Bolger Featherwind No.262
Description
The Featherwind is a lightweight, 15-foot-6-inch plywood daysailer and gunkholer designed by American naval architect Phil Bolger in the 1970s, renowned for its simplicity, portability, and performance in sheltered waters. Optimized for amateur builders using stitch-and-glue methods, it features a narrow V-bottom hull, swing-up leeboard, and kick-up rudder for shallow draft (under 1 ft up), making it ideal for beaching, trailering, or car-topping. With a gunter or balanced lug rig, it sails nimbly in light to moderate winds (up to 15 knots), reaching 5–7 knots on reaches while remaining forgiving for beginners. Often customized with foredeck storage or small cabins, it's a favorite for solo or small-family outings in bays, rivers, or lakes—embodying Bolger's "crafty ways" for affordable joy on the water. Variants by Jim Michalak or Dave Carnell simplify it further for even quicker builds (~200–300 hours).
Construction Details
| Designer | Bolger, Philip C. |
|---|---|
| Length | 16.000 ft |
| LOA | 24.000 ft |
| LWL | 19.670 ft |
| Beam | 8.580 ft |
| Max Draft | 4.080 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 37.73 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 12.47 ft |
| p | 32.48 ft |
| e | 8.86 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37.73 ft | 12.47 ft | 32.48 ft | 8.86 ft | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 16 ft - (4877 mm) |
| Foot | 9.67 ft - (2947 mm) |
| Leech | 16.9 ft - (5151 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 77.64 ° |
| Diagonal | 16.83 ft - (5130 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area | * 78.32 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 11.5 ft - (3505 mm) |
| Foot | 4.58 ft - (1396 mm) |
| Leech | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | * 3.67 ft - (1119 mm) |
| Area | * 21.11 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.