Beetle Cat Boats

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Photo by: Billy Black

I sailed a Beetle Cat for the first time in 1999 on the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut. It was one of the Seaport Museum’s livery fleet and in fine condition. Sharon Brown, at the time enthusiastic keeper of the Mystic Boathouse, showed me the ropes — one halyard for the throat of the gaff and one halyard for the peak. She told me to hoist the sail by tugging both halyards simultaneously until the throat reached maximum hoist, belay that halyard, continue raising the peak until all the wrinkles flattened, and then belay that halyard. After a few words about minding the traffic on the river, Brown sent me on my way.

A light breeze moved the little hot tub of a boat at a hypnotic pace as I lounged on the floorboards in her massive cockpit, one hand on the tiller and my free arm draped over the coaming. Yes, a 12-by-6-foot catboat has a massive cockpit, and aboard the Beetle, it feels even larger, because the boat doesn’t have benches. This little yacht was so stable, especially in the light air I experienced, that I stayed on the same side of the cockpit for every tack. I might have dozed off, but Brown’s warning about the small-boat traffic and the gentle pressure of weather helm kept my attention.



John H. Beetle designed the Beetle Cat in 1920. His father, James Beetle, had founded the Beetle Boat Co. in the 19th century to make whaleboats for the thriving whaling industry in New Bedford, Massachusetts. John Beetle respected the many wholesome characteristics of the Cape Cod catboats and thought a small daysailer based on the workboat model would make a perfect boat for the children in the family. His design had the single gaff sail, shallow draft, centerboard and barn-door rudder of her ancestors. Her performance in the first season afloat impressed the locals, and orders for the model followed. By 1921, the Beetle Boat Co. put the 12-foot catboat into production, employing the assembly line method that allowed the shop to build a 29-foot whaleboat in 48 hours.
 
After the Beetles established the design of a boat, they made a pattern for each stock part, and then using these patterns, they cut the parts, labeled them and placed them at the appropriate locations along the assembly line. They built the lapstrake whaleboats upside down over male molds, installing the steam-bent ribs after the hull had been planked. This method, adapted to the carvel construction of the Beetle Cat, allowed the company to keep the price within reach of the average enthusiast.



Horace S. Crosby, a boatbuilder in Osterville, Massachusetts, constructed the first Cape Cod catboat in 1860, and he fashioned her to deal with the big seas, strong currents and shoals inherent to waters off Chatham, Hyannis, Osterville and Falmouth. Crosby gave his working catboats high bow sections, which contribute to the graceful sweep of the sheer line. More important, though, the bow helped support the mast, which sits so far forward that the shrouds and forestay don’t have the best of staying angles. Substantial freeboard forward also prevents solid water from shipping aboard. Although the low freeboard aft complements the sheer, its main reason for being is to ease the handling of lines and traps. Same for the catboat’s generous beam: It enhances form stability, so the crew may work without fear of being pitched out of the boat. Even aboard the tiny Beetle Cat, a person of average size standing on the side deck heels the boat only a few degrees. The huge single sail made the catboat easy to handle, allowing a fisherman to work alone, though he typically carried a mate. On the downside, that sail became unmanageable in a blow, so the crew had to watch the weather and reef before the wind increased and the seas built.