Bolger Oldshoe
Description
The Old Shoe (often stylized as Oldshoe) is a compact, 11'6" plywood daysailer and camp-cruiser designed by Phil Bolger in the 1980s. Named for its "comfortable as an old shoe" feel, it reflects Bolger's signature approach to affordable, amateur-built boats that prioritize practicality, stability, and joy on the water. With a ballasted keel for self-righting capability and a cat-yawl rig for easy handling, it's ideal for solo or family outings in protected waters, blending the portability of a dinghy with cruiser-like coziness. It's part of Bolger's broader "small boat revolution," emphasizing simple plywood construction over fancy fittings.
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | LEG-O-MUTTON |
|---|---|
| Luff | 16 ft - (4877 mm) |
| Foot | 9.167 ft - (2794 mm) |
| Leech | 16.77 ft - (5111 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 78.3 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 16.75 ft - (5105 mm) |
| Head (Inches) | 2 |
| Area | * 73.2 ft² |
| Sail Type | LEG-O-MUTTON |
|---|---|
| Luff | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Foot | 4.58 ft - (1396 mm) |
| Leech | * 8.75 ft - (2667 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 78.7 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | 8.83 ft - (2691 mm) |
| Head (Inches) | 1.5 |
| Area | * 19.51 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.