17'1" Wittholz Catboat

The original print version of this article can be viewed as a PDF or purchased from the WoodenBoat Store.

Join to view PDF Purchase 17'1 Wittholz Catboat

No doubt about it, a catboat has more room for her length than almost any other boat. And here is about the smallest possible catboat you'll find with real cruising accommodations for two. Inside her cabin, there's sitting headroom above her two V-berths and a toilet between them, a stove aft on one side, and a sink and icebox aft on the other. Still, her cockpit is huge — six or seven adults can be comfortably seated for daysailing. If you're most interested in seaworthiness, build the version with the self-bailing cockpit which, incidentally, has a big hatch for stowing the outboard auxiliary; if it's shelter and a backrest you're after, there's a deep cockpit option.

Wittholz Catboat plans particulars and line drawings.

Particulars

Options, in fact, abound on these drawings. There's a plan for a fixed outside ballast keel rather than a center­board; there are drawings for a rabbeted mahogany wale strake at the sheer, a plan for anchor-handling bowsprit and one for the installation of an inboard engine. You can fit her with either of the two rigs that are shown — gaff or marconi.

Read this article now for Free!

Ready for a second free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.

— OR —

Subscribe now for $29.99 a year and have immediate access to all of our content, including hundreds of small-boat profiles, gear reviews and techniques, adventure stories, and more! You can also browse our entire archive of back issues starting from September 2014, as well as post unlimited classified ads. This is an extraordinary value!

Subscribe Now or SIGN IN