There were three original Chebacco boats, all designed by Phil Bolger for Brad Story. Story was a friend of Bolger’s and a boatbuilder, now retired, of considerable talent in Essex, Massachusetts. All three boats feel very much alike on the water. I’ll make a point of differentiating between them when appropriate, but otherwise comments are true for all three. In fact, on a day of racing them against each other, and trading back and forth to see if any small differences were the result of the people aboard, it was really easy to lose track of which one I was actually on at any one time. They’re that similar. (A fourth, raised-deck version recently joined the fleet.)The first was an extension—literally—of Bolger’s 15’ Harbinger catboat that Bolger designed for Story in 1975. It was done more to the New York style rather than Cape Cod so that it would row better and need a smaller sail plan. The lines are slack-bilged, especially below the waterline, with significant flare. It’s a fair, easy, dish-shaped, easily driven shape that developed into the sandbaggers. It offers amazing performance in the usual light air of New England (and New York) summers.The first Chebacco was Harbinger with a 5' stern fairing and a small mizzen. She was a cold-molded stock design built to order at Story’s shop. The added length gave Chebacco a significantly higher top speed than her predecessor, even better ghosting ability, and allows for a really big cockpit and a small, but quite comfortable cuddy.
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I have always admired the Chebacco, in particular the clinker version. My only problem with the design is that apparently plans are no longer available. Is this indeed so? I’d really like to build one!
https://www.instantboats.com/product/chebacco-19-8-x-7-5/
Try Harold Payson’s site: https://www.instantboats.com/product-category/instant-boats-plans/sailing-designs/
The Chabacco boats are all in the Bolger book, “Boats With an Open Mind.” The offsets and scantlings are there, and if you can build without someone holding your hand, it should be possible to build one right out of the book.
The plywood Chebacco plans are still available from Dynamite Payson’s survivors:
https://www.instantboats.com/product-category/instant-boats-plans/sailing-designs/
Phil Bolger’s widow, Susanne, can supply plans for the other Chebacco varieties. She frequently posts to the online Bolger group:
https://groups.io/g/bolgerboats/
It was a pleasure to see Wayward Lass at the top of the article! :o)
https://flic.kr/p/2mMpv5J
The plans can be obtained from Dynamite Payson’s website for the sheet plywood version.
https://www.instantboats.com/product-category/instant-boats-plans/sailing-designs/
The other designs can theoretically be bought from Susan Altenburger.
The Payson plans are not the clinker (lapstrake) version.
Try Harold Payson’s site
https://www.instantboats.com/product-category/instant-boats-plans/sailing-designs/
Here you go. Click on “References and links”, then scroll down to the bottom where it has a couple of plan sources.
http://www.chebacco.com/
I have the original cold-moulded hull #1. I’ve had it for 10 years and steadily rebuilt most everything on it. I still sail it in the Salem sound where she always gets a lot of positive comments from sailors and non-sailors alike. While I am a graduate of the Rockport apprenticeship ‘88, much of the improvements I made were simply born of common sense. The boat is as much a pleasure to sail as it is to work on. It is a testament to Story and Parlee’s craftsmanship that she is still sailing 37 years later.
I have the original Story-built blue hull in photo and featured in WoodenBoat magazine. I have owned and sailed her for 30 years. I’ve spent the last 7 years working on her, bottom paint, varnish, cockpit, but she has not been launched. Boat-house stored always. Bristol condition. I have 2 other boats (power) and I’m getting too old to manage her.