Shellback Dinghy
Description
The Shellback Dinghy (often called the 11'2" Shellback Dinghy) is a classic, highly regarded wooden sailing and rowing tender designed by renowned American naval architect Joel White (of Brooklin Boat Yard fame, son of E.B. White). Introduced in the 1990s and still popular today, it's built primarily via glued-lapstrake plywood construction (similar to White's Nutshell Pram but larger, with a pointed bow and elegant transom for better rowing and sailing performance). It's an all-around small boat favorite—excellent as a yacht tender, recreational daysailer, or first build project—praised for rowing beautifully (tracks straight and easy effort), towing well behind larger boats, and providing fun, responsive sailing in light to moderate winds with its simple standing lug rig (easily dropped if needed). The design is forgiving and stable for beginners or all ages, with good carrying capacity (1–3 adults) despite its light weight, making it easy to cartop, beach, or launch solo. Owners and builders (including those at WoodenBoat School) call it a "modern classic" that teaches fine points of sailing, rowing, and sculling without vices.
Construction Details
| Designer | Joel White |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 11.180 ft |
| LOA | 11.180 ft |
| Beam | 4.167 ft |
| Max Draft | 2.250 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.500 ft |
| Year Built | 1993 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Shellback Dinghy - STANDING LUGSAIL
| Luff | 4.083 ft - (1244 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.58 ft - (2615 mm) |
| Leech | 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88.73 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 9.42 ft - (2871 mm) |
| Head | 8 ft - (2438 mm) |
| Area | * 55.13 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.
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