Here you see the WoodenBoat School’s post-and-panel boat shed yesterday, when I did my monthly monitoring of the small boats that are stored there.
I’m happy to report that all appeared shipshape inside. (See the image in the first Comment space.) It was good to see the boats again and be reminded of what summer will be like when they and others like them return to Great Cove.
That big-tailed boat in the foreground of the above image is Whimsey, a 12-foot Beetle Cat. That form of boat is not named after a bug and feline duo. The name comes from the Beetle boatbuilding family of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who were famous for their commercial Beetle Whaleboats.
The Beetles designed and built the original Beetle Cats in 1921 for their children, using the production techniques used for their Whaleboats. Traditional Beetle Cats are now built by the Beetle Cat Boat Shop in Wareham, Massachusetts. The boat reportedly is the oldest wooden boat design that has been continuously produced. It has been competitively raced for more than 100 years.
These small cat boats are very good for instructional sailing. They’re wide for stability and are gaff-rigged far forward to “come up” and face the wind if the tiller is released, so the boat will stop rather than continue sailing uncontrolled. Large, but not deep, “barn door” rudders usually help steady the boat in the wind and allow sailing in shallow waters. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on February 19, 2023.)