Catboat
Encyclopedia
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
, is a sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
vessel characterized by a single mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
carried well forward (i.e., near the bow of the boat).
Although any boat with a single sail and a mast carried well forward is 'technically' a catboat, the traditional catboat has a wide beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
approximately half the length of the boat, a centreboard
Centreboard
A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...
, and a single gaff
Gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...
-rigged sail. Some catboats such as the Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is a long barrier peninsula, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island...
type and more modern catboat designs carry a Bermuda
Bermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
sail. A jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
is sometimes added, but this may require a bowsprit
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
, and technically creates a sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
sail-plan
Sail-plan
A sail-plan is a set of drawings, usually prepared by a naval architect. It shows the various combinations of sail proposed for a sailing ship.The combinations shown in a sail-plan almost always include three configurations:...
.
History
It is generally accepted that the origin of the catboat type was in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
around 1840 and from there spread east and south as the virtues of the type — simplicity, ease of handling, shallow draft, large capacity — were discovered. Historically, they were used for fishing and transport in the coastal waters around Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Some were fitted with bowsprits for swordfishing and others were used as 'party boats' with canvas-sided, wood-framed summer cabins that could be rolled up.
Boom (sailing)
In sailing, a boom is a spar , along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot of the sail flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves...
s and gaff
Gaff
-Pole-shaped devices:* Fishing gaff, a pole used in fishing* Gaff or hakapik, used as a seal-hunting weapon* Gaff rig; A fore-and-aft sailing arrangement where the sail is held up by a spar called a gaff-Ankle-worn devices:...
s, bowsprits and large jibs were fitted to capture as much wind as possible. The decline of racing and advent of small, efficient gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
s eliminated the need for large sailplans, and catboats today are used as pleasure craft for day sailing
Day sailer
A daysailer, day sailer, or dayboat is a small sailboat with or without sleeping accommodations but which is larger than a dinghy. Dayboats can be monohull or multihull, and are typically trailer-able. Many dayboats have a small cabin or "cuddy" for storage and to provide a shelter, or for...
and cruising
Cruising
Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...
, and have the virtues of roominess, stability and simple handling, though many catboats have poorer upwind performance than well-designed sloop-rigged
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
craft.
One of the most well-known catboats is the 12 feet (3.7 m) Beetle Cat
Beetle Cat
A Beetle Cat is a catboat first built in 1920 in New Bedford, Massachusetts by members of the Beetle family. Over 4,000 have been built. Beetle, Inc., now in Wareham, Massachusetts, is the sole builder of Beetle Cat boats....
daysailer. Fleets of these one-design
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
boats are found in harbors all across New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, often competing in races. In the 1960s, Breck Marshall based his 18 feet (5.5 m) fiberglass Sanderling upon an existing, wooden design. The Sanderling has since become a very popular boat, with more than 700 built, and it has helped to rekindle interest in the catboat. To honor Marshall and his contribution to the type, the Catboat Association funded the construction of the Breck Marshall, a 20 feet (6.1 m) catboat built and berthed at Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
.
The terms catboat and cat-rigged are often confused with catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
. Catamaran describes the hull structure of a boat (specifically, it refers to two hulls side-by-side) whereas cat-rigged and catboat describe the sail plan and vessel type, respectively. To add to the confusion, some small sporting catamarans are cat-rigged and both terms are abbreviated cat when no ambiguity is foreseen. A catboat was used in colonial times.
Features
Designer Fenwick Williams summarized the original design philosophy as: “The ample beam made the use of stone ballast feasible … the high bow provided good support for the unstayed mast … the barn door rudder provided adequate strength … high coamings served to keep water out of the large open cockpit … side decks provided a handy ledge on which to set a lobster trap."Modern catboat fans appreciate the catboat's traditional design and classic appearance and the features that make it a versatile recreational boat:
simplicity, large capacity, shallow draft, stability, and safety in a boat that is easy to sail.
See also
Catboats- Beetle CatBeetle CatA Beetle Cat is a catboat first built in 1920 in New Bedford, Massachusetts by members of the Beetle family. Over 4,000 have been built. Beetle, Inc., now in Wareham, Massachusetts, is the sole builder of Beetle Cat boats....
- small "daysailer" catboat - NonsuchNonsuch (sailboat)The Nonsuch line of catboats is a series of popular cruising sailboats built between 1978 and the mid-1990s by Hinterhoeller Yachts in St. Catharines, Ontario. They were popular in North America, with over 950 ships built...
- a series of 18 ft (5.5 m) to 36 ft (11 m) modern catboats - Inland CatInland catInland Cat is a class of one- or two-man sailboats, almost exclusively found on Lake George, Indiana/Michigan. The craft is approximately 14.5 feet in length, with a 4.5 foot beam. The sail is a Marconi rig , with the mast far forward on the hull, as is the norm for a cat boat...
- 14.5 footer designed and built in Northern Indiana.
External links
- World of Boats (EISCA) Collection ~ Cayman Islands Cat Boat
- The Catboat Association a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history, and promoting the use, of catboats.
- MengerCat.com a resource for information about Menger Catboats built between 1976 and 2005. Now owned and supported by Wagner Boat Works.
- Selina II the largest surviving vintage catboat.
- New England Beetle Cat Boat Association a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the maintenance, restoration, preservation and just plain sailing the Beetle Cat Boat.
- "Catboat moments" an article about catboats in the August 2005 issue of Soundings Magazine.
Manufacturers
- Cape Cod Shipbuilding builders of fine sailboats for over 100 years.
- Com-Pac Yachts Cat Boats builders of the trailerable catboats Picnic Cat, Sun Cat, and Horizon Cat.
- Wagner Boat Works a manufacturer of traditionally-styled fiberglass catboats from 15 to 23 feet (7 m) long.
- Marshall Marine Corporation a manufacturer of traditionally-styled fiberglass catboats from 15 to 22 feet (6.7 m) long.
- Thompson Boatworks a manufacturer of 15- and 19 feet (5.8 m) long traditionally-styled fiberglass catboats. Now owned and supported by Wagner Boat Works.
- Arey's Pond Boat Yard a manufacturer of traditionally-styled fiberglass catboats from 12 to 20 feet (6.1 m) long.
- Beetle, Inc. manufacturer of the Beetle catboat.
- Howard Boats manufacturer of the Barnstable catboat, a fiberglass version of the traditional wooden Beetle catboat.