Beetle Cat

« View all Boats
One of CWB’s Beetle Cats sailing on Lake Union. Photograph courtesy of The Center for Wooden Boats.
One of CWB’s Beetle Cats sailing on Lake Union. Photograph courtesy of The Center for Wooden Boats.

Boat Type

Livery Sailboat
West Coast Boats

Location

South Lake Union, Seattle

Year Built

1921

Beam

6'

LOA (Length Overall)

12'

Boat Plans

application/pdf icon
Beetle Cat Lines

Project Sponsors

King County 4Culture

Website Link

http://www.beetlecat.com

Oral History

audio/x-ms-wma icon
Listen to staff member Greg Reed describe the feeling of sailing in a Beetle Cat.
audio/x-ms-wma icon
Listen to staff member Greg Reed describe a Beetle Cat outing with friends.

“When a man buys a Beetle he does not usually give much thought to its design or construction.  It is only after he has watched the boat being handed down from one child to another that he begins to realize there is something unusual about his boat.”  ~Leo Telesmanick

Boat Story

Fun Fact: Ruth Beetle, granddaughter of the company’s founder James Beetle, took over management of the company when her father passed away in 1928. A 1932 newspaper article described Ruth Beetle as the only female boatwright in the U.S. at that time.

Additional Images

Two Beetle Cats enjoying a jaunt on Lake Union. Photograph courtesy of The Center for Wooden Boats.
Beetle Cat waiting to be rigged and taken for a sail on Lake Union. Photograph courtesy of The Center for Wooden Boats.