Bolger's Japanese Beach Cruiser

[Rob Hazard]

Chapter 26 in _Boats with an Open Mind_.

I find myself indulging in whimsical fantasies about this little cruising pram.
Anyone ever built one? How does it handle?

[John Bell]

I've only heard of one in actual use in the UK somewhere. The guy who mentioned that he had it didn't give a lot of details, though.

I like the design a lot, although I'm not crazy about the rig. It's a lot of boat in in 11', that's for sure.

[Memphis Mike]

bump

[Big Red]

Speaking of boats that are a lot of boat for their size: http://www.duckflatwoodenboats.com/designers/oughtred/puffin06.jpg

[Boomkin Joe]

I find myself indulging in whimsical fantasies about this little cruising pram.

Rob,

So am I, reading this. What does the maid look like? A small junk?

[kenjamin]

So it seems that Bolger's Japanese Beach Cruiser design has not been built in the USA? It seems like quite the little ship for 12' of boat. I've been looking for a design that could be built comfortably in my 21' x 21' garage for fun and tiny profit in my old age. I just built a Caledonia Yawl there but it sure wasn't comfortable! Bolger's Japanese Beach Cruiser looks like it could utilize offset twin bilge daggerboards rather than those huge floppy leeboards. And it's just crying out for composite bamboo booms and a composite bamboo boomkin (hmmm... maybe throw in a bamboo bow sprit too – definitely bamboo battens). I wonder if Phil Bolger would give his blessings on such changes. OK, I know the drill. Snail mail forever! I hope he's done with that US Navy project.

That Japanese Beach Cruiser could rate very high on the cuteness scale like that oriental tub boat that tried to steal the show at this year's WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport.
http://ford.physics.fsu.edu/WB21.jpg
Bolger's Beach Cruiser is at least three times the boat this is!!!...maybe four!:rolleyes:

Can I post pictures of Bolger's Japanese Beach Cruiser from his book "Boats with an Open Mind" ? Is that legal???

[Paul Pless]

Have you seen this before?

SandFlea (http://physics.bgsu.edu/~layden/FunStuff/Boats/Matt_Boat/SandFlea2007/sf13.jpg)

Google Everglades Challenge for more...

[kenjamin]

Yes, I saw the Sandflea in the Everglades Challange but didn't know about Bolger's Japanese Beach Cruiser at the time and never saw this view of Sandflea. The lines look very similar. I admire the work of both Matt Layden and Phil Bolger. Matt's Paradox is a very cool boat also – an artillery tank in a boat's clothing. Matt looks like he chose metal hinge type hardware for his more efficient-looking leeboards. I think Bolger's Japanese Cruiser has got great possibilities but I would want Phil Bolger's agreement with any changes. It's a lot more satisfying to make changes that may work better for the owner/builder if the original designer gives the OK to try them. There were times when it seemed like Iain Oughtred was the only one on the planet that was entertained and interested in my storable bird-wing mast for my Caledonia Yawl, Xena. I've got to send him an update on the progress with it.

[ahp]

Why something like that? About 1905 my Dad went beach cruising in an open 21 ft Swampscot dory, with a low aspect rig, across LI Sound, up the North Shore of Long Island, and to Fisher's Island Sound, and back. They camped on the beach. That may not be possible now.

[kenjamin]

Because 21' boats do not fit well in 20' garages,
http://ford.physics.fsu.edu/Xena6199.jpg
and I think there could be a market for a well crafted 12' 6" cruiser that was cute, seaworthy, and nearly unsinkable that can be towed by a 4 cylinder car on a small trailer especially if you can lie down in the thing and take a nap. There might even be a way to store the masts so that they are out of the way for fishing or picnicing. If the masts convert quickly into a frame for a tent, that would be a good thing too.

[Wild Dingo]

Speaking of boats that are a lot of boat for their size: http://www.duckflatwoodenboats.com/designers/oughtred/puffin06.jpg

Tell me thats a Grey Seal in the background???? :eek: can you poke your camera around that bloke in fronts noggin please mate and take a few more shots of the one in the background? Cheers! :cool:

[kenjamin]

Wild Dingo. Aren't you supposed to be out in the shed working on that catamarran? Listen, if you don't like those plans, just send them to me. I liked the way that cat looked. And here you are salivating about some Grey Seal. It's OK. Today I was going through Bolger's Different Boats and there on page 122 was the Swedish Cruiser. I like the part where he says, "An exceptionally able dory is carried on her deck." And what a deck it is! The junk rig on that boat is well proportioned and attractive. Now there's a boat that will take some seas even though it has a shallow draft. But my favorite part is where Bolger says, "The advantage to her looks may also count for something."

[gert]

Tell me thats a Grey Seal in the background????

can't be

strakes are too narrow and that looks to be an open boat; Grey Seal's cockpit is not that large.

[kengrome]

I think there could be a market for a well crafted 12' 6" cruiser that was cute, seaworthy, and nearly unsinkable that can be towed by a 4 cylinder car on a small trailer especially if you can lie down in the thing and take a nap.Aha, you mean like John Welsford's Tread Lightly?

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/treadlightly/tlcolor.jpg


Check this page for the details:

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jw/treadlightly/index.htm

[kenjamin]

kengrome,

I like Tread Lightly very much but she's a heavy little thing compared to Bolger's unballasted Japanese Beach Cruiser. I don't know where TL gets its ballast – steel (off)centerboard or lead pigs but while it makes for a more capable craft, towing her becomes more of a job for a 4 cylinder mini SUV rather than a 4 cylinder car. Since there are so many mini SUV's running around, there's definitely a market for a boat that they could tow and probably most mini SUV owners are in a better position to spend money on a boat than small car owners. Still, I like the JBC for it's ultimate light weight especially if it were sitting on a 150 lb. trailer. Even my Miata could pull it then.

Of Welford's designs, I'm afraid I'm falling in love with Walkabout. It's length and light weight means you can row the thing or move it nicely with an electric troller or Honda's great 2HP air-cooled gas motor. With Walkabout the "cute factor" is gone but it would probably appeal to a much greater market. For a guy looking to build a few boats a year in his garage during retirement (until they threw him out of the neighborhood), the Walkabout would certainly be a good choice. My wife and I really enjoyed sewing the sails for my Caledonia Yawl. If we could offer a Walkabout with sails and it's custom tent, that would be an attractive package – kind of like a low-budget NorseBoat. When I retire, my dream is to do a little boating building, sail sewing, seascape painting, bicycling and singing in my barbershop harmony quartet. I've got four years to figure out how to make it come true.

[boatrat]

How about this? Arcebus, a scaled-up nutshell pram by Greg Lindberg at the 2005 Minnesota Messabout.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9237/dsc01505ed6.th.jpg (http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01505ed6.jpg)

[kenjamin]

Yo boatrat,

Thanks for the post. That's a very interesting picture. Those look like Birdwatcher offspring. Actually I've been headed in the opposite direction as far as a beach cruiser. I'm crafting a letter to Bolger and Friends about making a racer/cruiser out of the Japanese Beach Cruiser. By that I mean absolute light weight, a single NACA cross section oak daggerboard, a kick up NACA cross section oak rudder and a couple of bird-wing masts with a head sail set on a composite/epoxy reinforced bamboo bowsprit. Something with an all up weight of about 200 lbs. if that is possible and still keep the air chambers for safety. I still think the Titanic would not of sunk if it's chambers had been completely sealed off from one another. I've been looking into super light boat trailers and building the world's cutest boat to put on one. I know it's not huge ambition but it keeps me entertained. The drawings for the Japanese Beach Racer/Cruiser I've done in Adobe Illustrator with bird-wing masts and new foils over scans of Bolger's drawings of the Japanese Beach Cruiser look good to me but I've got to get permission from Bolger and Friends to show them on the web.

[lestat]

I've got to get permission from Bolger and Friends to show them on the web.

No you don't. Just check out the Bolger Yahoo Groups.Lots of plans/drawings/modifications shown and no permission asked or required to do so.

[boatrat]

Kenjamin, for a superlight do-it-all trailer, here's a Rack and Roll that comes with car type racks (will take your Yakama or Thules Too) to use with bikes, boats, kayaks( get the long tongue for those) etc. Shown with my 15' 160 lb. Norse pram. Will take, I think ~ 250lbs. Love mine.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/3034/dsc01696jp9.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01696jp9.jpg)

[kenjamin]

Hello lestat,

I guess I should have said I would prefer to wait until I have contacted Bolger and Friends before I go showing changes I would like to make to one of Mr. Bolger's designs. I am very curious how my bird-wing masts would work on a smaller scale than the one I have for my Caledonia Yawl but I would like the support of the designer before going forward with the changes – some of which I would like help with. There is a huge gray area in what can or should not be published on the web. Many times stuff gets published that shouldn't but the owner of an image, for instance, does not have the energy or the money and lawyers to do anything about it. That would probably make an interesting thread if it doesn't exist already.

[Steve Paskey]

Kenjamin ... Paul Fisher has something similar to the Japanese Beach Cruiser that might come within that 200 lb weight limit you're aiming at. It's a variation on his Skylark 14 sailing pram ... it isn't shown on his web site, but I know it's available because I commissioned it and have the plans.

The Skylark 14 is a bit longer and narrower than the JBC -- 14' long by 4'10" wide, versus 12-1/2' long by 5-1/2' wide for the JBC. She has 3 panels per side versus 4 on the JBC. (Paul's web site shows the two-panel version of the Skylark.) Construction is stitch and glue, which should be lighter than the stringers used on the JBC. (Additional weight would be saved because the Skylark is not as deep as the JBC.)

The interior has been outfitted similar to the JBC or one of Jim Michalak's beach cruisers. There's a 7-foot cockpit for sitting and sleeping, with benches on the sides and watertight storage compartments both fore and aft. Paul's plans show details for either a leeboard or an off-center centerboard located in the side of one seat. (It would be easy enough to do an off-center daggerboard instead.

The designed rig is a cat-yawl with a balanced lug main, similar to Tread Lightly.

I think she'd make a nice little boat if I ever get around to building her. If you want more details, feel free to contact me (or Paul).

[kenjamin]

Thanks Steve for the heads up on the similar boat. My problem is that I have been a huge Bolger fan for years and I'm very curious to find out his opinion of my bird-wing masts. I know some would say that if I'm such a big fan of his "why not build it just as he designed it???" I am hopeful that Mr. Bolger is as curious about the application of my bird-masts to his Japanese Beach Cruiser as I am. It certainly won't hurt to ask. I've built an "instant boat" before but nothing I could call a Bolger design. After meeting Mr. Bolger at the Mystic Seaport WoodenBoat Show, I would like to work with him if I could. From reading his books he seems like he is open to his client's design desires as long as it can be safely done. But thanks for the backup action plan.