BoatsBarnett Boats Butterfly

Barnett Boats Butterfly

Cat (Marconi) · Scow Sngl. Cbrd. · First built 1961

A scow-hulled cat-rigged dinghy with a high 45.18 SA/D ratio, built for responsive racing since 1961

Designed by John Barnett.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Scow Sngl. Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 1.37 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 62 kg of hull, so roughly 650 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 62 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.38 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
CoastalBluewater

At 3.49 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 3.49
EasygoingPowered-up

45.2 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 45.2

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Lighter than ~92% of boats her size on file
  • Draws less than ~88% of boats her size on file
  • Narrower than ~81% of boats her size on file

Compared with 27 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cat (Marconi)
Ratios
SA / displacement
45.2
Capsize screening
3.49
Hull
Hull type
Scow Sngl. Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1961
Units built
10750
Designer
John Barnett
Builder
Barnett Boats

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Hansa 303 (Access)3.03 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA high-stability, lifting-keel dinghy designed by Chris Mitchell for accessible, responsive sailing
127. Marc Esteban. El valor de la superación personal2:40from A Son de Mar
RS Quest4.29 mSame hull family0.6 m longerA 140kg fractional sloop with a centerboard trunk designed for stable, versatile training and family sailing
Sea Cadet National Sailing and Windsurfing Regatta 20250:48from City Sailing

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Barnett Boats MaxCat (unstayed) · 3.40 mBarnstable Cat BoatA fiberglass adaptation of the iconic 1921 John Beetle design, offering a low-maintenance take on the classic catboatBeetle CatA strict one-design wooden class in continuous production since 1921, built for traditional daysailing

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Barnett Boats Butterfly

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