THE LUGER SAILBOAT MOORING - SERVING LUGER OWNERS AND THE WEB SINCE 1999 AT HOME PORT WWW.LUGERBOATS.COM

A research paper written for The Luger Sailboat Mooring by J. Rilling Johnston

Information contained on this webpage was gathered from many Luger catalogs as well as discussions with Mr. Ren Luger, President and co-founder of Luger Industries.  The preceding research article hopes to de-mystify the confusion caused by the recycling of some Luger sailboat model names.  This article demonstrates how some models and model lengths shared names and changes over the years while Luger Industries adapted model production and marketing to meet the public's changing taste in features - and to remain up-to-date with improvements in sailboat design within the marine industry. 

In 1964, the Windward (left) and Leeward (right) were the two 16-foot sailboats offered to customers.   

Model choice was based on a preference in deck and seating/cockpit arrangement.  The hull, rigging and sails were identical in both the Windward and Leeward models.

Note: By 1966 (two years later), the Windward name will be used to describe a different length and style of sailboat.

In 1966, five sailboats were listed:   14' Flying Cloud "skimmer-design" (first introduced in 1961), 16' Leeward sloop, 20' Windward sloop, and two 26' sailboats - the West Wind sloop and the Trade Winds dual-cabin sloop.

Important notes:

- The 16' Windward (previously featured in the '64 catalog) has been dropped from
        production, and the Leeward becomes Luger's only 16' model. 
-  The model name "Windward" is now used to describe Luger's new 20'  fin keel sloop.
-  Luger has listed two 26' sailboats:  West Wind and Trade Winds.  Both models used
        the same hull and sail plan - their only difference was in appearance of the
        superstructure and deck, cockpit and cabin arrangement.

FYI:  "West Wind" and "Trade Winds" sailboats used factory molded fiberglass decks (supplied in 2 sections and joined down the center at time of assembly).  Cabin tops were fiberglass, but solid mahogany was used for the cabin sides, rails and trim.  Colors were molded-in:  Sides, decks and cabin tops were white, and the hull bottom was cocoa brown.  The sailboat's fin keel was steel with cast iron ballast, and the rudder was also described as being steel.

In 1968's catalog, only two sailboats were listed:
          14' Flying Cloud  and the  16' Leeward

Important notes:
- Two years earlier, Luger listed five sailboats.  Now, two years later,
        both of the 26-foot sailboats (Trade Winds and West Wind) are no
        longer included in the catalog - but both model names will resurface
        at later dates.
- Luger will not introduce 26' sailboats again until the mid-seventies,
        and the "Trade Wind" name will be shortened to "Tradewinds".
-  In another two years, the name "West Wind" will be shortened to
        a single word, "Westwind", and will become the name given to
        Luger's new  20' centerboard sailboat.
- The 20' Windward is also missing from the 1968 catalog.

14' Flying Cloud

The 1970 catalog boasted six sailboats:
      20' centerboard Westwind
      20' fixed keel Southwind
      16' cuddy cabin Leeward
      15' sloop rigged Zephyr
      15' lanteen rigged Scamper (similar to Sunfish)
      14' skimmer-designed Flying Cloud

Important Notes: 
  - Both a Southwind and a Westwind model are listed as 20-footers:
          1)  Westwind employed a retracting centerboard; and the
          2)  Southwind had a fixed fin keel. 
  - In another nine years (1979),  the name "Southwind" will refer to
          Luger's 21' swing keel sailboat.
  - The name "Zephyr" is attached to a 15' Sunfish-style sailboat.  At the
          same time, Luger also produced The Scamper, which used the
          same hull as the Zephyr, but had Sunfish's familiar lanteen rig
          (same sail plan as the Flying Cloud).
  -  In twelve more years (1982), the name "Zephyr" will be associated
          with Luger's 11-foot "Multi-Purpose" Mini-Sailer" dinghy.

1970's catalog cover featured
Luger's 20' sailboat, the Southwind, offered in
either a centerboard or
fixed keel design.

The 1974 and 1975 catalogs described only two sailboats:

The Windward:
Ten years previous, the name "Windward" had been associated with a 16' sloop with deck seating.  In the mid-70s that 16' model is no longer in production, but the Windward name is now used in the 1974 catalog to describe, "Luger's 21' Sailing Sloop" (assembled with a choice of retracting centerboard, or ballasted swing, or fixed fin keel).
The Leeward:
This 16' sailing sloop, with a cuddy cabin design, arrived in 10 separate molded fiberglass parts.  Introduced in the 1960s with The Windward, it has survived as the 16' model of choice.  After a decade, the 16' Leeward has established itself as Luger's most popular and enduring sailboat model.

The 1975 catalog showcases the Windward sailing sloop on the cover, with the Leeward
shown in the inset.

In the four years between their '75 and '79 catalog,
Luger tripled the number of listed sailboats:
      16' Leeward
      21' Southwind
      26' Tradewinds
      30' Voyager Sloop
      30' Voyager Ketch (pictured on cover)

Contained within the 1976 catalog was a separate single-page flier from the Luger company.  It stated that Luger's 21' Windward model would now be called the Southwind - and that the multi-piece hull design (pictured below, on the left) had been improved and would be constructed in only two sections. The name change to "Southwind" would reflect this new hull construction (pictured below, on right) - although outward appearance would be nearly the same. (Only a few cosmetic differences - mostly made to accommodate the mold and hull-making process.)

Luger pictured, described and offered BOTH the Windward and Southwind models in their 1977 catalog.  (Author comment: It is assumed this was because Windward hull inventory was still available for shipping, but was no longer in production.)   The Windward was described as including "...the fiberglass hull bottom, hull sides, the transom, cockpit, bulkhead, cabin top and hatches."  The 1977 catalog referred to the 21' Southwind's new "Unitized Construction" - and the catalog described it further: "Luger's unitized design - with the hull and superstructure joined at the factory - makes completion of the Southwind a snap."

< 1974 

1981 >

Important note:  In earlier years the term "Southwind" refered to Luger's 20-foot  fixed keel sailboat.  By 1976/77, however,  "Southwind" referred to Luger's 21' Compact Cruiser/Racer with choice of centerboard or swing keel systems.

In their 1981 catalog, Luger expanded sailboat listings to include:

11' Zephyr - Sailing Dinghy
12' Surfrider - Windsurfing Board
16' Leeward
16' Seabreeze
21' Southwind

26' Tradewinds
27' Fairwinds
30' Voyager Sloop
30' Voyager Ketch (pictured on cover)
30' Aventurer

Important Notes:

- The name "Zephyr" is now associated with a multi-purpose 12' sailing dinghy. 
   In 1970 (eleven years earlier) the name was attached to a 15' Sunfish-style
   sailboat with a sloop rig. 

- The addition of a second 16' model:  Seabreeze
   The Seabreeze utilized the same hull as the Leeward, but used a different
   deck design to include an enclosed cabin arrangement. 

- The inclusion of the 12' Surfrider - a sailboard (windsurfer) model.  Because of an
   industry-wide legal/patent issue regarding a mast piece, the Surfrider sailboard
   will be discontinued, and none are sold.

Just as an bit of FYI"  The 16' Leeward perfectly demonstrates "Model Evolution" as a result of the industry's improvements in fiberglass component production.  The Leeward's design remained very much the same over its many years of production - from the early 1960's through 1987.  It did, however, change in its assembly and component parts over those years. 

In 1966, Leeward's hull was furnished in three separate fiberglass sections: 1) the lower hull, 2) the upper hull and deck, and
3) the cabin. 
The lower hull was reinforced with factory pre-cut interlocking marine plywood reinforcing members.

This 1970 Leeward was shipped as 10 separate fiberglass pieces:  Lower hull, two sides, transom, two bench seats, deck, 2-piece centerboard well and cabin.

By 1979, advances in fiberglass methods eventually reduced the number of fiberglass components to only four:  Hull, deck (with cabin, bench seats and tabernacle as a one-piece unit), and the two-piece centerboard well.

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