One thing you have to keep in mind is that no one is designing or building what I’d call a VolksCruiser. Take that Pop 25 from the last post as a good example. It starts out with a hull and accommodation that just screams VolksCruiser yet when it comes to the rig it starts getting expensive.
Now, anyone who’s been able to build a hull is more than capable of building a mast and rig to go with it, and armed with Derek Van Loan’s “The Chinese Sailing Rig: Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig” could easily cobble together a more affordable rig or any rig for that matter. Hell, if you don’t like the junk rig just scavenge the rig from a CAL 25 or reasonable facsimile.
Rigs are not rocket science and you’d think that designers designing boats of a frugal nature would not spec out systems that are not inexpensive.
Sure, there are some exceptions like Wharram, Bolger, Brown, or Roberts who design boats that make fiscal sense from A to Z but they are a rare breed.
But yeah a junk rig Pop 25 would make a whole lot of sense…
I always thought the double skin, battens and foam, although a good idea, somewhat labour intensive over a single skin. Depends how paranoid one might be over getting holed bad enough to face a sinking.
The main thing I like about the ply/foam/ply is its insulation. Done right it’s not a lot of extra labor and using a ply like CTBX and Dow Floormate is still within budget.
I cant help but think of the extra 6 coats of epoxy required with the double skin. I would be constantly worry about moisture between the skins. For sure the insulation is a bonus. Im just wondering how the boat would behave in big quatering seas and upwind with that broad flat bottom. I considered it, but moved onto considering a less extreme shape, an Atkin Martha Green skipjack. Chalk n cheese really, need a reliable motor in my location, so made sense to head more in that direction and a wheelhouse extends the sailing season. Sitting in a cockpit getting battered by the weather, even in good oilies, is not as attractive as it was 40 years ago. If i was sensible, one should just buy an Albin 25 MS and be done with it, but making sawdust is still fun.