What is a catboat? It's a tubby, shallow draft boat, by convention
only twice as long as wide, with a single gaff-rigged sail, the mast
for which is stepped deep into the bow of the boat. The sail is
tetrahedral, instead of triangular, and there properly is no jib or
spinnaker. Catboats have small skegs, and centerboards for stability.
Most other sailboats have some sort of keel or modification of the
concept of a keel. But a keel is a problem in shallow water, so
boats that sail for work or play in estuaries and shallow bays have
centerboards instead.
One side of the centerboard trunk on this boat is the inside edge of
the new owner's bed!
Catamarans are related to catboats only in that they both are sailboats!
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@xxxxxxxx
508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races
http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf/
