Butterfly
Description
The Butterfly is a classic one-design racing dinghy designed by John Barnett in 1961 in Libertyville, Illinois, and originally produced by the Barnett Boat Company. It's a lightweight, scow-hulled sailboat inspired by the larger C-Scow, optimized for fun, family-oriented sailing on small lakes, rivers, or protected bays. Originally intended for two-person crews, it's now predominantly raced single-handed due to its responsive handling and simplicity. With a deep cockpit for safety and stability, it's ideal for beginners, juniors, or experienced racers seeking low-cost competition—affordable to buy, maintain, and trailer. Over 11,000 units have been built since production began in 1961, making it one of the most popular small scows in North America. The class has a strong national organization (International Butterfly Association) hosting annual championships, and it's praised for its durability, ease of rigging (sail hoists without removing the mast), and versatility for casual day sails or club racing. Modern builders like Windward Boatworks continue production, emphasizing its "do-it-all" appeal: large enough for several people, fast for competition, and light for solo launching.
Construction Details
| Designer | John Barnett |
|---|---|
| Builder | Barnett Boat Co. |
| Length | 12.000 ft |
| LOA | 12.167 ft |
| Beam | 4.500 ft |
| Displacement | 135 lb |
| Max Draft | 2.330 ft |
| Min Draft | 1.250 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | 15.42 ft |
| e | 8.92 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | 15.42 ft | 8.92 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 15.33 ft - (4673 mm) |
| Foot | 8.92 ft - (2719 mm) |
| Leech | * 17.02 ft - (5188 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 85.83 ° |
| Diagonal | 17.167 ft - (5233 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 3 in - (76 mm) |
| Area | * 69.92 ft² |
| Comments | A sleeve (max folded width 3.5") is fashioned along the boom for the foot of the sail. The boltrope at the luff in inserted into a groove on the mast. Three battens 24" each. |
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.