The Cayman Catboat

In 1904 a Caymanian boatbuilder named Daniel Jervis produced a small, beamy, shallow sailing boat with a mast stepped right forward and no jib, and it turned out to be exactly right for turtling: fast, easy to handle single-handed, and able to be sailed onto a turtle. Within a few years catboats were the working boat of the islands and were carried on the decks of the schooners that went to the turtling grounds off Nicaragua. Engines ended the trade, and the boats nearly vanished. A preservation society now builds them by traditional methods, keeps a collection, and races them at Batabano and Pirates Week.

What you actually see

• The design - beamy, shallow, mast right forward, no jib.
• The Catboat Club - the collection and the workshop at Cayman Kai.
• The races - at Batabano in spring and Pirates Week in November.
• The turtling connection - the trade the boat was designed for.

When to go

Batabano in April or May and Pirates Week in November are when the boats race. The Catboat Club at Cayman Kai keeps a collection and can be visited by arrangement rather than on a schedule.

Honest expectations

There is no permanent public display with regular hours; seeing the boats means catching a race or arranging a club visit. The number of people who can build them is small. The turtling trade the boat was designed for is the uncomfortable part of the story and is not much dwelt on.

Nearby

Cayman Kai is on the North Side; races run in George Town harbour.