Gartside Cfa Catboat (Design 186)
Description
The Gartside CFA Catboat, Design #186 by Paul Gartside, is a petite, traditional wooden catboat crafted as an accessible home-build project that pays homage to the iconic Beetle Cat while enhancing performance through refined hull lines, a pivoting centerboard, and a kick-up rudder for superior maneuverability in shallow waters. Introduced in the 1990s and influenced by classic New England daysailers, this 12'6" gaff-rigged single-sailer emphasizes simplicity, stability, and aesthetic charm for solo or family outings on lakes, bays, or coastal inlets—ideal for beginners seeking a responsive yet forgiving vessel that rows well when becalmed. Built primarily via carvel planking on bent oak frames (with plywood alternatives for modernity), it's a rewarding intermediate project (~400–500 hours) that yields a trailerable gem with a spacious cockpit for 2–3 adults; fewer than a few dozen exist due to its niche status, with plans priced at $20–$135 USD from Gartside Boats,
The standard boat dimensions
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Blueprints
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.