Geary 18

This boat was designed by Ted Geary in 1927 as a boy's racing boat. It was chosen by a Seattle Yacht Club committee from several designs submitted. The original class name was "Flattie." When Ted Geary passed away in 1960, it was changed to "Geary 18." This boat is more complex than it first appears - including its narrow deep centerboard, which is adjustable fore and aft and is removable from the inside, and its removable and fore- and-aft-adjustable rudder. This boat is quite fast and very maneuverable. The Geary 18 has been a popular class since its beginning. There are active fleets from British Columbia to California.

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Beetle Cat

A scaled down version of the Cape Cod catboats used for lobster fishing, these gaff-rigged catboat were designed in 1921 by Carl N. Beetle as a sail-training boat for the New Bedford Yacht Club. Costing $300 complete, they were built by the Beetle Company (now a division of the Concordia Company) of Massachusetts which was well known for producing whale boats and Cape Cod catboats. Leo Telesmanick was re- sponsible for building most of the Beetles. He started building them in 1930 and retired in 1983. The Beetle Cat became a class in 1921 and is the oldest continuing sailing class in the U.S. It is still popular, especially in New England. The construction is Cape Cod white cedar with oak frames and coaming. The boats are 12’ 4” long with a 6’ beam.

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Plover

This sprit rigged catboat is a hydrid of a Bigelow Kitten and a Woodshole Sprits'l boat. It was built by Dan Phalen and restored by Wesley Mullens as a Boy Scout Eagle-rank service project. Assisted by the Scouts of Troop 853 and Explorer Post 347, Wesley sistered twelve frames, installed new mahogany thwarts and wooded down the spars and transom. The inside and outside of the vessel were sanded, primed and painted. Approximately 125 hours of work went into the restoration of this Woods Hole Spritsail Boat. The frames are white oak, with Port Orford cedar planking. There is 200 pounds of internal ballast in the vessel. This vessel is native to the waters of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It was originally used by fishermen and can be easily rowed as well as sailed. Particular to this boat are the spar going from the tack to the peak called the “sprit” and the loose footed mainsail. There is plenty of room in the open cockpit for a family or group of friends to spend a pleasant afternoon on Lake Union. Come sailing and enjoy!

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Blanchard Jr. Knockabout

These 20’ fin-keeled day sailers were designed by Norman Blanchard Sr. About 25 were built by Blanchard Boatworks on Lake Union from the late 1930s until the early 1950s, most for livery operations on Lake Washington. Because they are fast and responsive, but also stable enough to make good family boats, Junior Knockabouts are popular vessels for CWB's award-winning sail-training program SailNOW!.

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Bristol Gillnetter Admirable

This type of boat was developed in 1869 for gillnetting salmon in San Francisco, but quickly became the standard type from Columbia River to Bristol Bay, Alaska. Fishing under sail in these boats was mandatory until 1952. CWB chose this tye of boat as our logo because of the long history as a Northwest work boat.

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Herreshoff 12 1/2

This sloop was designed as a class boat by Nathaniel G. Herreshoff in 1914 and built in his shop, in Bristol Bay, Rhode Island, as a stock boat, until 1939. He called it the "Buzzard's Bay Boy's Boat." The boat is 15'10" overall length and 12'6" waterline length. There is a 735-pound lead keel which gives great stability. This boat was designed to sail in the strong wind and steep chop of Buzzard's Bay. The graceful lines, seaworthiness, and comfortable motion gives this boat a special "little ship" feeling. A number have survived in the Cape Cod area and have become a respected standard of classic boat design. This boat, built about 1930, was donated to The Center for Wooden Boats by George Galpin.

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Woodshole Spiritsail, Dewey

This vessel is native to the waters of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It was originally used by fishermen and can be easily rowed as well as sailed. Particular to this boat are the spar going from the tack to the peak called the “sprit” and the loose footed mainsail. There is plenty of room in the open cockpit for a family or group of friends to spend a pleasant afternoon on Lake Union.

This boat was constructed by students at Seattle Central Cimmunity College School of Wood Boat Construction. It was donated to CWB by Mike Foley. It is named for Mike's longshoreman grandfather, Dewey Duggan.

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Mercury Class

This boat was designed by Ernest Nunes, a Sausalito (California) designer and builder, in 1938. It is built of plywood and has a cast iron keel. It is a classic design sloop with a ballast keel with a cutaway forefoot, a long spoon bow and a hard chine. It was designed for the strong summer winds and steep waves of San Francisco Bay. This was one of the first one-design boats specifically designed for plywood construction and built only in wood from 1938 through 1952; hulls since then are of fiberglass.

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New Haven Sharpie Betsy D

New Haven Sharpies were developed in the 1840s for oystering in Long Island Sound on the East Coast. At that time, their unstayed masts constituted a design breakthrough because they allowed a narrow, flat-bottomed and initially unstable hull to carry lots of sail area. In strong winds, the masts will bend and spill some of the wind. The sprit-rigged sails are easily adjusted for draft. The rig is a cat ketch. The lines of CWB's New Haven Sharpie were taken from Chapelle's American Small Sailing Craft, except for the cabin top which was added to adapt the boat for cruising. CWB member Bo Garrison built the boat in 1977 and donated it to the Center. The Sharpies evolved from simple flat bottom rowing skiffs, gradually becoming longer, narrower in proportion and with an overhanging counter stern. All these things made the boat faster and easier to power with oar or sail. At the end of the 19th century, a 35’ Sharpie, with a small cabin forward, cost between $300 and $500.

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Petrel Sloop

This 18’9” sloop was designed by Charles D. Mower about 1935. It was meant for day sailing and overnight cruising for two people. The hull has a kind turn to the bilge, giving it the initial stability that allows it to carry a large sail area. The teardrop waterlines make it easy to gain speed. This boat was built by Ernie Congdon about 1975. The hull is Alaska cedar. It was his first boatbuilding project.

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Thunderbird

Designed in 1955 by local yacht designer Ben Seaborn, the Thunderbird was intended to be an amateur built plywood cruising boat. The design was commissioned by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association and the plans were for sale at an affordable price at every lumber yard. The 26’ Thunderbird turned out to be not only easy to build, but extremely fast and seaworthy. By the early 1960s, Thunderbirds were recognized as the fastest 26’ sailboat around. Many have cruised to Alaska, Mexico, and Hawaii. Our Thunderbird, Zest, is #35. And was built in 1960. This vessel was donated by Terry Holme and Thomas Kayson.

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