Cat rigged

A boat or yacht that is Cat-rigged has a single mast, stepped well forward, carrying a single fore and aft sail, behind the mast. A boat that is cat-rigged can also be described as having a Una rig.

Laser dinghies are cat-rigged, as are Finn dinghies, Optimists, many Freedom Yachts, and a large number of traditional fishing vessels.

Also cat-rigged are catboats, a traditional style of wide-beamed, shallow-draft boat, typically gaff-rigged with a centreboard. Formerly common on the East Coast of the United States they are more commonly seen as dinghy-sized open daysailers and class racers.

The terms cat-rigged, and catboat, should not be confused with catamarans. Catamarans are not related to the term cat-rigged, though catamarans can of course be cat-rigged, if they have a single sail and no jib.

The term 'cat' may come from the 'cat head', a protruding cross beam, not far behind the bow, or head, of a sailing ship, to which the anchor was attached when the vessel was preparing for sea. The mast of a cat-rigged boat is stepped near the point that the 'cat head' would be.

Catboat

A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat), or a cat-rigged sailboat, is a sailing vessel characterized by a single mast carried well forward (typically near its bow). Generally a catboat has a light and shallow draft hull, wide beam approximately half its length, is gaff rigged, and carries a centreboard.

Although any boat with a single sail and a mast carried well forward is 'technically' a catboat, some catboats such as the Barnegat Bay type and more modern designs carry a Bermuda sail. A jib is sometimes added, but this may require a bowsprit, and technically creates a sloop sail-plan.

A typical New England style has a very long boom that extends over the transom and may carry foresails stayed from a bowsprit.

History

It is generally accepted that the origin of the catboat type was in New York around 1840 and from there spread east and south as the virtues of the type — simplicity, ease of handling, shallow draft, large capacity — were discovered. Historically, they were used for fishing and transport in the coastal waters around Cape Cod, Narragansett Bay, New York and New Jersey. Some were fitted with bowsprits for swordfishing and others were used as 'party boats' with canvas-sided, wood-framed summer cabins that could be rolled up.