BoatsMenger Boatworks Cat 17

Menger Boatworks Cat 17

Gaff head Cat · Keel/centreboard · First built 1983

A gaff-rigged catboat with an optional inboard diesel, now a rare find after her original molds were lost to fire

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 2.44 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 998 kg of hull, so roughly 1,600 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 998 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 0.51 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

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

Comfort ratio 13
CoastalBluewater

At 2.46 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.46
LightHeavy

219 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 219
EasygoingPowered-up

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

Sail area / displacement 23.7
TenderStiff

23% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 23%

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

  • Heavier than ~88% of boats her size on file
  • Beamier than ~81% of boats her size on file

Compared with 287 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
22.7%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Gaff head Cat
Ratios
SA / displacement
23.7
Displacement / length
218.6
Comfort ratio
12.8
Capsize screening
2.46
Hull speed
5.4 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
472
Hull
Hull type
Keel/Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1983
Designer
Menger
Builder
Menger Boatworks

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.

Marshall Marine Corporation Sanderling5.54 mSame hull family0.4 m longerA gaff-rigged catboat based on a 1941 design, featuring a shallow-draft keel-centerboard hull for versatile day sailing
Dufour Yachts T66.15 mSame hull family1.0 m longerA lightweight 800kg fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performance in light air
RS Quest4.29 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA 140kg fractional sloop with a centerboard trunk designed for stable, versatile training and family sailing
Microtonner 195.50 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA high-performance fractional sloop designed by Nestor Volker to the International Micro Class rule for competitive racing
Drascombe Dabber4.72 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterA John Watkinson-designed sprit-rigged daysailer with a centerboard, built since 1970 for shallow-water versatility

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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