Katydid
A 22' 9" Cruising Knockabout
By William Atkin
A Cruising Knockabout and Her Dinghy Katydidn't
Often a man will build himself a beautiful boat: build it of teak, and cedar, and the best of oak, then tow astern a dinghy of anything but classic lines and construction. A dinghy is such an important thing, too. There are many emergencies afloat when a good dinghy is worth its weight in gold. The trouble seems to be the difficulty of buying small, light weight, yet able and nicely towing boats at a price that is modest. If one casts about for plans of a small dinghy the prospect of finding them is small. After all it requires nearly as much time for an architect to prepare plans of a 6 to 7 foot dinghy as for an 18 to 20 footer, and so not many plans are drawn. So in drawing the plans for Katydid I felt that this might be an opportune time to draw as well plans for a dinghy of tiny dimensions that would belong exclusively to this particular cruising knockabout. So, shipmates, here are both designs: Katydid and Katydidn't.

The larger of the two is unique in many and sundry particulars. She is 22 feet 9 inches in over all length; 20 feet on the water line; 7 feet in breadth; and draws 3 feet 3 inches of water. While the draft may seem on the light side you can be assured the little boat will perform beautifully on every point of sailing. My experience has been that excessive draft is not at all necessary for making a hull sail closely on the wind; other characteristics in the design have as much to do with windward ability as draft, in fact even more.

Katydid is rigged as a knockabout -- not a sloop -- not a cutter -- a knockabout with jib head mainsail. A knockabout is a sailing boat without a bowsprit. The first of the rig ever built were used years before the coming of motors and for tending the pound nets that stand out into the sea for the gathering of fish. A bowsprit or a long overhanging boom would be fatal around a pound in anything of a bobble; and so the elimination of overhanging appendages. This is not only a handy rig but a very efficient one as well. Katydid's mast stands 28 feet 6 inches above the sheer line. She carries 195.7 square feet in the mainsail; 58.4 square feet in the staysail; total area 254.1 square feet. The standing rigging is of the simplest character; a single shroud each side and a single stay.

The deck is of the turtle-back variety, extending in a smooth curve over the entire cabin. Naturally there is a minimum of wind resistance in this form; and the unbroken crown from side to side forms a very strong method of construction. There is a large hatch half way between the mast and the stem-head; in working at setting sails, handling anchors, picking up your moorings one stands in this open hatch and is within comfortable and safe reach of everything. The cockpit is not of the self draining type; this permits keeping the floor boards very low in the boat so that one feels the security of being inside the boat, rather than on top of it. And it will have to be a very rough day when enough water comes aboard to be alarming. Remember this Katydid was not designed for cruising on the open sea; rather for use in protected water.

The cabin is of the simplest nature, having two pipe berths over the side seats, two burner alcohol stove, shelves for dishes, hanging locker, and a big stowage place forward for extra sails and gear. The cockpit has lockers under seats.

The underwater form of Katydid follows very closely such designs of mine as Tally Ho!, Tessa, Aspirent, Dormouse, and Tar; all tried and proven cruising boats; and in the opinion of their respective owners rather excellent little boats, too. Providing the sail plan is in proportion to the displacement and draft these comparatively shallow draft hulls have unusual stability and sail at a very modest angle of heel. Katydid carries an iron keel weighing 1,971 pounds, and this coupled with about 300 pounds of inside ballast makes a pretty stiff kind of boat.

The power plant should be an 8 h.p. outboard motor, preferably attached to side bracket and will be used only in case of an entire lack of wind. There is room in the cockpit for an inboard but the little boat will sail better without a propeller dragging.

Katydidn't, Katydid's tender, is a round bilge pram type dinghy, and is of a size that can be towed without effort, lifted aboard if necessary, and is so light as not to require a giant to move her about. The length is 6 feet 6 inches, the breadth 3 feet 4 inches, the depth 1 foot 1 1/2 inches. The stern is 2 feet 9 inches wide; the bow 1 foot 10 inches. Katydidn't is flat floored of the round bottom model, and in smooth water will carry three average weight people, and two in reasonable safety.
There is an after seat. The other extends fore and aft and is supported on the bow and on a stanchion and panting beam amidships. Thus the oarsman by shifting from the after to the forward pair of row locks maintains trim with one, two, or three persons aboard.
Plans for Katydid are $100
Plans for Katydidn't are $100

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