TOPIC: Luger 1963? please check out need help w ID.

So I'm brand new to this forum and about to get my first boat. I'm young with a family and not too much money but a free launch and dock in the chicago river. This boat is being offered to me as a favor from a family friend for the low price of 300 dollars with everything including a vintage mercury 35 hp, tank, trailer, pads and basically everything one would need ready to go besides a battery. Its 12-14 foot luger I think its all plywood with a very little pleixglass mesh (sorry don't know the term) under the paint job. This thing is so mint and looks like it really spent most of its time in the garage and the motor was stored in heated basement clean and dry with empty original lines and tank.

What model and year is this?

[file/] Is it worth the money? I've heard the motor alone could go for more if things go bad and I want to try and get some mopey back.

How much should I look to have to put into it? No dock fees and I have people who can help me get the motor running free of charge.

I feel like putting it in for the first season with the original paint which looks good before putting any money into it. Is that a bad idea?

Thanks so much for your help. please excuse my ignorance when it comes to boats. my best friend is real handy with boats and has a dock on the river so I won't be going at it all alone. I'm kinda worried taking such a mint boat that an old man took such good care of and the possibility of letting it deteriorate due to lack of funds or time would be a bummer.

thanks again for any info

None of your pictures are showing up so I can't help you with what model boat it is. It sounds like you have a deal of a life time on your hands though. Not every day do you find a wood boat of that age that is a one owner and garage keep original. The only advise I can give you is you will want to continue to keep it stored in a garage when you get it. If it is going to be stored outside with a tarp on it you will ruin it in a couple years or less. As for using the boat right now in the condition its in, I couldn't be sure without pictures, but from your discription it sounds seaworth. The thin layer of mesh on the bottom of the hull would be fiberglass layed over the wood hull to help keep it water tite.

Thanks for the advise. makes sense. I have garage access for the winter so I should be good. I'll try again with the photo but I just put it up on the Facebook page because that is much easier for me.

If you'll setup one of the free photo hosting sites like photobucket, your photos will work. After you upload the photos to photobucket, just copy the IMG address and paste right into the body of your message here.

Luger
Welcome. Sounds like a heck of a sweet package. Do some research on the care of both boat and motor and learn with your family about this great hobby/pasttime. Don't be afraid to ask any and all questions right here. There are about a million years of boating knowledge at your disposal. Hope to see some pics soon.
Neil

thanks Neil Mercaholic. The boat comes with a beautiful merc 35 hp from the 60's thats so clean it looks a week old and even has the manual. Any good tricks on getting a clean engine running that hasn't run in a while but fired up first try a couple years ago then was stored inside with clean lines and tank. whats the gas oil ratio. These are things i can figure out once i get the manual but figured I'd reach out to an experienced mercaholic.

Thanks,

Luges