Bolger Sailing Pirogue #637
Description
The Bolger Sailing Pirogue is a very simple, ultra‑shallow‑draft small boat meant to be built easily from plywood and rigged for modest sail, essentially turning a basic pirogue-style paddling hull into a low-powered sailboat. True to Bolger’s “instant boat” philosophy, it uses flat panels, a narrow bottom, and flared sides so that it can be stitched or nailed together quickly with minimal tools and boatbuilding skill, often from just a few sheets of plywood. The sailing version typically carries a small, uncomplicated rig (often with leeboards or a simple centerboard) so it can still be paddled or poled in very skinny water, but also ghost along under sail on lakes, bayous, and other protected waters. It’s intended for one or two people, light gear, and casual exploring rather than speed or offshore work, prioritizing easy construction, light weight, and extreme shoal-water capability over conventional yacht aesthetics or performance.
Construction Details
| Designer | Bolger, Philip C. |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 11.500 ft |
| LOA | 11.500 ft |
| Beam | 2.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
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.