16 foot Lapstrake Catboat

[Captain_M33]

Hey everyone...

I'm trying to find the plans, and or determine the design for the 16 foot catboat that John D. Little built. Anyone have and clues?

This is the boat I'm talking about.

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/

Thanks all

[ken_nyus]

Hey Captain, that's my boat!

The story that I heard from another J.D.Little owner was that the lines for the boat only existed on the shop floor.

I have a limited amount of information on the boat, but I'd be willing to help if I can.

[Rancocas]

Wow! That is a beauty.
I sure would like to see a copy of the lines drawings.
What is the draft?

[Captain_M33]

Ken... I sent an email to you asking about your boat... don't know if you got it. Thanks for your offer. It would be a terrible shame if the lines to your boat were lost to the boatbuliding community. What a beauty she is. You are a lucky man to have one built by Mr. Little himself. I would love to have as much information as you're willing to share. Perhaps I can even convince you to measure off the complete lines. Then you'd have them too ;)
For the time being... what can you tell me about the design? ie... the dimensions... draft... sail area... and such...?

Thanks again, Michael

[ken_nyus]

I haven't measured it but it is around 2ft+ with the board up, at the end of that big rudder, and maybe around 4ft+ with the board down.

I hope to be launching this spring with an electric inboard installed!

Can't wait to float around the bay completely silent, even without any wind.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

ken_nyus WOW thats a beauty. I never knew you had such a beautiful Catboat. Where in NY are you we should have a Catboat get together. What's the cabin look like?

[ken_nyus]

Thanks folks, I couldn't help but fall in love with this little catboat myself.

I have very little in exact numbers for the boat. If I knew how to take the lines for it I would be more than willing to do so.

As for the estimates (and excuse my inexact terminology):

16' Length
7' 6" wide
around 2' draft board up, 4' down

sail area - my very uneducated guess is somewhere just below 200 sq.ft.? The previous owner had no number. As a new sailor the full sail was a bit intimidating when the wind kicked up, so I spent most of the season with a single reef in, which worked great in almost all conditions.

I do have a copy of the build contract, which lists the materials. I could dig that up and see if it mentions anything else, but I do remember that it said nothing about the draft or sail area.

I'll have to read the famous picture posting instructions here, and get some more photos up.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

ken_nyus I would be glad to post photos for you.

Tidbit our 16.5' Winthrop Warner Catboat. Built 1964 by Herb Baum to Withrop Warner design for Alfred B. Scofield of Stamford, CT and St. Michaels, MD. Plans can be found in Mystic Seaport archives. LOA 16'6", Beam 7'= 6", LWL 15'9". 170 sqft sail. Cedar Planked over oak with teak trim and laid deck. boat lines appeared in "Yachting" in 1964

We will be out in the LI sound this summer and would love to raft up with a fellow catboat if you are around. Email me for photos and info.

[jaapk.]

About 12 years ago when I started thinking about building a catboat, my first choice was John D. Little's beautiful 16 footer. I love the look of lapstrake boats, but for some reason catboats are hardly build this way. I asked him for construction drawings, but never received an answer, I figured he was a builder/designer and maybe was not interested in selling his plans. A little while later I did manage to convince Lyle Hess to send me construction plans for his 16' catboat. I have no regrets building that big 16 footer, but Mr Little's catboats are undoubtly the more elegant ones!
Joe, can you learn me how to add photos? I could not find instructions.

[rbgarr]

Ken-

How does the heel of your bowsprit attach to the foredeck or mast (?)

Thx-

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Did someone ask for photos ;)

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/images/p1010004.jpg

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/images/p1010007.jpg

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/images/p1010001.jpg

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/images/p1010008.jpg

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/flanderscat/images/dorothy2_scale.jpg

Thats a lot of boat for 16 ft. She looks great I love the cabin. I have a catboat book that shows a lot of lapstrake cat's back in the day. So it is just recently that they have not been built that way.

[ken_nyus]

Originally posted by rbgarr:
Ken-

How does the heel of your bowsprit attach to the foredeck or mast (?)

Thx-The bowsprit, sadly, is not part of the boat anymore. I am the second owner. The original owner kept the boat on a mooring, and he said the bowsprit failed on him twice, so he gave up on the idea and removed it. He thought he might have had a pattern for it, but never found it.

I have some photos from another older 16', with the bowsprit. To me it looks like it was a flat plank, bolted down flat with the deck.

I wish it was back on, I like the way it looks, and I keep thinking it would be a great help with the anchor.

[ken_nyus]

Originally posted by Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ):
Did someone ask for photos ;)

Thats a lot of boat for 16 ft. She looks great I love the cabin. I have a catboat book that shows a lot of lapstrake cat's back in the day. So it is just recently that they have not been built that way.Thanks Joe, I haven't updated that blog in a long time, because it was such a pain to reduce the size of the photos. Thanks for reposting them here!

[ken_nyus]

Originally posted by jaapk.:
[QB]About 12 years ago when I started thinking about building a catboat, my first choice was John D. Little's beautiful 16 footer. I love the look of lapstrake boats, but for some reason catboats are hardly build this way. I asked him for construction drawings, but never received an answer, I figured he was a builder/designer and maybe was not interested in selling his plans. A little while later I did manage to convince Lyle Hess to send me construction plans for his 16' catboat. I have no regrets building that big 16 footer, but Mr Little's catboats are undoubtly the more elegant ones!
QB]Hey Jaapk,

I've long admired your boat, I have seen the great photos on your site. Now your boat really maximizes what you get with 16'! Your cabin is like a mansion compared to mine.

[jaapk.]

thanks Ken,
my plank-type bowsprit is bolted to the kingplank under the foredeck. The main advantage for the (flat) bowsprit is that there now is a place to put your foot in front of the mast; small catboats don't really have a foredeck! I had originally planned to raise and lower my mast with a tackle and a 'sprenkel', a pole between the foot of the mast and the front-shroud, but my hollow mast is light enough to do without the sprenkel.

[ken_nyus]

In case anyone is interested, a sister boat, done in plank-on-frame, is up for sale over on the catboat assoc pages:

http://www.catboats.org/cats141.htm

[Kermit]

Brings tears to my old eyes!

White's MARSH CAT can be built lapstrake, by the by...

[JimD]

First time I saw these pics of Ken's boat my jaw dropped. I couldn't have imagined a lapstrake catboat but the result is really something.

[JimD]

Just came across a photo of the 16' John D Little lapstrake catboat Bob Sloan in the Launchings section of WB#81 from 1988. The owner is identified as John Usis. Sure looks like your boat, Ken! But it has a bowsprit and forestay

[ken_nyus]

Hey Jim,

Mine was made in 1989, and showed up in WB launchings also. I have the issue, but not handy so I'm not sure what the number is.

My boat also had a bowsprit when built, and I would love to get it back, I like the look, and it may help with anchor handling. As I mentioned above, the original owner had it fail on him twice at his mooring, so he gave up on the idea and removed it.

[ken_nyus]

Hi all,

My boat should finally be hitting the water for the season this morning!

Sea trials really, looking for leaks, and the testing of the electric inboard by the folks who installed it.

It kills me but I won't be able to get a look at it myself till tomorrow, and the boat won't be in my slip till next week.

Hope to have some final photos of the motor install if anyone is intertested.

[ken_nyus]

a small update for anyone interested:

We had the boat out for sea trials last week, in general things look good, but above a certain rpm a squeek develops, and vibration started kicking in, all seemingly centered around the prop or cutlass.

Also there was way too much load on the motor, causing the amp level to go too high. The goal was 38 amps max to the motor, with a motor rpm max of 1750.

The highest rpm we could get out of the motor was around 1250, with a draw of 45 amps, and a lot of vibration.

After some days troubleshooting, the problem was narrowed down to the prop. A different prop was swapped in and in testing the problem goes almost completely away. Squeek gone, vibration almost gone, amps down, and rpm is up.

At design time I went with an expensive and fancy vari-prop, but now this seems like a poor choice, so the motor folks are recalculating for a fixed-pitch 2 blade sail prop, and possibly another set of different size pulleys for the belt drive. The vari-prop folks seem to be willing to take the prop back as a return. I may still try and work with them to eventually get the vari-prop back on and working, I need every 1/4 knot I can get in this little boat, but we will see.

No pictures yet, it was a drizzly and grey day last week, but when all is done, I hope to be able to show you folks what the electric drive set up looks like.