Gemini 16
Description
The Gemini 16, a graceful 16-foot daysailer designed by the legendary Nathanael G. Herreshoff in 1912 and later adapted for fiberglass production, embodies the golden age of American yacht design with its sleek spoon-bow profile, low freeboard, and shallow-draft centerboard configuration (draft 8 inches board-up, 3 feet 6 inches board-down). Built initially as a wooden one-design racer for the Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, Rhode Island, it features a beam of 5 feet 10 inches and a sail area of 140 square feet under gaff-rigged mainsail and jib, offering spirited performance in coastal waters while remaining trailerable and easy to handle solo. Herreshoff's meticulous attention to hydrodynamics ensured exceptional stability and speed, earning it a place in racing lore during the 1910s and 1920s; modern fiberglass replicas, produced sporadically since the 1970s by builders like Cape Cod Shipbuilding, retain the original lines with minor updates for durability, appealing to purists with spartan cockpits, varnished brightwork, and accommodations for two in a compact cuddy.
Construction Details
| Designer | Sidney DeW. Herreshoff |
|---|---|
| Builder | Cape Cod Shipbuilding |
| Length | 16.083 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 19.5 ft - (5944 mm) |
| Foot | 9.75 ft - (2972 mm) |
| Leech | * 21.03 ft - (6410 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 86.42 ° |
| Diagonal | 21.25 ft - (6477 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 98.09 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 16 ft - (4877 mm) |
| Foot | 6.42 ft - (1957 mm) |
| Leech | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | * 5.59 ft - (1704 mm) |
| Area | * 44.69 ft² |
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.