YACHT, or more precisely its publisher at the time, the journalist and film-maker Horst Stern, is actually to blame. In 1969, the magazine first reported on his plan to launch an easy-to-use small cruiser on the German market. As a centreboard, the boat was also to be suitable for shallow waters and offer enough space and comfort for a small crew.
Gerhard Gilgenast was commissioned to draw the crack. The designer had worked on the American east coast for a while and was therefore familiar with the catboats that were common there. This type was largely unknown in Germany at the time, but with its simple rig, it corresponded pretty much exactly to Horst Stern's ideas. One sheet, one sail, that was the rule, and it still is today.
In the 1970 season, the first boats were put on the water, and so began the history of the "Seezunge". Two sizes were designed, with hull lengths of 5.40 and 7.10 metres and widths of 2.50 and 3.15 metres. While searching for a name, the designers noticed the similarity of the layout to a flatfish, and so they came up with "Seezunge". Quite obvious, in fact, with a length-to-width ratio of approximately 2:1. "Short and sweet" would also have been appropriate. There had actually been a design of this name at the beginning of the century. However, nobody knows whether it was ever realised.
Collection of superlatives
Incidentally, a catboat has nothing to do with catamarans, which are sometimes also referred to as cats. The first cat-rigged boats appeared in Germany in the 1980s and were probably already quite popular back then. Just not very widespread. Not much has changed to this day. There are barely more than 100 boats of this type sailing in Germany. And so it is a tight-knit group of enthusiasts who meet up on a weekend in August in Fahrdorf on the Schlei. Twelve boats bob around the jetty against the backdrop of Schleswig Cathedral. Each one is a little gem, lovingly maintained, if not built by the owner himself.
For example, the "Mósí", a Great Southbay Cat, built from the finest woods by owner Jannik Lukat, a young master boat builder from Glückstadt. An open boat that also stands out here because it is longer and narrower than the other typical catboats, which are reflected in its high-gloss paintwork.
A collection of superlatives is gathered here. The participant with the longest journey comes from Holland, is called Theo Nieuwenhuizen and has trailered his "Pleione" 700 kilometres here from Burgh in Zeeland. The oldest participant, Gerhard Reck, is 89 years old, comes from Berlin with "Mariecula" and is now in a boat with his son Kai-Christian. The smallest boat is a Cornish Cormorant, the "Sputnik", open and only 3.73 metres long. And of course there is also an oldest boat. The (sic!) "Krümel" is no less than 102 years old, built in 1922 by Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder. Need it be said that this old-timer doesn't look its age?
Nobody can explain the name "Catboot"
An identical predecessor with the construction number 401 was tested in 1915 - and also in the YACHT. Under the heading "The little man's yacht in the national taste of the nations", five boats were presented at the time, and the 401 was very appealing despite its very compact dimensions. It was praised that the cabin, with a boat length of 4.50 metres and a width of 2.00 metres, "indeed offers two young people a not uncomfortable place to stay, especially for sleeping and cooking". The testers were also very impressed by the good speed, which they had not expected.
Identical in construction, as mentioned, "Krümel" with the construction number 1501. Owner Rasmus Braun and friend Peter sit on board in the small cockpit. They are wearing woollen caps in the shape of black Viking helmets with white horns on their heads. A white beard reaches across Rasmus' chest. And in conversation with him, at some point he utters a sentence that sums it all up: "Catboat sailing is also a way of life". That must be the way it is.
Incidentally, nobody can explain exactly where the name catboat comes from. Some say it is the short, squat hull, which is reminiscent of a crouching cat. Perhaps it's also the quick manoeuvrability of the small boats, but none of this sounds really convincing. Be that as it may, it is a genus that has a common feature: the mast is positioned far forward on the bow, often unstayed, with a single sail, usually on a steep gaff. On the coasts of New England, they were used as working and fishing boats, valued for their large width, which allowed a high payload.
And now YACHT comes into play for the third time. Because in 1992 there was a design competition, initiated by the then editor-in-chief Harald Schwarzlose. He received a letter on his desk from the Hamburg marina in Wedel. It stated that all Wedel members had the right to "use a water berth for a sailing boat up to eight square metres in size free of charge for their club membership fee". A berth on the jetty for free was something of a lottery win even back then. On behalf of the editorial team, 20 designers from Germany and abroad took on the challenge of designing such a tiny boat with two berths below deck.
Schwarzlose himself also took part and submitted a design. He called the boat "Pixel". Painted in red and white, it looked exactly as it does today, over 30 years later, here on the jetty. And standing on it is Harald Schwarzlose, now 86 years old, and you can see how happy he is when he climbs onto the deck of "his" boat once again to talk shop with Günther Hallitschke, the new owner.
Weather is as it should be
After a short helmsmen's briefing, the mooring lines are cast off at 10.00 a.m. and all the boats set off. Out on the Schlei, a moderate southerly wind is now blowing, enough to push the small fleet along. A few ups and downs against the magnificent backdrop of Schleswig Cathedral, then the lead boat, Theo's "Pleione", flies the red flag. He had explained what this meant earlier. Admiral sailing, an old Dutch tradition.
All the boats line up behind each other in the keel line, which works without any problems in half the wind. When the white flag goes up, everyone turns 90 degrees to starboard, which in this wind means a shove. After that, everything is out of order, but that doesn't matter at all. Sooner or later they are all moored at the jetty in front of the youth hostel in Borgwedel, where the sausages are already steaming on the barbecue. Peter Plate is delighted. He has organised and set up everything here. The first meeting of its kind in Germany.
The greatest joy, as is always the case with sailors, is the weather. Just yesterday, the sky was grey and the south-westerly wind so strong that only a few brave catboat sailors took part in the planned trip. But today everything is as it should be. It's so nice and warm that Henning Schild and his daughter Ida jump into the water to cool off. They come from North Friesland and usually sail their "Fjordsang" in the Wadden Sea. This boat is also strikingly different from the others. It is a Norwalk Island Sharpie, designed by Bruce Kirby, to whom we owe the Laser dinghy, among other things. He also took part in the 1992 YACHT competition with the Sharpie design. The most important feature of the Sharpies is the narrower, sharp hull, made of plywood in a buckling frame construction. They are also high rigged, at least Kirby's are.
A bit of work in windy conditions
On the way back, the wind is noticeably fresher. Above all, strong gusts are now sweeping across the water. Frank Telwest sits at the helm of his "Fortuna" and prefers to switch from leeward to windward, because pulling the tiller is easier than pushing it. The "Clambake" also clearly turns its nose into the wind a few times in the pushers. It would be an exaggeration to call it a sun shot, but what owner Timm Lange has to do to keep his boat on course looks like a bit of work. Clambake, as Lange explained earlier, is the term used in New England for a beach picnic with clams, i.e. seafood, mussels and crabs. He lived over there for a while.
He now lives in Hamburg and usually sails on the Elbe. He has to use an engine from time to time. Some catboats have a built-in diesel, some have an outboard at the stern, but Lange has hidden his outboard in a shaft at the back of the cockpit. With the lid on, you can't even see it. To accelerate, he uses a throttle grip from his motorbike, which he has provisionally mounted on a broomstick. Many years ago. As we all know, nothing is more permanent than a makeshift solution.
Shortly before dinner, a gaff sail appears in the harbour entrance. The "Regula", a Thales 22 ketch with two masts, is the exotic boat in the fleet. Wolfgang Friedhelm didn't make it in time for the start of the meeting as he was still on holiday in Denmark. He set off from Marstal yesterday morning and sailed to Schleimünde and then here today despite the adverse conditions - strong south-westerly winds. Tomorrow is another day. And being there is everything.
Short and sweet
The catboat originated on the US East Coast in the middle of the 19th century. The boats were used there as easy-to-operate work vehicles in small-scale fishing, but also as transport vehicles on the coasts of New England due to their relatively large payload. Sports sailors in these regions soon discovered that they appreciated this type of boat, which was easy to sail, could also be built by small boat builders and had a reputation for being extremely seaworthy.
After the Second World War, the catboat had lost its importance as a working vessel. However, it remained popular as a leisure boat. After the first example made of GRP was built in 1962, the catboat experienced a real boom in the USA, which also led to an increase in wooden constructions. A search for traces in Germany leads to the first reports of catboats in 1880, when the type was already known as a boat for travelling by water on all of Berlin's waterways. After the First World War, almost all well-known shipyards and designers worked on the "catboat" type of boat and, from 1969, the Seezunge, initiated by YACHT and designed by Georg Gilgenast, was created.
