A Brief History of Catboats CAROL TITCOMB, © WindCheck Magazine  “If there’s one boat that exemplifies the spirit of American boat design,  it’s the catboat. Catboats are simple, strong, seaworthy, trustworthy, –  and they’re beautiful,” says Doug Wagner of the Center for Wooden  Boats, as quoted in the DVD  Nine Lives . There is no date in the history books stating the launching of the first  catboat. However, 19th Century pictures abound and records show an  increased number of flat-bottomed, single-sailed boats being put to work  on the East Coast. In the 1800s, catboats were used for three purposes;  carrying cargo, fishing, and pleasure sailing.  Catboats were used in harbors to transport goods from large ships  anchored at the mouth of a harbor into the docks at shore. With their  sturdy, flat-bottom construction close to the waterline and wide, open  cockpit, catboats could be loaded quickly, scoot to shore for off loading  and return to the cargo ship for another load.  Fishermen enjoyed the sturdy structure of a catboat because the large sail allowed them to get quickly to offshore fishing  grounds. The stable platform allowed them to haul in their catch and fill the hold below without worrying about capsizing.  It is the fishermen who are credited with starting the catboat races that are still held today. They held fishing  tournaments based on speed of sailing and the quantity of catch. Competitive instincts kicked in as each fisherman tried  to find a bigger sail to fly, a newly-designed, faster boat or a more efficient way to sail.  Boat shops began cranking out these workhorse vessels at an incredible rate in the 1800s as they realized the value of the  sturdy craft. Boatbuilders from Cape Elizabeth, ME to Cape May, NJ honed their design skills to perfect the style best  fitting their local waters. The Crosby family had several shops along the Massachusetts shores. Manuel Swartz, CC  Hanley, R. Bigelow, L. Francis Herreshoff and others too numerous to mention capitalized on the need for catboats. With  remarkable speed, these prolific builders hand-crafted each vessel and sent it down the railway.  Oscar Pease (1912-1995) used his catboat  Vanity  for many years, fishing on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer and  scalloping in the winter. He was one of the only remaining catboat fishermen who remained true to his craft until the  1980s. Pease’s depth of knowledge earned him the privilege of serving as technical advisor of The Catboat Association and  he became a lifetime member.  A recently published book,  The Catboat Era in Newport, Rhode Island  by John M. Leavens, edited by Judith Navas Lund,  published by Tisbury House and available from The Catboat Association (Publications), provides a wonderful  understanding of catboats in Newport in the 1800s. Lund describes the book best, saying, “When we first think of Newport  at the end of the Nineteenth Century, we think of ‘writ-large’ – big houses, big yachts, big money…Newport was a thriving  community whose population came from all levels of society. And like the diversity of people, there was a diversity of  watercraft in the harbor. In among the yachts are found the workboats and other small craft. John Leavens took a look at  the humble catboat and found a wealth of information about its origin, its builders and its owners.” This book is rich in  historical photos and facts, including an index of recorded Newport catboats.  By the 1900s, transportation had changed with the implementation of the internal combustion engine. Cargo was  transported on land as well as sea and commercial fishing fleets changed the fishing industry. The catboat, however,  remains a vital watercraft to this day.  Historians differ on how the name “catboat” came to be used. Some say there are as many different definitions as there are  catboat designs. The two most popular are “She’s as quick as a cat,” or the two traditional oval shaped portals on the cabin  house look like cat’s eyes. Whichever definition you use is fine; the important fact is the name has been around for almost  200 years. 3 Millie at Old South Wharf, Nantucket © The  Catboat Association Archives