Boat Profile
The Wittholz Catboat
A classic adapted for plywood
From Issue Small Boats Annual 2022 February 2021
T he catboat is a beamy, monohulled sailboat descended from a line of working watercraft. No one is sure of the origin of the name “catboat.” Some said the boat was as fleet as a cat. Or, the name might have been inspired by dock cats that greeted returning fishermen. Catboats fished, hauled freight, and ferried passengers along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard as early as 1850. Their spiritual home is Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where generations of the Crosby family built catboats, determining their shapes with hand-carved models.
The beam of a catboat is typically half its length. Such generous beam afforded room for a fisherman to work. A single mast, stepped far forward, has a forestay but generally no shrouds. The rig is a single sail, often a gaffer. Fishermen made headroom by furling the rig then hiking it high overhead with one of the halyards. Because catboats worked in shallow waters, most have shoal draft and a centerboard. Catboats have a characteristic barn-door rudder, hung proud of the stern and steered with a tiller.
Working watermen eventually adopted steam and gasoline. But a new kind of sailor, the pleasure boater, adopted the catboat, which retains a loyal following to this day.
Naval architect Charles W. Wittholz of Silver Spring, Maryland, designed boats ranging from 11’ dinghies to 85′ replica ships. In his career, Wittholz designed several catboats, but it was the 17-footer that he himself sailed on the Potomac River. Built in 1967, he named his boat GOOD OMEN and sailed her for more than 20 years.
The keel version of the Wittholz 17 catboat has its greatest draft 13-1/2′ back from the stem, so it can be brought fairly close to shore. The bundled boom and gaff have been hiked up by the peak halyard to provide more headroom in the cockpit.
T he plans for the 17′ 1″ plywood catboat include 11 sheets with good construction detail: materials, dimensions, fastening schedules, notes, and comments. Several alternatives are included: self-bailer instead of deep cockpit, lead-ballasted full keel instead of a centerboard, open cockpit instead of a cabin, gaff or marconi sailing rig, optional anchor-handling bowsprit, and an optional inboard engine. The plans date to the early 1960s, so some of the suppliers mentioned have long been out of business.
The Wittholz 17 requires lofting from the plan’s offsets. Drawing the body plan (the end-on view) requires a 6′ x 10′ drawing surface and is critical to loft accurately as it provides the full-sized patterns for the frames. The 6′ x 6′ side-view lofting of the stem provides patterns for the stem/forefoot assembly. The lofting for this catboat is not complicated; Greg Rössel’s book, Building Small Boats , covers lofting nicely.
Hull construction is straightforward: assemble the oak stem, the 1/2″ plywood transom, and the nine frames of mahogany or oak with 1/2″ plywood gussets. Set those elements on a level building jig, upside down, with the frames 22″ apart. Fit the mahogany or fir sheer stringers and chines, and the mahogany keelson to the frames.
The hull sides and bottom are 3/8″ plywood. The plans suggest a layer of fiberglass cloth on the ply for extra durability. I know from personal experience that if you get the catboat sideways to the wind and ram the dock, you can crack some plywood along the sides. The most vulnerable areas are between the frames forward of amidships, aft of the forward bulkhead. I suggest adding oak blocking between frames about 12″ above the waterline and heavy-duty fiberglass-epoxy on the inside of the plywood in these areas.
In my experience, fir and Aquatek plywoods check and crack if painted only, so they must be covered on both sides with fiberglass cloth set in epoxy. If you do cover plywood in fiberglass, do it after cutting pieces to shape, before installation, while they are still flat. This is so much easier than fiberglassing an assembled boat. High-quality okoume plywood is nice stuff: no voids, many plies. Okoume, when used for parts of the boat other than the hull, benefits from a barrier coat of unthickened epoxy on both sides, but it does not require fiberglass cloth.
This boat will always have a little water in the deepest part of the bilge. Seal this area with several coats of epoxy resin.
Get the sides from 5′ x 20′ panels (two sheets 5′ x 10′ scarfed). Attach the sides first. Get the bottoms from 4′ x 20′ panels (4′ x 8′ sheets scarfed). The bottom panels overlap the side panels most of the way then transition to a butt seam forward. Fit the keel to the keelson before turning the hull over.
T he sail plans include both marconi and gaff rigs. The gaff-rig mast I built is solid spruce: 5-1/4″ in diameter, 25′ long. The gaffer requires a single forestay but no shrouds. The hardware called out in the plans is all from Merriman Yacht Specialties, a company no longer in business. Most parts have readily available equivalents, but if gooseneck hardware is hard to find, try wooden jaws. See William Garden’s article, “The Right Jaws for your Gaff and Boom,” in WoodenBoat No.59 .
The gaff rig’s solid mast is too heavy and awkward to step handling it solely from the foredeck. Lacking a crane, it requires a person on a low bridge or atop a neighboring houseboat to steady the mast while a crew of two lifts/lowers on deck. Spare halyards from two neighboring sloops would also work to step this mast.
Those wanting a trailer-sailer will look to the marconi rig then make modifications for folding. The builder will have to design the modifications, because the plans say nothing about folding. The marconi mast is a 5-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ hollow rectangle, 32′ 3″ long. This mast requires a forestay and two shrouds that belay aft of the mast partner.
The gaff rig peaks up higher than is usual for a center of effort similar to the marconi. Build either sail with two sets of reefpoints as shown on the plans. The second reefpoint has a calming effect in 40-knot winds.
The optional bowsprit is not for a jib, as a jib of any kind would unbalance the boat. The bowsprit is for anchor handling, equipped with a chock to guide the chain and rode.
The Wittholz catboat has a centerboard, as catboats commonly do. Draft with centerboard up is 21″, down 4′ 3″. The centerboard case is 6′ long, most of it in the cabin, with 19″ extending aft into the cockpit. The centerboard itself is 3/8″ galvanized steel. There are 500 lbs of movable ballast in the form of lead pigs under the cabin and cockpit floorboards.
The trailer for this keelboat version of the catboat is fitted with screw pads to steady the hull while the weight of the boat is supported beneath the keel. The centerboard version could slide onto a trailer equipped with bunks.
The plans include an option for a full ballast keel, as seen in the catboat pictured here. The draft of the full-keel version is 28″. The builder must make a mold to pour 600 lbs of lead shaped to fair with the deadwood in the keel. The mold requires lofting, too; refer to the Bud McIntosh book, How to Build a Wooden Boat , for a simple explanation.
Either model weighs about 2,200 lbs, including the ballast. The trailer for it could be a bunkboard arrangement, but a trailer with boat stands is better. When trailering, the boat must rest on its keel, not its garboards.
With the tiller swung to port, there’s room for the stove when the cockpit is pressed into service as the galley. The plans call for an engine box, which would occupy the center of the cockpit. A transom-mounted outboard motor frees up that space for the crew.
T he cockpit is seriously spacious. Sloop sailors often walk by and exclaim, “Look at all that room!” The cockpit can easily accommodate six people. The seats have a comfortable slope, and the coamings are tilted as backrests should be. The footwell is deep but not self-bailing. Water will sump to the deepest part of the bilge where a reliable pump awaits. For a self-bailing cockpit, see the plans; there is a sheet for that. The high sheer up forward keeps the cockpit dry in most conditions.
At anchor, it is a fine thing to hike up the sailing rig for standing headroom in the cockpit. On the gaffer, do this by furling the sail, lashing boom to gaff, and hauling on the peak halyard. For the marconi rig, modify the wire topping lift. Its upper end is fixed to the top of the mast, so modify the bottom end with 1/4″ rope, blocks, and a cleat on the boom to adjust it.
The plans for the cabin include two berths and cabinets aft of them, one equipped with a sink, the other a two-burner stove. The keelboat version, seen here, leaves the space between the berths unobstructed by a centerboard trunk.
In the cabin, there is sitting headroom on berths port and starboard. The two lockers amidships are sure to be customized by the builder. At anchor, a Coleman stove works well in the cockpit aft, so the two-burner alcohol stove in the cabin shown in the plans may not be required. The drawings show a head up forward, but it flushes straight into the sea. Better find a place for a porta-potty, either forward or perhaps amidships port or starboard. When it comes to building the cabin, How to Build a Wooden Boat is again a good companion to the plans.
The plans show where to fit a small inboard engine, but a 5-hp, four-stroke, long-shaft outboard motor serves well as an auxiliary. The plans also show an option for stowing an outboard under a hatch set in the cockpit floor. On smooth water, the outboard will push the boat at 6 knots. Mount the outboard to a bracket on the transom, but keep it clear of the big rudder. Add framing in the transom for attaching the bracket to the boat. The bracket should be adjustable up and down to keep the propeller in the right amount of water, no matter where the passengers are. Most 5-hp outboards come with a propeller suitable for light craft or inflatable dinghies. For a boat of this size and weight, select a propeller with less pitch so that engine rpms are high enough to avoid lugging the engine.
The 220-sq-ft sail here is held to the mast by hoops and lashed to the gaff and boom. The plans not using sail track along the boom.
I n good conditions, expect this boat to sail to windward at 45 degrees off the wind. A sloop, with its two sails and narrower beam, might sail closer, but the catboat sailor specializes in his one mainsail and strives to get the most from it. The peak and throat halyards of the gaff rig provide control over sail shape. A three-part boom outhaul for either rig is useful to control the belly of the sail. The position of the crew greatly affects overall trim. Move crew aft or to windward to reduce weather helm, something catboats have in abundance. On this boat in particular, moving crew leeward can help push the hard chine underwater, so the side acts like a leeboard.
It is best not to oversheet a catboat. When hauled hard, the boom should be over the stern quarter of the boat. Hauled any harder, the boat slows down and crabs to leeward. Best to let out the sheet, find the wind, then adjust by looking for the sweet spot. On gusty days, do not cleat off the sheet; instead, wrap just enough turns around so it will slip when hit by a strong gust. On a reach, 15 knots of wind will move this boat at 6 knots. In stronger winds, reef the sail to match, preferably sooner than later.
At the helm, keep the tiller in one hand and the sheet in the other. One can sense immediately how the combination affects boat speed and trim.
Monte Copeland grew up in a lumberyard along the Ohio River, but never connected wood with water until after moving to Austin, Texas. Now retired from computer programming, Monte and his wife Sheila sail on Lake Travis. In his shop is an old Shellback dinghy getting ready for new paint.
Wittholz Catboat Particulars
Length/17′ 1″
Load waterline/16′ 6.6″
Beam/7′ 9.5″
Centerboarder draft, hull/21″
Centerboarder draft, board down/4′ 3″
Keelboat draft/28″
Displacement/3,080 lbs
Gaff sail area/220 sq ft
Thanks to reader Dick Lafferty for suggesting we review the Wittholz catboat—Ed.
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Comments (18)
Thank you very much for this article. I’ve built 2 wooden boats so far, one clinker and one stitch-and -glue plywood. I’ve looked many times at the lines of the Wittholz 17 and admired her beauty. You’ve brought her to life for me and provided a lot of food for thought.
Cheers, -Dick-
Mr Wittholz knew how to make a graceful boat! My first new boat, purchased in 1967, was a Chrysler Marine Lone Star 13. I had owned a $300 Philip Rhodes Penguin for just a month and sailed on White Rock Lake in Dallas. I quickly fell in love with the Lone Star 13s. What hooked me were two things: 1) their graceful, perfectly drawn sheer, and 2) the curling bow wave that the hollow in their forward section formed. I was sailing the Penguin one day when an LS13 came alongside and the skipper told me he had a customer who was looking for a Penguin and asked if I’d be interested in trading mine for an LS13. I (foolishly) assumed he meant a straight-up trade and gave him my phone number. He called that night and offered me $300 for the Penguin, but also offered to help me finance the LS for $30/month. I took him up on it and my only regret is that I didn’t keep that little Lone Star.
Great article. The Wittholz 17 has been on the top of my “someday” projects for a long time.
Re Fiberglassing flat plywood panels. Be aware that plywood with fiberglass is a lot stiffer than a bare piece of plywood. Some designs feature significant conical development and a fiberglassed panel will resist the conical bend. If you find yourself with this problem, the only solution is to remove the fiberglass with a heat gun, install the panel, and then fiberglass in place.
A lot of amateur boatbuilding is figuring out how to correct mistakes!
You raise a good point about flexibility of a fiberglassed panel. Other drawbacks to applying fiberglass to panels before use are that you miss the opportunity to span seams for reenforcement and cutting and planning the edges is hard on tools.
It’s with great interest that I read the article on the Charles Wittholz 17-1/2′ catboat. I own a fiberglass version of this boat, built in 1974 by Cape Cod Shipbuilding, in Wareham, Massachusetts, in 1974. Sailing the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia is beautiful, but demanding territory for a small craft, but this design is totally up to the task! In the four years I’ve owned this boat, I’ve come to trust its ability to handle open water, and its ability to gunkhole in and around bays and islands, with its shoal draft, and retractable centerboard. My boat has the original gaff-rigged mainsail, with two sets of reef points. I have rigged single-line reefing system, as I single hand the boat, and led the lines back to the cockpit. I have added a boom gallows in place of the removable boom crutch. This also allows for tackle to be rigged to help raise and lower the 6-hp four-stroke outboard on its folding bracket. Other upgrades include cabin-top hatch for ventilation, bulkhead-mounted compass, and marine head. Planned future upgrades include installation of a tabernacle to enhance the trailer-ability of the boat. I would love to hear from readers with plans/photos of how to do this. I would encourage your readers to consider this time-proven design, as a salty, capable, pocket cruiser that’s well worth the time and effort to build!
I live in Portland Oregon, turned 80 in November and own a 17ft. Whitholz/Herman Cat. It needs some small attention anyone wanting to share information or look at my little project feel free to contact me*. Just read the article about Whitholz. I just saw the photo of Sandy Shaffer’s boat in your magazine and it would be nice to talk to her.
*Leave a comment here. We’ll forward it. —Ed.
Patrick- I’m just now seeing your reply, almost 3 years later! Please feel free to reach out to me so we can compare notes. I would enjoy knowing more about your experiences sailing in PDX We’re in Eugene and sail at Fern Ridge Resevoir. Cheers!
The article about the Wittholz 17′ Catboat naturally interested me. In my opinion, it is the best looking and most useful of any 17’ boat I have ever seen. It is just good to look at; Wittholz had the nautical eye. To achieve a good-looking boat in something so short and squatty is a miracle. It is the mark of a real artist. I think his little 17-footer answers all of the desiderata. And for me, it even satisfies my love of engines, in having an inboard diesel. But it is also my eye that is pleased. I love the perfection of his retroussé bow. It is just right. I met Charles W. Wittholz. He was unpretentious, just a boat guy who had great talent. Conversation was easy with him. My buddy Tony used to have a catalog of his steel boat plans. Sadly, Tony threw that catalog away. I wish I had it. The catboat would not have been included in those plans. And because I had seen that catalog long before I had seen my own catboat and long before I met Wittholz, I associated him with steel yachts. Tony loved his 42’ketch. He thought of building it or having it built by Dennis Schreiber. We were visiting Schreiber in St. Augustine at the time when Wittholz just happened to stop by to talk with Schreiber, who was building one of his steel boat designs at that time. Wittholz was a normal-sized man, wearing shorts and just a plain short sleeved shirt and looking like an everyday guy. He wore glasses. His hair was dirty blond. You could see how much he loved boats in every word he said. He quizzed Shreiber on whether his plans needed any reworking. He asked questions on some technical issues of construction. What was obvious is that Wittholz not only wanted his plans to produce a beautiful boat, he wanted the technicalities of construction to be good. Strength, convenience, maintainability, and practicality of construction, were all concerns of his. You could see he did not approach boat designing casually. The very construction of the boat was a matter of importance. I can’t remember for sure, but it is possible that Schreiber told him of some small little tricks he had come up with to deal with a special aspect of the construction. Working with steel, of course, is a lot different than working with wood. And oddly, many of Wittholz’s designs could be built out of wood as well as steel. For example, my friend Tony has both the wood plans and the steel plans for Wittholz’s 42-footer Cutter/Ketch yacht. This babe is everything a man could want in a yacht. It was Wittholz’s answer to the SPRAY. Want to sail the Magellan Strait? It could do it. Until meeting Wittholz, I had always imagined a naval architect as being a very formal man, on the order of Phillip Rhodes or Nat Herreshoff. But in Wittholz, I was seeing a man who could be out there in the boat yard painting his boat. But once he started to talk, you knew you were dealing with the real thing. Surely, he is among the truly talented boat designers. I do value it highly that I met Charles W. Wittholz.
Great advice about reefing. Sailing a Herreshoff America 18 in Florida’s intracoastal, I would take in one reef before leaving the somewhat sheltered dock and shake it out when I reached open water if the breeze was light. That was much easier, single handed, than the other way around.
A beautiful boat, a true pocket cruiser. Excellent write up. I, too, have pored over the plans for many an hour; now, if we did not already own two catboats….
I would offer this as a possible approach to hinging your mast: you may wish to read Dave McCulloch’s article in which he uses three 1/4” SS plates with bolts and pins on his 4” diameter Marsh Cat mast. He has a similar system on his Kingston Lobsterboat. See WoodenBoat #237 M/A 2014 page 38 “A Simple In-Mast Hinge.” Note that he added side stays. I have seen his installation; it is clean and neat. He brought the boat to a Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival to much acclaim. You may wish to check with David regarding plate size for taller masts. I have a set of plates all cut out but can’t bring myself to saw my mast in half. Bill Rutherford CACTUS WREN
Could Bill Rutherford put me on to Bill McCulloch? I am building a Marsh Cat and plan to use a tabernacle for the mast. After much noodling, l’ve reinforced the deck from underneath using a piece of an old 4″D bird’s-mouth mast perched on the oak mast step and an oak deck pad. The tabernacle design is still in the works. Cheers, Robert Hale PS: I cruised on a steel Wittholz Departure 35 from Guatemala to Gulfport, Miss. Good sea boat.
I recently got an early Ted Herman version of the Wittholz 17, with the Marconi rig.
I recently restored my ’71 Herman 17 with a Marconi rig. I’m concerned with the mast bend I get in the upper portion at the diamond shrouds when close hauled under full sail. Being a sloop sailer for years, I am not familiar with tuning this setup. Diamand shrouds are not adjustable but possibly have stretched?
I am in the process of buying a 1973 Wittholz/Cape Cod Shipbuilding Catboat, so Monte Copeland’s article is very valuable. As a fellow Austinite, I would love to meet or speak with him.
Chris, I always look forward to the 1st of each month and the new issue of Small Boats Magazine . The ARCHIVE feature is an incredible bonus, especially for those of us of a “certain age,” since we can read again those articles of a few years back that seem as new as the latest issue!
I’m looking to build the 14′ or 17′ Wittholz cat boat and wondering what would be involved in using cedar strip and instead of plywood to get the rounded lines?
I built a Wittholz 17′ cat at around the same time as Monte Copeland and have been sailing it in Belfast Lough (the original one in Northern Ireland) for some 14 years now. I was able to exchange a few emails with Monte at the time we were building, which helped a lot to encourage me to keep going! I also had great advice from Dan Whiteneck who was building one near Boston, but I have unfortunately lost touch with him. The boat attracts admiring looks and compliments from all who see her and has become part of my life. Looking forward now to the summer for leisurely and surprisingly quick sailing in my unique Wittholz cat.
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What’s in a Rig? Cat Rig
By: Pat Reynolds Sailboat Rigs , Sailboats
What’s in a Rig Series # 7 – The Cat Rig
Typically speaking, a cat rig is a single mast situated well forward, near the bow, which carries a large single sail and has no standing rigging, sometimes referred to as “unstayed.” An Optimist, Laser or Sabot are common (smaller) examples of a cat rig, but many bigger boats utilize the set-up.
As we’ve established in other What’s in a Rig articles, rig choice is always subjective. Most folks go for the popular Marconi (or Bermuda) sloop rig, but others like to be a bit different and work with less standard arrangements. The thinking behind choosing a cat rig as apposed to a yawl for instance, is probably rooted in more practicality than romance. Take it east yawl sailors, we know we know, they are more stable, and have advantages for long range cruising. Maybe, but we also know you like the way they look! Cat rigs, on the other hand, are truly simple to sail and manage. With one large sail and no rigging, a cat rig is up and running in moments and they can be single-handed quite easily. There is also considerable savings not having to maintain, tune or replace expensive rigs. And yet another benefit of the cat rig design on bigger boats is the amount of salon space they deliver. With a mast placed so far forward, the cabins are often very roomy.
So what’s the downside? Well, you’ve heard this tune before: upwind performance. There’s a reason why the common sloop rig is so incredibly popular. Some may say it’s because racing has such a powerful influence on the market, but the truth probably more accurately revolves around the fact that sloops are simple to sail and just go upwind so very well. There are modern cat rig designs like Wylie boats that have innovations (the wishbone boom) that address the upwind limitation, but most classic cat rigs suffer in the upwind department. However they do not suffer if fast efficient tacking and comfortable downwind running is your bag. Tacking a cat boat is basically one quick turn through the wind and it all pretty much happens for you.
Cat rigs are simple, maneuverable, efficient and economical. They’re especially suited for short-handed sailing and downwind passages. And a catboat sailor is probably someone who doesn’t mind traveling on a less trodden path. If you plan on a long downwind journey alone or with one other, take a look at some catboats – might just fit the bill.
What's in a Rig Series:
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Cat Rigged Sailboat - Pros and Cons
- Thread starter catalanc
- Start date Nov 18, 2018
- Forums for All Owners
- Ask All Sailors
Hi Guys, I saw a Seaward cat rigged sail boat on Dillon lake a while ago. I sail single-handed most of the time and the lake can be very tricky with shifting wind direction and quickly changing speed. So, the cat sounds kinda interesting to me. Anyone out there have one and/or anyone have pros and cons of a cat rigged vs. a sloop rigged.
catalanc said: Hi Guys, I saw a Seaward cat rigged sail boat on Dillon lake a while ago. I sail single-handed most of the time and the lake can be very tricky with shifting wind direction and quickly changing speed. So, the cat sounds kinda interesting to me. Anyone out there have one and/or anyone have pros and cons of a cat rigged vs. a sloop rigged. Click to expand
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Since you are sailing Dillon Lake, I am guessing you saw one of the Sage boats made in Golden, CO. https://sagemarineblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/sailing-a-sage-15-cat/
JohnShannon
Well a cat boat is super easy to sail. You only have 4 or 5 lines on the entire boat. Tacking is super easy. I bet one large sail is cheaper than a bunch of smaller sails. Performance wise? I expect a sloop outsails it, but I am not sure the difference is so dramatic. Most cat boats are relatively heavy and not exactly modern keel/rudder setups, and a little slow. Wyliecat 30 is light and modern underbody and is fast. For lake sailing and single handing I think a catboat is a good choice.
A single mast cat rigged boat sails better than a sloop or a cutter under jib or main alone, but not better than either under proper sail. So, if you're not looking for sailing performance, but the ease of sailing instead, a catboat may well be a good choice.
Hey, AFAIK, The pros and cons: Pros of a catboat: - Shallow draft - Easy to sail - just one sail, tack by just turning the wheel - tiller - Fast downwind with the large sail Cons of a catboat -Pointing ability - can't point high, don't go upwind well Barry
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The official home of the Beetle Cat sailboat since 1921
A century of sailing.
The year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the Beetle Cat sailboat. This will make the Beetle Cat boat the oldest one design that has been continuously produced out of wood and continues to be competitively raced for the past 100 years.
Our Mission
The Beetle Cat boat shop is dedicated to preserving the art of traditional Plank-On-Frame wood boat construction, using the highest quality of materials and craftsmanship while providing a source for new wooden Beetle Cat sailboats. In addition, the shop offers a full service boat yard for the Beetle Cat community and Beetle Cat sailors for maintenance, repairs, paint, parts, storage, and transportation...
Quality Craftsmanship & Materials
A visit to the Beetle Cat boat shop is like a step back in time. The pleasant smell of cedar greets you as you walk thru the front door and into the office, which is lined with historic photos and memorabilia...
Our History
The Beetle Cat sailboat was named after the Beetle family of New Bedford, MA who originally designed and built the small 12 foot gaff rigged wooden sailboat for their children in 1921. Famous for their Beetle Whaleboats, they used some of the same mass production techniques that enabled them to build quality whaleboats in record times...
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Stur-Dee Cat
Description, optional equipment, a classic catboat with modern ability.
The 14 Ft. 4 In. fiberglass cat is a perfect blend of classic beauty and modern simplicity. From her beige decks, molded to look and feel like the canvas covered decks of her predecessors, to the oak rails and coamings, she accents the fine lines of her designer, Edson Schock. Yet with her modern Marconi rig she’ll show a turn of speed and agility that many larger sloops can’t do. Sail her single-handed… but one look at her huge cockpit and you won’t mind taking the whole family along. A cuddy cabin gives good protection from spray and plenty of room to store your gear. The seats and coamings are just the right height above the cockpit sole to be comfortable. Sail her up on a sandy beach. Her fiberglass centerboard is easily retractable and the rudder is protected by a skeg. Or trail her to your favorite lake. Anywhere you go, the Stur-Dee Cat will stand out, and you’ll want to stay out when others run for home.
Specifications
| L.O.A. | L.W.L | Beam | Draft | Weight | Sail Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14’4″ | 13’2″ | 7’0″ | 10″ – 3’6″ | 680 lbs. | 130 sq.ft. |
Standard Equipment
- White Hull with Molded in Red Boot Stripe
- Beige Non-Skid Deck
- Molded in Outboard Motor Well
- Oak Coamings and Gunnels finished with Sikkens Cetol Marine Teak
- Mahogany Seats finished with Sikkens Cetol Marine Teak
- Mahogany and Ash Tiller finished with Sikkens Cetol Marine Teak
- Stainless Steel Hardware
- Anodised Aluminum Mast and Boom
- Stainless Steel Standing Rigging
- Dacron Running Rigging
- Dacron Sail and Reef Points
- Fiberglass Centerboard and Rudder
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT. Please contact us for prices.
- Sunbrella Boom Tent
- Bottom Paint
- Mast Carrier
- Spare Tire Holder w/ Lock
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Marshall Marine builds the traditional style Marshall Catboat sailboats including the 15' Sandpiper, the 18' Sanderling and the Marshall 22' pocket cruiser. The Sakonnet 23 sloop was added in 2010 being a perfect fit with our shallow draft day sailers and cruisers. ... She is a rugged, sea-kindly boat with classic looks that will turn heads in ...
A catboat is a boat that is traditionally fitted with a gaff-rigged sail on a single mast set well up in the "eyes" of the boat. Cruising catboats have cabins and normally range in overall length from 16 - 26 feet. Others are fully or partially decked and suitable for day sailing or camp cruising. Most cats have centerboards, although some keel ...
Catboat. A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are fitted with a centreboard, although some have a keel. [1]
Welcome to the online member community for the Catboat Association. We hope you will explore the various features our site has to offer. We created this online space for you to log on and create a dynamic member profile, collaborate on projects, share your ideas and expertise - and, most important, connect with your fellow members. Share ...
1195 Kapp Dr., Clearwater, Florida 33765 USA. Call Us: 727-443-4408. E-mail Us: [email protected]. The Com-Pac line of sailboats covers a wide range of sizes from a 14-foot day sailer to a 35-foot bluewater sailing cruiser. Each sailboat, regardless of size, is built with the same exacting attention to detail and that same commitment to value.
Arey's Pond Boat Yard is the builder of the world-renowned A.P.B.Y. catboat. We offer a complete line of catboats, built right here on Cape Cod, including the 12′ Kitten, the popular Racing and Club 14′, the 16′ Lynx and 16′ Open designs as well as our 20′, 22′ and 24′ Cruising Cats.
LOA: 15' 6" LWL: 14'9" Beam: 7' 1" Draft: 16" board up & 3' 9" board down. Sail Area: 166 sq. ft. Displacement: 1050 lbs. Ballast: 200 Lbs. Our Catboat hulls and side decks are solid fiberglass with an integral centerboard trunk. Foredecks, cabin tops and transoms are reinforced with closed cell foam. White hull is standard, with deck and ...
14′ Catboat. Based on an Edson I. Schock design; redesigned by Tony Davis in 1998. The shallow draft of the 14-foot Catboat allows it to sail with ease in only 12 inches of water. The full beam makes this one of the most stable catboats on the market. She is as quick as a cat and very forgiving to those new to sailing.
From Issue Small Boats Annual 2022 February 2021. The catboat is a beamy, monohulled sailboat descended from a line of working watercraft. No one is sure of the origin of the name "catboat.". Some said the boat was as fleet as a cat. Or, the name might have been inspired by dock cats that greeted returning fishermen.
Com-Pac Yachts / Hutchins Co., Inc. 1195 Kapp Dr., Clearwater, Florida 33765 USA. Call Us: 727-443-4408. E-mail Us: [email protected]. The Sun Cat is Com-Pac's new breed of cat boat: designed to rig quickly, sail easily, and offer accommodations for family and gear for overnights and gunk-holing.
Here is the perfect boat to expand your cruising grounds. The Marshall 22 is a rugged, sea-kindly boat with classic looks that will turn heads in any harbor. Her two foot draft will let you access anchorages and coves that are off limits to most cruising sailboats. ... Our Catboat hulls and side decks are solid fiberglass with an integral ...
2002 Barnstable Catboat. With trailer and all (sail) this 2002 12.5' Barnstable Cat is for sale, $8,000. New paint and varnish - excellent condition. Boat is located under cover on a trailer at Atlantic Yacht Basin, 2615 Basin Road, Chesapeake, Virginia. Chris Wenz 202-420-9345 [email protected] : 177-77. 1975 Herreshoff America 18' Catboat.
Cat Rig. What's in a Rig Series # 7 - The Cat Rig. Typically speaking, a cat rig is a single mast situated well forward, near the bow, which carries a large single sail and has no standing rigging, sometimes referred to as "unstayed.". An Optimist, Laser or Sabot are common (smaller) examples of a cat rig, but many bigger boats utilize ...
1195 Kapp Dr., Clearwater, Florida 33765 USA. Call Us: 727-443-4408. E-mail Us: [email protected]. The 14-foot cat-rigged Picnic Cat is the answer to the trailer-sailor's lament: I love sailing, but I hate setting up.
Well a cat boat is super easy to sail. You only have 4 or 5 lines on the entire boat. Tacking is super easy. I bet one large sail is cheaper than a bunch of smaller sails. Performance wise? I expect a sloop outsails it, but I am not sure the difference is so dramatic. Most cat boats are relatively heavy and not exactly modern keel/rudder setups ...
The Beetle Cat boat shop is dedicated to preserving the art of traditional Plank-On-Frame wood boat construction, using the highest quality of materials and craftsmanship while providing a source for new wooden Beetle Cat sailboats. In addition, the shop offers a full service boat yard for the Beetle Cat community and Beetle Cat sailors for ...
Stur-Dee Cat. The 14 Ft. 4 In. fiberglass cat is a perfect blend of classic beauty and modern simplicity. From her beige decks, molded to look and feel like the canvas covered decks of her predecessors, to the oak rails and coamings, she accents the fine lines of her designer, Edson Schock. Yet with her modern Marconi rig she'll show a turn ...
31' Mariner Ketch - Major Restoration & Repower - New Rigging & Sails Tenants Harbor Maine, Maine Asking $45,000
The Sanderling is one of the oldest continuously produced fiberglass boats on the market and we are proud to have built over 860 of them since 1962. LOA: 18'2" LWL: 17'6" Beam: 8' 6" Draft: 19"board up & 4' 4" board down. Sail Area: 253 sq. ft. Displacement: 2200 lbs. Ballast: 500 Lbs. Our Catboat hulls and side decks are solid fiberglass ...
The Cat Boat Foundation pays for neutering of cats whose owners cannot afford veterinary care, as well as strays. Volunteers take care of the cats, some of whom are adopted by visitors. The cats ...
catamaran; gulet; motorboat; powerboat; riverboat; sailboat; trimaran; yacht; trimaran. beetle cat sailboats for sale. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
8 days and 7 nights. This is a great Russian river cruise on a comfortable 4-star ship that will take you to St. Petersburg and Moscow and the most significant places between these 2 cities: Mandrogui village, Kizhi island with its amazing wooden architecture and Uglich and Goritsy with their tranquil atmosphere. $ 930 From/Per person.
Flotilla Radisson Royal: Cruises and excursions on Moscow River on river yachts and trams, official website. Cruises all year round, in summer and winter! > Purchase tickets online