Nautical 56/60 Ketch
Description
The Nautical 56/60 (often simply called the Nautical 56 Ketch) is a classic American bluewater cruising ketch designed by Stephen Seaton (with Robert Warren) as an evolution of his 1969 Limmershin design. Built by Nautical Development Corp. in Key Largo, Florida, starting in 1980 (with production into the early 1980s before the yard closed), only a handful of hulls were produced—estimates suggest fewer than 10, making it quite rare. The "56/60" designation nods to variants where some models extend to ~60 ft LOA via a raised aft deck and bowsprit, but the core hull is 56 ft. Featuring a solid fiberglass construction with encapsulated ballast, a center cockpit for protection, and a ketch rig for balanced sail reduction on long passages, it's prized for its seaworthiness, dry ride in heavy seas, and expansive liveaboard accommodations. While not a speed demon, it's a comfortable family cruiser or couple's passagemaker, with a regal clipper bow and high freeboard; common refits include rigging, engines, and deck cores due to age.
Construction Details
| Designer | Stephen Seaton |
|---|---|
| Builder | Nautical Development Corp. |
| Length | 56.000 ft |
| LOA | 56.000 ft |
| LWL | 44.420 ft |
| Beam | 15.670 ft |
| Displacement | 51000 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.580 ft |
| Year Built | 1980 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 55.67 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 21 ft |
| p | 50 ft |
| e | 16.33 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.67 ft | 21 ft | 50 ft | 16.33 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Nautical 56/60 Ketch - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 50 ft - (15240 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 16.33 ft - (4977 mm) |
| Leech | * 51.78 ft - (15783 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 52.05 ft - (15865 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 418.92 ft² |
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Nautical 56/60 Ketch - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 47.6 ft - (14508 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 28.69 ft - (8745 mm) |
| Leech | * 40.18 ft - (12247 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 24.15 ft - (7361 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 574.78 ft² |
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Nautical 56/60 Ketch - GENOA
| Luff | * 56.52 ft - (17227 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 34.66 ft - (10564 mm) |
| Leech | * 52.55 ft - (16017 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 31.5 ft - (9601 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.99 ° |
| Area | * 890.21 ft² |
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Nautical 56/60 Ketch - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | 58 ft - (17678 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 36 ft - (10973 mm) |
| Leech | 54 ft - (16459 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 1566 ft² |
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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.