15' Rushton Catboat (2010)

I built this 15-foot Henry Rushton catboat, a replica of a boat that appeared in Rushton’s 1903 catalog, for a client in New Hampshire. The whitehall-type hull means it rows well for a sailboat but it is still beamy enough at 5-feet to be a stable sailor. The hull is glued-lapstrake marine plywood with bent locust frames. If I built it again I would stretch these lines to 17-feet, keeping the 5-foot beam. I scaled the lines from Rushton’s drawings and lofted them to build this boat. Marc Bauer created a set of plans also available for sale.