BoatsLawson's Boat Yard Indian

Lawson's Boat Yard Indian

Fractional Sloop · Keel/centreboard · First built 1921

A lapstrake centerboard dory derived from Swampscott racing lines, built as a popular one-design class since 1921

Designed by John G. Alden & Sam Crocker.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 1.91 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 794 kg of hull, so roughly 1,400 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 794 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 0.46 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a narrow beam gives 13 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 13
CoastalBluewater

2.08 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.08
LightHeavy

166 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 166
EasygoingPowered-up

21.8 — plenty of sail for her weight; lively and quick to respond.

Sail area / displacement 21.8
TenderStiff

26% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 26%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Draws less than ~81% of boats her size on file
  • Narrower than ~95% of boats her size on file

Compared with 604 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
Ballast / displacement
25.7%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
21.8
Displacement / length
166.2
Comfort ratio
13.0
Capsize screening
2.08
Hull speed
5.5 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
374
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Wood lapstrake/FG
Production
Years built
First built 1921
Units built
103
Designer
John G. Alden, Sam Crocker
Builder
Lawson's Boat yard, William Chamberlain, Reed-Cook (ME), Chaisson Boat Builders

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.

Dufour Yachts T66.15 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterA lightweight 800kg fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performance in light air
Marshall Marine Corporation Sanderling5.54 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA gaff-rigged catboat based on a 1941 design, featuring a shallow-draft keel-centerboard hull for versatile day sailing
Catalina Yachts 227.26 mSame hull family0.8 m longerA swing-keel masthead sloop with 15,000 units sold, offering a highly versatile and trailerable coastal cruiser
Cal Boats 247.43 mSame hull family1.0 m longerThe inaugural Jensen Marine Cal model, this fractional keel-centerboard sloop was built for shoal-water versatility
Melges 247.32 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA 7.32-meter sportboat with a lifting keel and a 32.09 sail-area-to-displacement ratio built for rapid planing

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.

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

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

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