# Beetle Cat Knockoff?



## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

There is a company that makes a cat boat very similar to the Beetle Cat, but in fiberglass. I can't remember the name, and I can't find anything through my own feeble efforts at searching.

Anyone know the company/boat I'm talking about?


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

For some reason, I want to say Sturdee Cat, but their offerigns seem larger than the traditional Beetlecat.

Arey's Pond makes a twelve footer, among other sizes.

Other cat-boat builders in fibreglass are Marshall and Menger, but I don't think either of them makes one that small. The Melonseed Skiff is longer, but smaller.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

Thanks John. The Sturdee Cat is close, but you're right that it's a bit more substantial.

I think I found the boat I was thinking of, which is the Barnstable Cat.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

danielgoldberg said:


> Thanks John. The Sturdee Cat is close, but you're right that it's a bit more substantial.
> 
> I think I found the boat I was thinking of, which is the Barnstable Cat.


Ahh, I had not heard of the Barnstable Catboat. Very nice.

That Arey's Pond Kitten I linked to above is also more or less a Beetle Cat knockoff.

Are you in the market? Any one of these would be a heck of a lot of fun....


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

JohnRPollard said:


> Ahh, I had not heard of the Barnstable Catboat. Very nice.
> 
> That Arey's Pond Kitten I linked to above is also more or less a Beetle Cat knockoff.
> 
> Are you in the market? Any one of these would be a heck of a lot of fun....


I'm kicking around the idea. Looking for an inexpensive toy (relatively speaking), and something on which to teach the kids how to sail. I have a Sunfish, which is loads of fun, but too easy to capsize and not so comfy, which makes it a bit hard to take the kids and the Mrs. for a leisurely spin.

I hadn't known of the Kitten until your post, but as a result I've emailed them about one of the used ones they list on their site. The boat generally looks like a beauty.

I also have been looking at buying an older J24 or J27 with a buddy of mine. Same concept in terms of intended use, but the J would allow us to race it as well.

I probably prefer the Beetle Cat concept (won't get a true Beetle because of the wood issue) because it's easier to sail and simpler to deal with. We'll see what happens. As I mentioned, the key concept here is CHEAP, and this is by no means a necessity, so we'd have to find the right boat in the right place at the right price.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Not sure where you are at, but a Lightning may work, or a smaller cabin style boat like a sanjuan 21. 

Marty


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## AndrewMac (Sep 11, 2009)

I just did the same thing - bought a small cat with the idea of teaching the kids. Ended up going a little bit bigger (15') as my mother, who's 70, wants to start sailing again, so the idea of sitting all the way in the cockpit as with the beetle cat didn't seem realistic. Figured it would be great for the kids to learn on as well - they're 7,5 and 4 and the ensign was a little much for them last summer. Got an incredible deal. One place to keep an eye out is: catboats.org. They have a good collection of used boats and, as I recall, several for sale in the NY/Long Island/CT area. I remember seeing the barnstable as well as a couple of other types of small fibergalss cats


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

I'm thinking a Barnstable Cat, or an Arey's Pond Kitten. Both are essentially Beetle Cat replicas made from fiberglass.

The Sturdee Cats look very nice, but they are just a bit big for what I'm looking for, which essentially is something I can tool around in without a motor, and maybe even tow it to local harbors for some messing around while we're on the hook with the mother ship. 

I'm finding that it's hard to find information on these boats in terms of reviews or opinions comparing/contrasting them. Anyone have any info on them?


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## AndrewMac (Sep 11, 2009)

There's a forum section to catboats.org where I would imagine you could get some feedback, but I think you may have to pay some kind of fee to join...


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## AndrewMac (Sep 11, 2009)

Check out this link: The Catboat Association, Inc. 
As I understand it, this allows you to broadcast a question to the members of Catboats.org without subscibing and paying their fee. Seems like there are lots of barnstable and arey's owners who can probably give you some good feedback.
Good Luck


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

AndrewMac said:


> Check out this link: The Catboat Association, Inc.
> As I understand it, this allows you to broadcast a question to the members of Catboats.org without subscibing and paying their fee. Seems like there are lots of barnstable and arey's owners who can probably give you some good feedback.
> Good Luck


Thanks Andrew. I tried that, and we'll see what happens. You can't get onto their discussion board unless you're a member, and I don't think you can simply join online.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

danielgoldberg said:


> Thanks Andrew. I tried that, and we'll see what happens. You can't get onto their discussion board unless you're a member, and I don't think you can simply join online.


Nope, they don't let you post to their listserv either. Oh well.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

danielgoldberg said:


> I'm kicking around the idea. Looking for an inexpensive toy (relatively speaking), and something on which to teach the kids how to sail. I have a Sunfish, which is loads of fun, but too easy to capsize and not so comfy, which makes it a bit hard to take the kids and the Mrs. for a leisurely spin.
> 
> I hadn't known of the Kitten until your post, but as a result I've emailed them about one of the used ones they list on their site. The boat generally looks like a beauty.
> 
> ...


Daniel,

I think you and the family could have a heck of a lot of funny in any of these smaller catboats. For what you're trying to do, I would lean more towards these than the J-boats. You've already got one keel boat.

If you could get a chance to visit Arey's Pond, I would encourage you. Probably better in the warmer months, but it is a special place for anyone with a love for sailing.

In your subsequent post you mentioned the possibility of towing behind the mothership. I think the Kitten or Barnstable Cat would be pretty unwieldy for towing.

If towing is truly in the picture, I might suggest that you consider some other alternatives. We have a couple sailing dinghies, but the larger one is actually a very capable daysailer. It's the Passagemaker Dinghy from CLC, and it can haul our family of five plus picnic gear etc without flinching. It is very similar to a small catboat, but with a daggerboard and a small jib too. However, if you lack the time or inclination to build it yourself, you'd probably need to look elsewhere.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

JohnRPollard said:


> Daniel,
> 
> For what you're trying to do, I would lean more towards these than the J-boats. You've already got one keel boat.
> ...
> ...


On your first point, you got that right!

On the second, I don't plan to tow it regularly or for any serious lengths. I'm talking about someting like Mamaroneck to Oyster Bay, or Mamaroneck to Port Washington, distances of 3 to 8 miles in protected water. The primary use would not at all be towing it around, but that would simply be an option for those times when the weather and destination would allow. We regularly participate in raft-ups in these types of harbors very close to home, so it would be an option to have the Beetle wannabe to play around with while swinging on the hook.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

danielgoldberg said:


> On your first point, you got that right!
> 
> On the second, I don't plan to tow it regularly or for any serious lengths. I'm talking about someting like Mamaroneck to Oyster Bay, or Mamaroneck to Port Washington, distances of 3 to 8 miles in protected water. The primary use would not at all be towing it around, but that would simply be an option for those times when the weather and destination would allow. We regularly participate in raft-ups in these types of harbors very close to home, so it would be an option to have the Beetle wannabe to play around with while swinging on the hook.


Heck, for short distances like that you could forget about towing and the kids could just sail it over to the anchorage. We frequently send our kids ahead in the dinghies if we're only making a short hop.

Keep us posted. I'd love to hear your impressions of the boat if you inspect/test sail that Kitten or a Barnstable.

By the way, if we ever found ourselves "between" keel boats, I've often thought that the Arey's Daysailer would be a great way to tide us over.

Photo Credit APBY:


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## Alexander Wilds (Aug 5, 2012)

danielgoldberg said:


> There is a company that makes a cat boat very similar to the Beetle Cat, but in fiberglass. I can't remember the name, and I can't find anything through my own feeble efforts at searching.
> 
> Anyone know the company/boat I'm talking about?


Yes, The BB Swan. I have one. BB Swans were built between 1947 and 1953. They were the world's first production fiberglass boat - hull #5 is in the Mystic Maritime Museum as the oldest fiberglass boat on Earth.

I suppose it is fair to call them a "Knock off" of the Beetle Cat. The BB Swan was the brainchild of Carl Beetle, and the lines were taken directly from a Beetle Cat, so the hulls are identical.

BB Swans differ from Beetle Cats in the following points: (A) Marconi rigged, with all aluminum spars, and (B) much lighter, thus overall better, faster sailers.

I am selling mine, which is in excellent condition.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

Nice Howard Boats


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