More than 60 years ago, in 1945, yacht designer Bill Garden put pen to paper and came up with June Bug, a 17’ 8” LOA Cat Schooner for the amateur builder. Construction is plywood over sawn frames and a sweeter profile double ended sail cruiser would be hard to find. June Bug has endured these many years and even a few modified versions have been built. Witness boatbuilder Bob Peterson’s day sail version.
Peterson describes (in the publication Lines & Offsets Number 34, 1982) Bufflehead as a modified June Bug with the elimination of the raised deck cabin Peterson substituted a recessed deck below the sheer and around the boat with the ability to seat up to 8 adults. With the lower center of gravity only 200 Lbs. of ballast was needed. He eliminated the keel and added a centerboard thus allowing Bufflehead to dry out with her flat bottom on the hard of Willapa Bay on Puget Sound. Peterson changed the rig from Schooner to gaff with a jib, keeping the same square footage of sail. All in all a most handy day boat.
Bill Garden produced a larger version of June Bug named BOAT and it is listed at WoodenBoat Store design catalog as #130. Again the construction is plywood over sawn frame. Boat’s Particulars: LOA 19’, LWL 17’ 4”, Beam 7’, Draft 2’ 4”, Displ. 2,384 Lbs., Sail Area 210 sq. ft.
But June Bug has the most charm for that camp out getaway with it’s low water tight cabin, wood stove in the forepeak, sheltered cockpit and spiffy Cat Schooner sail rig with a few lines to pull.. Below is Mr. Garden’s suggested modifications – in his own hand – giving June Bug a bit more spirit on all points of sail. “Add to Hoist” Garden has raised the main mast by what appears to be about 3 feet and increased the Cat Gaff by a third adding moiré overall sail area. “Bottom paint to here “ Garden has raised the boot top to accommodate the settling of June Bug “Deeper keel – 400# of lead on it would be good” Note the changed keel shape as well. “Sharper bow” Here Mr. Garden suggests pinching the bottom chine to s finer entry shape which can also be seen in the bow cutaway drawing. His last suggestion: “Use air cooled Briggs or Wisconsin” for the inboard motor… What no more water cooled one lungers…? For the past 30+ years Bill Garden has lived on an island near Sidney BC Canada called Toad’s Landing and still commutes for groceries in his 25’ motor launch Merlin powered by a slow turning (210 rpm) 3-cylinder Vivian engine. Acknowledgement: Garden sketches below from the correspondence of Mr. Bob Simmons. Attachment: JuneBug.gif (Downloaded 170 times)
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