Beetle Cat Boat Shop

05/26/2026

Colorful group of Edgewood Yacht Club Beetle Cat sailboats with a fresh coat of paint and varnish to start the new season.

05/15/2026

PICKNEY GAL is the first of 5 new Beetle Cat sailboats to head out this week to her home waters of Duxbury, MA.

04/24/2026

28' C.C. Hanley Catboat KATHLEEN headed to the water for her 21st season of sailing. Nice to have her back in the shop this year!

01/30/2026

Bill Womack is set up at the Boatbuilders Show on Cape Cod at the Hyport Conference center in Hyannis. Show hours 2-7pm today, 10am-6pm Sat, 10-4 Sunday.

01/27/2026

Now that we are shoveled out, getting ready for the Boatbuilders Show on Cape Cod starting this Friday in Hyannis, MA.
https://boatbuildersshowcc.com/

LOCATION:
Hyport Conference Center
35 Scudder Avenue,
Hyannis, MA 02601

Friday | January 30th, 2026: 2pm ~ 7pm
Saturday | January 31st, 2026: 10am ~ 6pm
Sunday | February 1st, 2026: 10am ~ 4pm

Adult Admission Ticket: $10.00 per person

Free Admission for Children 12 and under

Note: Ticket good for entry to Cape Cod Maritime Museum

The Boat Builders Show on Cape Cod was created 19 years ago to showcase the boats built by smaller, independent boat builders. It is one of the few boat shows in the country dedicated to providing these builders an opportunity to showcase their work and demonstrate to the boating public the level of quality and personal service that is available

The Boat Builders Show on Cape Cod is BEST INDEPENDENT BOAT BUILDERS SHOW IN THE NORTHEAST | The Show was created 16 years ago to showcase the boats built by smaller, independent boat builders. It is one of the few boat shows in the country dedicated to providing these builders an opportunity to sho...

01/23/2026

Bill is packing up for the Catboat Association Show tomorrow 1/24 from 8:00am - 5pm at its new location Newport Harbor Island Resort. If you want to learn more about catboats and mingle with fellow enthusiasts, this is the place to be.https://catboats.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Annual-Meeting-Flyer-2026-Final.pdf

01/14/2026

5 New Beetle Cat sailboats in progress. The smell of cedar fills the air.

01/07/2026

Wishing you smooth sailing in the New Year, as the Beetle Cat sailboat celebrates 105 years!

12/14/2025

Cover by Emily L. Ferguson and story by Kathy Mansfield in the Jan/Feb issue of Water Craft coming soon!

We’re out with the old… restoring Corribee no 1 & Norfolk smack Victorious… and in with the new…. first year boatbuilder Hannah Lovett & free Paul Gartside electric launch plans… in our January/February 2026 issue, on sale from 18 December.

• SAILS OF THE CENTURY – The great festival of sail in Douarnenez, Brittany, Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez, attracts boats with all kinds of rig. Kathy Mansfield has photographed many of them.

• WORK OUT OR DAY OUT – The best of small workboats can also lend themselves to leisure use, even the modern ones. Nigel Sharp reviews the versatile Nelson 18 from Nelson Motor Yachts.

• WITH THE BEETLES – Kathy again, this time over in the US, rediscovering the little Beetle Cat which taught so many young Americans to sail – and is doing so still.

• BUILDING YOUR OWN 20’ (6.1m) ELECTRIC LAUNCH – Paul Gartside provides full plans for such a sweet-lined dayboat she’s definitely worth investing in a pod motor.

• HOW WE BECAME WOODEN BOAT BUILDERS – Colin Henwood - Boatbuilder of the Wooden Boatbuilders' Trade Association looks back over 50 years and Hannah Lovett graduates from the Boat Building Academy after 50 weeks.

• RESTORATION DRAMAS – Dr Les Gornall loses Corribee no 1 to rescue her years later and Mat Arney follows the major rebuild of a 100 year old Norfolk fishing smack for The Coastal Explorer.

• THE HEROIC HISTORY OF THE SAILING CANOE – Jean-Yves Poirier describes how John MacGregor’s Rob Roy inspired solo adventurers on both sides of the Atlantic.

PLUS…

Refining traditional rigs, Moray MacPhail updates the old gooseneck • Yacht designer Ian Nicolson lets in some fresh air with his simple home-made Dorade vents • Join The Club takes us with the OGA - The Association for Gaff Rig Sailing to the Broads, with the dinghy cruisers to Loch Sunnart and with the steamers up the Tamar • And in Grand Designs, Paul Fisher of Selway Fisher Design creates the 24’ (7.3m) Oarsome Skiff to get more youngsters afloat.

Cover photograph by Land's Edge Photography: Beetle Cat racing! Bryan Largay came from LA to Massachusetts to take part in the New England Beetle Cat Boat Association’s annual regatta.

12/14/2025

Now in its second century and still built in wood, the iconic Beetle Cat is as popular as ever.

Well over 4000 of these 12’4’’ (3.8m) gaff-rigged boats have been built on the shores of Buzzards Bay, MA, since the first boat was designed and built by John Beetle in 1921.

Kathy Mansfield visited the Beetle Cat Boat Shop and rediscovered the little catboat which has taught so many to sail.

Read the full story in our January/February issue of WaterCraft, on sale from 18 December.

Get it first if you subscribe! For stockists and subscriptions: www.watercraft-magazine.com

Photograph: Kathy Mansfield

11/14/2025

Storage barns are full.