Compared to $100K+ for a new 20-30 foot sailboat, everything is relative! 😅

Good question! A centerboard would take up a bunch of room in the cockpit floor, which is why we used a daggerboard in this boat so we could keep the cockpit open. However, our 17' Jersey Skiff that uses the same hull does have a centerboard -- based on the traditional Jersey Skiff of the 1800s that was a working boat for marine salvage and did a lot of beaching, the centerboard makes a ton of sense there! ghboats.com/our-boats/17-jersey-skiff/

That's what it costs to build a micro-cruiser, realistically. If you want a Scamp you can always build one yourself! The DIY kit with all the materials you'd need runs about $7500 currently, but if you are willing to put in the labor it's a great way to save money. Our sister company Duckworks has everything you'd need, starting with the plywood kit duckworks.com/scamp-cnc-plywood-kit/

@@ghboats thank you

There are some Scamp kit builders who've added a foresail. Check out Southern Cross belonging to Howard Rice, which he used for his expedition through the Strait of Magellan / Southern Ocean - smallcraftadvisor.com/our-blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-14-at-1.30.15-PM.png

Absolutely, three rollers is a really user friendly way to do it since that way you always have two underneath the boat. 👍

Yes, absolutely! The rowing capability is a great feature of this boat. There are two rowing positions, so there will be two pairs of sets of oarlocks built in.

The dreaming is half the fun. :)

We'll keep that in mind! Now that we have the fiberglass shop, assembly shop, and admin office all under one roof, it should be easier to do that than it used to be.

The balanced lug rig is functionally the same as the gaff, very easy and quick to rig and the sail and spar tuck nicely on the boom when you lower the halyard. The balanced lug is the same as on our Scamp, and you can see details in the rigging tutorial here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eLKEjNdmudqad6M.html

Can't comment on the Great Lakes since I've never sailed there, but want to clarify that the Lobster Boat doesn't have a V-shaped keel all the way back. It is a semi-dory hull, so it has a V at the front to cut through chop, but transitions into a flat hull partway down. So it will both plane and give you a flat area to work in or sit nicely on the beach. You can see the underside here in this short update we just posted on the build process: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eLeVdJaeztillHU.html

New vs used. How much is a new 32 foot blue water boat?

@@PRH123 $20,000 is still twice what it should be. And keep in mind that’s the BASE price with zero options. You start adding in basic necessities like keel guards, oars, covers, to say nothing of a dolly and trailer, you can quickly blow past $30,000! For a 12’ dingy! It’s honestly ridiculous.

@@quinncide Agreed, it's absurdly overpriced. It should be well under 10 grand.

Exactly

@@quinncide ​ Respectfully, even when this boat was introduced 10 years ago it cost more than that to build. Equipping a 12' boat with a self-bailing floor, water ballast tank, cuddy storage -- everything that goes into building a larger cruiser goes into building a scaled-down cruiser!

No plans in the works currently for a catboat. You thinking of a cruising cat with a cabin, or open daysailer?

Thanks! We're excited to bring back a family favorite. :)

A lot of folks like to tandem row who either have no intention of overnighting, or want to camp ashore. But there IS enough room for two people to sleep aboard if you make a sleeping platform with the seats. Blog post here showing how that has been done: ghboats.com/2023/10/wild-places-sleeping-aboard-the-salish-voyager/

Good eye! Both boats have a "balanced lug" type rig, which has an unstayed mast and the sail edge forward of the mast rather than being attached to it.

Camp Cruisers/Microcruisers are such a fun little niche, with clever designs. It's always interesting to see how different designers maximize practicality and sailability with limited space.

There's a tent for the cockpit. And I've seen people custom build pilot houses on almost identical boats.

Huh, I've never seen it done but I guess given the right setup it could be possible. Winch sockets nowadays tend to be 11/16" width, considerably wider than 1/2" standard oarlock pin. You might be able to imagineer something to fit the two together by adapting the winch socket, but I don't know of any oarlocks sized for that purpose.

Hmm, this particular boat the 12' Scamp wasn't designed until the 2010s, is there another boat with similar features you're thinking of?

Yes, it is USCG approved for a 2hp motor and there is a motorboard for that purpose.

Didn't have to, that seal is a local resident and we see him almost every time we go for a row out by the lighthouse! 😍