Cargile Cutter Cruisers, Have you seen these?

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ben2go

ben2go

Guru
Joined
May 14, 2012
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USA
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Shipoopi
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derilic sailboat
I was thumbing through some of my old saved emails and came across this WordPress blog about these Cargile Cutter Cruisers. I thought they were interesting enough to mention. It's kind of an oddball but very unique. I'm not sure I like the end result but do like the idea behind them.







https://cargilecutters.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/have-you-seen-this-cargile-cutter/





beautiful-original-cargile-cutter-30.jpg
 
Yes, but it has to be in the top 10 ugliest boats ever...
 
Some don’t know the difference tween ugly and unusual.

Seriously it’s a take off of small cruisers of the 20’s. Don’t remember what they called them ... raised deck cruisers? They almost all had the head in the fore peak. Was a very good layout for a small cruiser. Many of the boats here in the PNW that are called (now) Lake Union Dreamboats. I think the 26 Elco is such a design and we have one here on TF.

And of course they added the flybridge to see where they were going and to add a touch of modernness. It worked. They sold quite a few despite the ugliness or weirdness.
 
I'd buy one in a heart beat if it was the right price... Remove the outdrive and put an outboard on a bracket (beefed up transom. Tour the interior lakes and rivers of the U.S. Half boat, half RV... I wouldn't care that its ugly as sin...
 
Nomad Willy said:
Some don’t know the difference tween ugly and unusual.

Seriously it’s a take off of small cruisers of the 20’s. Don’t remember what they called them ... raised deck cruisers? They almost all had the head in the fore peak. Was a very good layout for a small cruiser. Many of the boats here in the PNW that are called (now) Lake Union Dreamboats. I think the 26 Elco is such a design and we have one here on TF.

And of course they added the flybridge to see where they were going and to add a touch of modernness. It worked. They sold quite a few despite the ugliness or weirdness.
Click to expand...

Maybe Lake Union cruisers? Raised decks fwd... Lake Union Dreamboats too.
 
No. That's just back in the time when people weren't a bunch of wusses.

Unlike today when everyone is full of fear, doubt, and uncertainty.

Back when we celebrated unique accomplishments, instead of criticizing them.
 
NS I hope you’re not criticizing LowNSlow’s link ...... it’s stunning.
 
No. Not at all. I'm the type of guy that celebrates the human spirit.

You don't need a Nordhavn to cross oceans.
 
I thought my first wife was ugly but this is really the worst looking boat I’ve seen, I may have nightmares tonight.
 
Allen Cargile, the boat’s builder had a limited marketing budget, and decided to take the boat from New York to Paris, in hopes the publicity would help him sell lots of boats. It might have worked if he hadn’t sailed up the Seine on the day that Elvis died, and his story was ignored by the mainstream press.
 
tom hudson said:
Allen Cargile, the boat’s builder had a limited marketing budget, and decided to take the boat from New York to Paris, in hopes the publicity would help him sell lots of boats. It might have worked if he hadn’t sailed up the Seine on the day that Elvis died, and his story was ignored by the mainstream press.
Click to expand...

lol, bad stuff you can't prepare for. Kind of a bummer, I think it would have a niche larger than it had..I admire his vision
 
Cargile wanted to design a family weekend cruiser that could be towed behind a full-size station wagon or sedan of the day. It was narrow enough that it didn’t need a wide load permit. It was built in 28’ and 30’ lengths.
 
OK, so it was available in 28’ or 30’ of ugly...
 
Okay, I confess, I own one. "71, LM318, 28'. 600 of them made in the 70's by Alan Cargile in Nashville TN. On the 50th anniversary of the Lindbergh Atlantic flight (1977?) He sailed one across the Atlantic from New York to Paris, unassisted. He had 1400 gals of diesel on board. Amazing story documented in the May 1978 edition of the Ensign magazine. This is a warmer weather boat. No helm in the cabin, only the flying bridge. The cabin is spacious, 8'x14', plus a full head and V-berth forward. Stand up walk through all the way hence the tremendous freeboard forward. I live in Florida. Works for me.
 

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I am sure the Cutter article is very interesting. Alas my eyes cannot read the fine print and I cannot get it to enlarge clearly. POUT

He was proving a point.... 'under the proper circumstance the boat can successfully cross the ocean.'
I doubt if he was recommending others try.

The, then, new small Nordhavn made the trip to Bermuda in the company of a couple other larger Nordhavn and refueled, a little bit, along the way from one of the larger boats, with a pump and a garden hose.
I am guessing the boat is still there because there was never an article about the return trip.
The folks at Nordhavn, who made the trip, did say, it was a voyage to prove the seaworthiness of the design and did make a point, they would not recommend doing it again.
They traveled with the folks from Nordhavn, lots of spare parts and at least one engineer/mechanic from Nordhavn plus at least one electronic guru.

We did have one 25-30 foot fishing boat depart from this marina. They did have one fuel bladder in the cockpit. They were headed to someplace in northern South America. I moved my boat in the marina so I never walk by their slip anymore. I did not know if they planned to come back or just sell the boat at their destination. As I recall, they too had 3 people on board.
 
Last edited:
Bigsfish said:
I thought my first wife was ugly but this is really the worst looking boat I’ve seen, I may have nightmares tonight.
Click to expand...
You married a woman you thought was ugly? :ermm:
 
OldDan1943 said:
I am sure the Cutter article is very interesting. Alas my eyes cannot read the fine print and I cannot get it to enlarge clearly. POUT

He was proving a point.... 'under the proper circumstance the boat can successfully cross the ocean.'
I doubt if he was recommending others try.

The, then, new small Nordhavn made the trip to Bermuda in the company of a couple other larger Nordhavn and refueled, a little bit, along the way from one of the larger boats, with a pump and a garden hose.
I am guessing the boat is still there because there was never an article about the return trip.
The folks at Nordhavn, who made the trip, did say, it was a voyage to prove the seaworthiness of the design and did make a point, they would not recommend doing it again.
They traveled with the folks from Nordhavn, lots of spare parts and at least one engineer/mechanic from Nordhavn plus at least one electronic guru.

We did have one 25-30 foot fishing boat depart from this marina. They did have one fuel bladder in the cockpit. They were headed to someplace in northern South America. I moved my boat in the marina so I never walk by their slip anymore. I did not know if they planned to come back or just sell the boat at their destination. As I recall, they too had 3 people on board.
Click to expand...




The Cutter and her crew was hit with some severe weather and seas. They used a storm droug off the bow while reversing into waves to keep the boat from being rolled. At least that is my understanding from the article.
 
Ben. I married her in the ‘60s while we were both in school (undergraduate) so that should give you a clue. After three years she became fugly. We parted and I went work making $$$, I had to pay her off. :)
 
Bigsfish said:
Ben. I married her in the ‘60s while we were both in school (undergraduate) so that should give you a clue. After three years she became fugly. We parted and I went work making $$$, I had to pay her off. :)
Click to expand...




I see. I nearly had that experience myself. Young and pretty. Then a few years later, what the heck happened? :eek:
 
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