!

So, Bob, give me a yell! I may be the Wizards next owner! I"ll keep everyone posted with pics, blogs.. you name it! The rest of my life will be spent aboard and this is my dream. Anyone wanna follow it? Email me and I'll send out newsletters of the 'dream', as it unfolds.

Next time your out and about at some marina, you see something kinda homely looking sail in.. with an ugly captain.. thaz me... come visit! and I'll show you just how lovely the Wizard is below! What is it they say? Looks mean nothing.. it's the inside that counts! ( wishes ppl felt that way about other ppl!.. they always say they do.. but .. in reality, they dont! thats why i'm a solo sailing girl..)

Happy sails and following seas!
~Captain Lee Allred