Wooden Boat AtlasDesigners, builders & classes · v3.0

Atlas / Classes & Types

Classes & Types

One-designs, rating rules and vernacular working types.

San Francisco Bay

Acorn Class
James DeWitt, 1940s — a 19-ft owner-built Bay one-design
fleet of seven by April 1946 · 1 open question
Bear Class
Sausalito, 1929–32 — the largest one-design fleet on the Bay
conceived 1929; 69 hulls built 1932–1976 · 3 open questions
Bird Class
San Francisco Bay, 1921 — the oldest one-design class on the West Coast
designed 1921; boats built to 1947 · 4 open questions
El Toro
Richmond Yacht Club, 1940 — over 11,000 built
1939–40; class formalised 1946 · 2 open questions
Farallone Clipper
Stockton-built, Bay-raced, 1938
first boats 1938; production into the early 1960s · 5 open questions
Hurricane 30
Nunes Brothers, Sausalito — 17 hulls
from 1948 · 3 open questions
Junior Clipper
Stephens Brothers, 1946 — the Farallone Clipper's little sister
introduced 1946 · 2 open questions
Mercury 18
Sausalito, 1939 — one of the first plywood one-designs
designed 1939; 1,060 built by 1994 · 2 open questions
Monterey Clipper & the San Francisco Felucca
Italian-American fishing craft, 1860s – 1950s
feluccas from the late 1860s; motorised clippers from c. 1925
P.I.C. Class
Pacific Inter-Club, 1936 — not a boat called 'Pic'
from 1936 · 1 open question
Rhodes 33
Philip Rhodes design No. 441, 1938
first built 1938; 40 built
San Francisco Bay Scow Schooner
The Bay's cargo craft, c. 1850 – 1930s
peak c. 1880; last built in the 1930s
Windward Class
Philip L. Rhodes — first boat launched at Oakland, 1947
from 1947 · 1 open question

Southern California

Cal 40
Lapworth, 1963 — the end of the argument
from 1963
PC — Pacific Class
Kettenburg, San Diego, 1929
from 1929
Sea Witch Ketch
Angelman & Davies, from c. 1937
from c. 1937; still built
Snowbird
Willis Reid, 1921 — Newport Harbor's junior class
designed 1921; over 500 wooden hulls

Pacific Northwest

Thunderbird
Ben Seaborn, 1958 — the plywood era's great success
from 1958

New England & the East Coast

The Cape Cod Catboat
New England vernacular, revived by Fenwick Williams
19th century; the modern standard design 1930
Colvin Gazelle
Thomas E. Colvin — junk-rigged steel schooner
—
The Gloucester Fishing Schooner
New England, 19th century to the 1930s
to the 1930s
International 210
C. Raymond Hunt, 1945
from 1945
Tahiti Ketch
John G. Hanna, 1935
published 1935; amateur-built ever since
Yankee One Design
W. Starling Burgess, 1937 — and the last one built at Alameda
42 built, 1937–1963 · 3 open questions

United Kingdom

The Canoe Yawl
Albert Strange and the Humber Yawl Club
from the 1880s
Cooper Six-Tonner
A. M. Bellingham / Charles Cooper, Kent
1930s · 1 open question
The J-Class
The Universal Rule's largest yachts, 1930–1937
1930 – 1937 as a racing class
The Metre Classes
The International Rule, ratified 1907
1907 – present
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter
British working sail, 1795 – 1922
documented from 1795; last sail-powered cutter retired 1922

Scandinavia & Northern Europe

The Colin Archer Type
Double-ended, heavy-displacement, seagoing
from 1872 · 1 open question
Dragon
Johan Anker, 1929
from 1929
International One Design
Bjarne Aas, 1937 — Bay fleet from 1952
designed 1937; Bay fleet founded 1952 · 2 open questions
International Knarr
Norway, 1943 — with a direct line to San Francisco
designed 1943; first production delivery 1946
Nordic Folkboat
Gothenburg, 1942 — and a large Bay fleet
competition 1941; first boat launched 23 April 1942 · 1 open question
Spidsgatter
Danish double-enders, from 1914
from 1914; classes standardised late 1920s

Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections