Luders 21 sailboat, CL Orcas Island, Pac NW

[rbgarr]

Smaller open version similar to Luders 16 (except for the transom... and it's fg)

[bamamick]

What does the '21' refer to? The loa? I have never heard of this class.

Luders was one heck of a designer of speedy boats. There is a Luders 24 racing with the 6mR's in the northeast and she pretty much walks the dog on them if the results page is anything to go by.

Mickey Lake

[DLW]

http://www.orcassailing.com/Luders_21.htm

these look sweet and judging from the picture I would say 21 is the number of feet overall.

[bamamick]

ALRIGHT! That, I like. Where do I get one? What do they look like underneath? Do they carry a 'chute? What a clean looking little boat.

I must find out more.

Mickey Lake

[watson1990]

I have always said that the luders 29 was the most beautiful boat ever created...until i met the Alerion 28 ...
Now this could become a bone of contention but even if I am wrong...I am close !!

I am "relatively new" on the sailing scene,,only been here for 10 years...
I own an Alden 18 most of them were built by the Herreschoff boat building company,,,after 2 hurricanse the fleet was destroyed and only a handful remained,,,designed by W.Alden in 1929
The sakonnet yacht club in Little Compton ,R.I. has the last 12 hulls in existence... last year i found one more ...and so there are now 13 Sakonnet 18's .

Watson

[bamamick]

Information:

Luders 21 class designed by A.E. Luders in 1967 and built in glassfibre by Ron Rawson, Inc. and American Plastics, Inc.. From the numbers on the sail shown you would think that at least 102 of them were built but I couldn't find anything regarding numbers.

They are 21'3" loa, 16' lwl, 5'6" of beam, 3' draft, and weigh 1500 pounds all up with a ballast weight of 435 pounds. They carry 139 square foot of sail on a 3/4 rig, and they do carry a 'chute. The underbody view is of a fin keel with a bulb, with a separate skeg and rudder. Looks kind of like a cross between a Star and a Ray Hunt boat underneath.

Torresen had one for sale in Michigan not too long ago for $2000. That looks like a whole lot of fun for $2000 if it is in good shape. One thing that was odd: in the article that I read it said that the boats came with a wooden deck on a 'glass hull. I wonder if they meant the core was wood? Anyway, there is a Portsmouth number issued for the L21 class and it puts them in the just about the same league as the Rhodes 19. The average number is 95.8, which is not quite as slow as a log floating down the bay here in Mobile, but quite a bit less peppy than a lot of boats of similiar size and weight. When I first saw the photo the thing that sprung to mind was that it would make a comfortable and fun alternative to the Star. Nice looking little boat.

Mickey Lake

[bamamick]

Interesting comparisons. When I first looked at the photos of the L21 I thought 'hmm. A comfortable alternative to the Star'. Comfortable? I am not sure since I have never been on an L21, but the differences in relative speeds surprised me since they have roughly the same numbers going for them, EXCEPT for one vital thing :).

L21 class (1967) Star class (1911)

loa 21'3" / 22'7"
beam 5'6" / 5'7"
draft 3' / 3'3"
displ. 1500 pounds / 1479 pounds
SA 139 sq. ft. (main/jib) / 285 sq. ft.

So there you go. Just on face value these are remarkably similiar numbers until you get to the rig, and good ol' Francis Sweisguth apparently liked to live on the edge a little. Over double the sail area on a very similiar platform? Pretty darn cool, and still going strong 98 years later. And oh yeah, the Portsmouth number on a Star is 83.1!

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

Sweisguth and the changing rigs on the Star class http://www.mycstar.org/Stardust/SWEISGUTH_files/SWEISGUTH.htm
I wasn't aware of the Star connection to the Nahant Dory Club and the American Yacht Club (Rye, NY) where it got its name. The Star class was also sailed on Cape Cod for a period in the 30s and 40s (JFK raced one, http://www.starclass.org/history/kennedy.htm ) but the class collapsed for some reason. Maybe WWII did it.

I like the original rig and coaming, but wonder about the idea of using the same sail interchangeably for both a gaff rig and straight spar:

http://i39.tinypic.com/11m87dk.jpg

[rbgarr]

In the Luders 16 and 21 size and rig range (20+', main and genoa) some around here are promoting the Ensign class. I think the C&C designed Blue Jacket would be a better choice. I'd be tempted to experiment/update it with an Alerion type rig:

http://i43.tinypic.com/10mufiu.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/1puus5.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/33cbrqh.jpg

[bamamick]

It's a bigger boat than the ones mentioned, but if I were trying to promote a class in your neck o' the woods, I would seriously consider doing what they did down in Maryland with the 210's with the jib rig. The logic behind it makes sense (ease of handling) and the 210's are good looking and well performing boats. And there seems to always be a few for sale at reasonable prices.

jmo Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

The folks who would be sailing these boats, (older couples, non-racers for the most part, also wanting the boats for cocktail/afternoon sailabouts) want seating comfort and foredeck room when picking up moorings. AFAIK that's been the complaint about the J22s they have now: not very comfortable, a bit sensitive to weight distribution and inattention, and a narrow foredeck. I'm not sure a 210 has the features sought.

A local fg builder of numerous classes (Dark Harbor 20, Wianno Senior, Interclubs) has a 210 mold. He built one a few years ago and was asking $45K IIRC. I was at his shop yesterday and he still has it. Very nice boat, well molded.

FWIW, here's a list of the way he priced and optioned the Wianno Senior. I'm guessing this was a fleet rate for the class (after the fire of a few years ago that swept through the stored fleet) so the prices may be out of date:
www.wiannosenior.org/newboatpics/03prices1.pdf (http://www.wiannosenior.org/newboatpics/03prices1.pdf)

A short movie of the Senior under construction and sailing: http://www.crosbyyacht.com/movies/WebSenior.mov

A promo video for a DVD about the class: http://www.pearlriver.tv/doc-senior%20w-vid.htm

A synopsis of class info: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Wianno_senior

[bamamick]

Hmm. The 210 guys were saying that you could get that boat (this is Shaw?) for $28K. That would have been a pretty sweet price in today's market, though $45K seems more realistic.

The boats that they took to Gibson's Island were all beaters iirc, and they fixed them up. You can find race-competitive 210's in the mid-teens and beaters a lot less than that, though it's moot if the folks involved are interested in comfort. Comfort and racing rarely go together in my experience, but I agree that a J/22 would be one of the last boats I would pick if that were one of my priorities. That's not a comfortable boat at all, imo.

Mickey Lake

[ron ll]

The "Navy 44s" aka "Annapolis 44s" aka "Luders 44s" aka "Driving School"

http://www.navypaxsail.com/Images/AlertHarborfest.jpg

[rbgarr]

I sailed in one of those yawls during the '71 Kennedy Cup, a college regatta. They were bulletproof. http://www.usna.edu/sailing/races/navy44regs/kennedycup.html

One day of races started out hot and windless. IIRC a team from the South brought one of those surgical-tube-and-funnel water balloon launchers. (It may have been John Dane's winning crew from Tulane.) During the pre-race postponement they were flinging balloons around and one hit the launch that was carrying the Naval Academy judges. Not a popular move, but the Southern boys thought it was hilarious. Fort Sumter redux.

[bamamick]

New Orleans, man. New Orleans is a different kind of cat. And when you think about it, it is kind of funny.

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

Another Luders, 49' loa

http://i44.tinypic.com/34y76zl.jpg

[TimH]

I just saw this boat up there today when I bought my Typhoon. It was right next to it. Some huy from Seattle bought it and he is delivering it tomorrow.

[captain wharf]

I have a Luders 21 #26 that I have been rebuilding for the last 2 years. It has quite a dark back story of capsizing in a storm and drowning one if its ocupants. The foam flotation was comprimised and it sank, leaving it to rest in the mud on its side in 120 feet of water for 10 years. I have all the pictures of it being raised from the botom and my restoring it. I hope to have it in the water by the first week of june of 09. if you want me to send you some pictures email me at satellite.installer@yahoo.com

[bamamick]

Wow! 120' of water. It is amazing that you could bring her up. 120' of water. Wow!

Sad to hear about the drowning. I believe that a lot of injuries have been caused over the years due to the floatation on different boats being compromised. Sad.

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

Here's an article and photos about the raising and restoration of a sunken Shields class sloop in the Winter 2002 issue of the class newsletter. It wasn't on the bottom as many years as your Luders though!! We'd love to hear the story of your labor of love.

http://www.shieldsclass.com/f_Newsletter.htm
http://www.shieldsfleetone.org/Photos/Photos_231_Salvage/231%20salvage.htm

[rbgarr]

Captain Wharf sent along this youtube slide show of his Luders 21: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snf-TyUUg2E&feature=channel

[captain wharf]

Well..."Davy Jones Revenge" was christened and launched on the 30th of may 2009 and after spending all that time on the bottom she (I know.. its a boys name but it fits) floats and sails perfect. Only water in the cabin was from a rain storm the other day....thinking seriously about a cover. I put a "fun o meter" on er and in a good wind she likes to heel about 30 degrees. That IS with spilling air off the main. If I can find anyone other than my wife brave enough to go with us...(extra balast)... she'll sail a little flater and I bet I could break my 6.5 knot record. We spent the night on her last night and yes it's cramped. but it was our 1 year anaversery and we allways wanted to sleep on a boat. Got a vid on you tube of my wife sailing during her maiden voyage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4s0VRkT10E Any questions about the Luders 21 email me satellite.installer@yahoo.com. Happy sailing.