Some thoughts on the CAL 34...

It's come to my attention that there are several CAL 34s going cheap (as in less than $3K). This got me thinking about how I'd go about VolkCruiserizing them today knowing what I know now after living aboard and sailing "So It Goes" for ages.

For starters, there's a CAL 34 going for $1k which is floating right side up, has a mast, and an engine that does not work. I expect there are a bunch of other issues but at less than the cost of the lead in the keel $1,000 would still be a lot of boat for the money.

My first thought would be to get rid of the mast and rig since I'm sure that the rig is way past its sell-by date. The mast could be salvaged and I could sell it for $500 or so which is close to what I could build a new mast in terms of materials. Since I'm sure I'd also have to replace the dreaded I-beam, it would also be a great time to beef up the compression post to support a serious tabernacle arrangement if keeping the boat as a sloop or change the location of the step in aid of a junk or lug rig.

Then there's the non-functioning motor which I'd replace with an Atom Voyager inspired outboard installation with either a 6HP gas or electric outboard which is really all one requires to move the boat when needful. While I'm at it, I'd seriously consider moving the rudder back to the transom which would improve the balance and make incorporating a simple self-steering trim tab both cheap and easy.

As far as the interior goes, the Lapworth design works just fine and while I'm sure it would need some work and sprucing up, it wouldn't be difficult or expensive.

The rest just comes down to cosmetics.

Do the work yourself, use affordably sourced materials, avoid mission creep, and you'll have a pretty awesome boat for $7.5K or less.

I'll go into a bit more detail in the next post...

an awesome shoal draft design...

Offhand, I really do think that real (3' or under) shoal draft makes all kinds of sense for anyone looking for a VolksCruiser. Having a boat that can anchor in places others fear to tread or navigate, that's also beachable if needed, and ocean capable is really a no-brainer.

For instance, take a look at the Beachcomer 25...

Drawing only 1' 3" with the board up this Walter Scott design is what shoal draft is all about. As it happens Scott also designed the Irwin 10/4 which is my favorite Irwin and another possible VolksCruiser candidate that is well worth checking out.

The Beachcomer has what I like to think of as a civilized interior layout as it provides everything needful in a manner that is both comfortable and practical. 

The cat ketch rig is a great rig with little to go wrong and much to recommend it. I'm still astonished that we we're still sailing Bermudan sloops when there are so many clearly superior rigs we could be using.

The downside of a 25-foot boat is mostly about stuff or, in truth, the inability to carry a lot of stuff you really don't need. That being the case, it's a great design for someone of a minimalist bent but not so much for those who don't quite understand the advantage of less.

There's quite a bit more information over at Catketch.com website for the Beachomer 25 you might want to peruse.

 

A $1000 VolksCruiser...

 Here's a boat you might want to check out...

Now, for me at least, the Chrysler 26 comes pretty close to checking all of the fields on my what makes a great VolksCruiser list.

1. It's cheap and I've seen good boats going for $1K.
2. It packs in a lot of livability into a 26-foot envelope.
3. It has a draft of 2' 3" with the board up and 6' 2" when you need to get to windward.
4. It has enough displacement and ballast to get you where you want to go right side up.
   
5. Halsey Hereshoff designed it and he's a  designer I trust.
6. It was designed to use an outboard and 6HP is all you need.

The only disadvantage is that it is a small boat and not for someone who requires a lot of less-than-needful-stuff. But that's a problem with any 26-foot boat isn't it? 

A few minimal projects (the galley for instance) would make it an even a better cruiser for not a lot of money or sweat.

So, all in all, it's a great example of what you need in a small cruising boat and well worth considering.

 

OK, I'll admit it...

I've got a bad case of bowsprit envy! While perusing the Craigslist I saw a fifty foot Bugeye going for $16.5K.

Now, I'll be the first to acknowledge that I can't really afford to cruise on a fifty-foot vessel no matter how much it's a work of art and sexy as hell. Adding in the fact that the sparred length is a whopping 65' and that's just going to make haul-outs, marina visits, and incidental cruising expenses a lot more than I can afford.

But, still, the prod on "So It Goes" at two feet compared the the magnificent bowsprit on the Bugeye makes me feel just that little bit embarrassed.

So it goes...

A plethora of Columbia 26 Mk 2...

Perusing the Hawaii Craigslist I noticed there seemed to be an abundance (four!) of one of my favorite boats the Bill Tripp designed Columbia 26 Mk 2. Which, as it happens, is the little sister of the Columbia 50. 

Very little sister

Now, a lot of people think a 26-foot boat is far too small to live or cruise on. Then again, when I was living on a CAL 20 there were a couple of 26-footers that I both lusted for and considered palatial. One of them being the Columbia 26 and the other was the Lyle Hess designed Balboa 26 either of which I considered both seaworthy enough to head out for Hawaii or down to Baja to go on an extended surfin' safari. For the record, I also considered the CAL 20 just as seaworthy albeit it did constrain the surfboard quiver quite a bit.

Later, when I decided to build a Bolger Jessie Cooper while living in Paris I had no qualms about a couple cruising or living aboard a 25.5 foot boat sailboat but we lived and cruised it quite successfully for four years. Better yet it allowed us to live at a prestige address next to a film studio for just about $60 a month (including electricity and water). 

Fact is, the only reason we decided to build a bigger version of the Jessie Cooper was not about comfort but the need to carry enough boat-building tools, film equipment, and space for a dedicated office to run a business. If we only wanted to live aboard and cruise the 25.5-foot boat would have been just fine.

The situation with the plethora of Columbia 26 Mk 2s for sale, which all seem to be close to turn key is pretty awesome. So awesome in fact that you could pretty safely just fly to Hawaii with cash in hand knowing that you could find one at a reasonable price that would be a lot cheaper than a condo or hotel. Hell, a long vacation cruising a Columbia 26 around the Hawaiian Islands would just about pay for itself compared to doing the hotel/condo ting.

Something you might want to think about...

an interesting boat...

Certainly not the same old same.

There's more info on the boat on the Oddity blog and Yachting Monthly that's worth checking out.

A couple of odd ducks...

Here's an interesting design I've long admired...

The Clipper Marine 32 is a Bill Crealock design that I've always liked in spite of the fact that I most detest center cockpit designs. The shoal draft version only draws 3 foot six inches and it has an transom hung rudder that could easily be adapted to trim tab self-steering.

The good news is that as it's a bit of an odd duck if you come across a Clipper 32 chances are the price will reflect that. The last one I saw for sale was going for $4K in good shape.

Another similar design is the O'Day 32 which is quite a nice boat though, in my personal opinion, a bit more cluttered design but still worth taking a look at if you see one for sale in your neck of the woods.

The real big difference between the two is that the Clipper 32 only has a beam of eight-feet while the O'Day is 10.5-feet and has over twice the displacement as the Clipper..
 

A sweet ride...

I saw a Kirie Elite for sale in Edmonds Washington  state going for a silly price ($1.2K).

I have something of a sweet spot for this particular design as I saw it at a Paris boat show and it just felt like it would be a great boat. It was quite roomy for its size, had a huge aft double, and it was no slouch in terms of speed.

It was everything I liked in the Harlé Tonic design but expanded out to a 30-foot envelope. Sadly, it was also more expensive than I could afford at the time.

Now at a reasonable price with a diesel engine that works "OK" it just might be one of the better VolksCruiser deals going.

an almost cunning plan...

There's a J-29 up in the frozen north that I've been thinking about quite a bit. For those unacquainted with the design it looks something like this...

It, like most of it's J-Boat brethren, is a boat designed and built to be competitive so you may be wondering why the hell am I looking at it?

Well, you might say, I have a sorta/kinda cunning plan for a boat of this ilk.

For starters there's not much of an interior so it would be very easy to do a new performance cruising interior and as long as we're installing a neat little galley we might take the opportunity to do a new mast step while we're at it.

A new VolksCruiserish rig spelled junk or lug would make for a neat testbed and as there are quite a few J-29s about it owned by folks who'd enjoy sailing against a J-29 with a different (some might call it freakish) rig it would be an awesome educational endeavor and I'd enjoy it.

As the boat in question is selling for not very much I'd expect to be able to the needful mods and suchlike to keep the finished boat a kiss less than $10.5K.

The only issue that keeps me from jumping on a plane cash in hand to get is the fact that the J-29 has almost six feet of draft and that's not going to work for my cruising plans.

So it does go.

That said if draft is not a deal breaker for you the J-29 is a pretty great candidate for a performance VolksCruiser and you might want to keep an eye out for a good deal on one.

 

great boat in a great location...

Here's a boat I've always liked.

It's the Chris Craft Pawnee and it is a very cool little cruising boat. Sadly they only built them for a year so did not make a lot of the excellent Sparkman & Stephens design.  

As it happens there's one for sale in Hawaii if anyone's interested.

a boat someone might want to take a look at...

 One of my favorite CAL Lapworth designs is the CAL T2-27 one of the CAL 27 variations.

I've written about the design before.

Anyway, I mention this because there's a T2 for sale that I've been keeping my eye on and the price just went from 1.5K  to $1000.

Well worth a look if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Did someone say "Bilge Keels"?

 Worth checking out if you're in Washington State...

a project worth checking out...

Way back when I was living on a peniche just outside of Paris, I seriously considered building George Buehler's Hager design. I still think it would have been a great boat to cruise with.

With a 28-foot LOD it's a small boat of the Pardey mindset but shippy as all hell and more than able to take you just about anywhere you'd care to go..

As it happens, there's a project Hager for sale up in Port Townsend that looks doable and selling for a fraction of the materials invested. What pictures are available on Craigslist makes me think that someone with the right motivation could finish it up in a timely manner without dumping a ton of money.

Full plans are included in George's "Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding"  (last century edition) which is all the information anyone would need to build or finish the boat.

Just sayin'

a PNW Haida 26...

I've mentioned before that one of my favorite small boats for cruising is the Haida 26. For those in the PNW there's another one currently for sale that you might want to take a look at...

A quick note for fans of the CAL 34...

Being that  there are a few admirers of the CAL 34 who read VolksCruiser I'll point out there's a real cheap 1968 CAL 34 for sale in the San Diego area. No idea of the condition but, apparently, it floats right side up.

At $500 it's worth checking out.

A very nice boat...

Atom Voyages does their thing on a Cape Dory 27.

a near perfect VolksCruiser...

A tour of an Alberg 30 with Atom Voyager.

A VolksCruiser of note...

I've long wanted to build a small canal cruiser for the time that I'm past my sailing days. Philip Thiel's Joli Boat has always been at the top pf my list and a great example of getting the most livability into a 22'9" X 8' envelope.

As it happens "Small Boats Magazine" has an excellent article on the Joli Boat's little sister the Escargot design that is well worth the read. For those interested in the design the Wooden Boat Store has plans for the Joli Boat and Escargot.

an old boat to start the year with...

I know I've talked about the Bill Lapworth designed CAL 34 more than a time or two but it is the boat I happen to be sitting on while writing this. 

Back in 1969, when “So it Goes” was new, the boat sold for $15,950. or thereabouts. Today, a turnkey CAL 34 in good shape with no actual issues will set you back somewhere around $15K. Considering it’s a fifty-three-year-old boat, that says a lot.

The CAL 34 is a great example of what makes sense in a VolksCruiser. It sails well with good accommodation and has a reasonable draft (five foot). Plus, it looks like what most folks think a boat should look like.

Truth is, the boat is, all things considered, a pretty brilliant design. Bill Lapworth's use of space is quite the optimum layout, and you’d find that coming up with something better is nigh on impossible. I know I’ve tried to no avail.

I’ll add that the whole looking like what most folks consider a boat’s supposed to look like is no bad thing. Blending in to keep a low profile makes sense for low budget nomadic VolksCruiser folk.

Like most boats of the late 60s and early 70s, the CAL was a well-built sailboat. Their longevity is testament to that fact. Sure, the interior had little in the way of bespoke carpentry, but competently done. Far too many people confuse anything less than a high end furniture finish as somehow being deficient. On a cruising boat, a durable and easily maintained finish just makes a lot more sense.

The mistake most people make when working on a boat like the CAL 34 is to forget just how good a design it is and try to morph the boat into something it’s not. Of course, if you really feel that you need a Hallberg-Rassy you should get one. Trying to make a CAL 34 into a new Hallberg-Rassy is a lost cause you'd want to avoid unless your kink is of the yacht induced masochism variety.

As far as things go, the best practice concerning classic plastic sailboats is to keep the boat as close to what it looked like back when it was new. You might find that getting a brochure is a big help.

Well, maybe best not to emulate the plaid upholstery.

Next up are some changes that would make sense…

and in the "it doesn't sink" department...

Back when I was living in France one of the designs that I seriously considered was the ETAP 23 for use as a minimal envelope blue water cruiser. 

For starters, it's a nice little sailboat. All of the ETAP sailboats had a very nice look partly because of their excellent use of graphics and just the fact that they were all just pretty nice designs.Throw in the fact that they were pretty good in the performance department it's easy to see why they quickly became somewhat hip.

The other reason they were attractive was the fact the ETAPs were unsinkable. Of course, ETAP was not the first builder of boats to come out with sailboats that would not sink but they were the first to my knowledge that was integral to the design. All of the others seemed to be more of an afterthought of the "Let's see how many foam bricks we can cram into the boat?" sort of thing.

That said, the downside of the ETAP unsinkable designs was that it seriously impacted the stowage in a big way. To the point that I really wanted the ETAP 20 there was just no way I could stow enough cruising gear, provisions, and needful tools to sail back to the US OF A with. Hence my fixating on the ETAP 23.

As it happens, Bateaux Magazine on their website has an excellent two part article (part 1 and part two) on fixing up an ETAP 23 or any other small sailboat design for a transatlantic voyage that is well worth your time. Even if you don't read French and have to resort to the hassle of google translate.