Bolger Pirogue

[Dr Nigel G Cameron]

Part way through building the Phil Bolger designed sailing canoe "Pirogue"
which has so far been fun if not "instant".
It seems a good design to start boatbuilding & sailing for a novice
like myself. I would be interested to hear of the building, sailing & rowing
experiences of others who know this boat.

Thanks

ncam...@geog.ucl.ac.uk

[Bill Samson]

Hi,

Its's nice to hear from another Bolger fan in the UK. I haven't built this
particular pirogue (I assume its the one that Bernie Wolfard sells plans for)
but I have built the "Payson Pirogue" or two-man double paddle canoe described
in Bolger's new book "Boats with an open mind". This is a very much lighter
craft which wouldn't stand a sail but which paddles beautifully, especially
with only one on board. You may have seen recent controversy in this news
group which started when I mentioned that this canoe (13 foot by 28 inches) was
suitable for two paddlers. I should have added the caveat that it is intended
for "small ponds and slow moving rivers", not white water or ocean crossings!

I'm currently building a Chebacco 20, Bolger's sheet ply cat yawl.

Keep in touch!

Bill Samson

[Mark Finlayson]

In article <1995Feb8.1...@ucl.ac.uk>, ucf...@ucl.ac.uk (Dr Nigel G
Cameron) writes:

I just finished building a Bolger Pirogue a little over a year ago. Building
it was lots of fun, but took quite a bit longer than I initially expected. My
boat weighs about twice what it's supposed to and I'm not exactly sure why,
although I suspect I went a little bit overboard with epoxy coating & trim.

Sailing it is fun if there's a strong wind so it can get up on a plane, but
it's a little slow in light winds - the sail is pretty small. It doesn't go
to windward all that well but that may be my lack of experience at sailing it.

Rowing is pretty nice - this is the first boat I've rowed that was designed for
it and it makes a big difference.

Mark Finlayson