The Butterfly is a one-design sailing

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

, originally designed for a crew of two, but now most commonly raced single-handed. It was designed in 1961 in Libertyville, Illinois by John Barnett. The hull is a

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailboat, sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small ha ...

design. The craft has a stayed mast set as a Marconi rig with a single

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...

with a surface area. The cockpit is 15 ½" deep, exceptionally deep for this size of sailboat, and can accommodate an adult up to 6 feet in height.

History

The boat was first designed by John Barnett of

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...

in 1961, who was inspired to make a smaller version of the C Scow, a popular sailing skiff. With the help of Dr. Robert Chamberlain, Mike Daskilakis, and Jim Miller the class was officially launched in 1962. The first Butterfly nationals was held at Grand Rapids Yacht Club in 1962, after which the boat was declared the official training boat of the Western Michigan Yachting Association. Barnett quickly moved production to Kenosha, Wisconsin where it stayed until he sold the company in 1982 to Hedlund Marine in Willmette, Illinois, but production was kept in Wisconsin. In 2007, Hedlund Marine sold production to Windward Boatworks of

Princeton, Wisconsin Princeton is a city in western Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,267 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located within the Princeton (town), Wisconsin, Town of Princeton. The Fox River (Gree ...

Fleets

* Crystal Lake Yacht Club * Glen Lake Yacht Club * Grand Rapids Yacht Club * Leland Yacht Club * Long Lake Yacht Club * Missouri Yacht Club * Muskegon Yacht Club
Powers Lake Yacht Club
* Sail Dubay * Camp Michigania Yacht Club * Spring Lake Yacht Club * Torch Lake Yacht Club * Union Sailing Club * White Lake Yacht Club * White Rock Boat Club

Sources

National Butterfly Association
boat specifications and class history

External links

* {{Sailing Dinghies and Skiffs Dinghies 1960s sailboat type designs Scows