Original "Palmer Scott" Woodpussy photos

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Joe Peters has a 1940's Woodpussy ;a real "woodie" (possibly one of only a dozen "woodies" surviving the chain saw, of the 75 or so Woodpussys surviving. Most of the survivers are fbrg&*ss). Information may be found about the Woodpussy on the class website (United States WoodPussy Association - USWPCA http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uswpca/ ) and the "renaissance" planned for this classic catboat (13' 6" Rhodes design--6' beam).
As of April 2011, the class has had it's ups and downs. There were 27 boats on the starting line at the 2006 Nationals but a at the 2010 nationals, only 6 WoodPussys showed up to race,
The two NJ fleets, where these boats have been kept alive over the years, both have installed enthusiastic fleet Captains, so we expect greater excitement to develop this season.

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Why are they called Woodpussys?
In the 1940's a fellow named Abbott asked Phil Rhodes to design a catboat for his grandchildren to learn how to sail. This boat was
constructed of wood "voila".Although there is some question as to the wisdom of this choice, the skunk (aka wood pussy, the woodsman's term ) is a very pretty little animal and a tough customer to fool with. This description fits Philip Rhodes’ Wood-Pussy. The first Woodpussys were "wooden kittens"(catboats).The first manufacturer in wood was Palmer Scott,
New Bedford MA. When fiberglass became an option for small boat construction in the early 50's, builders switched to this method.
Although Olsen Marine in NJ made a few Woodpussys using cold molded wood construction, other builders went with glass. O'Day made about a dozen in the 60's. "Marscott" then became the dominant builder in fiberglass until the 60's. "One Design Marine" made about a dozen but ceased manufacture in 1970. They attempted to make their boat self bailing, and built in a raised floor. This made the boat uncomfortable to sail so the boat was unpopular. Those of us who
restored these boats (including myself) removed the floor and lowered the floorboards. This boat was well made and will survive for years to come. We estimate that about a dozen of the wooden boats are still sailing and possibly another 50 or so of the glass boats survive of the total of about 1000 Woodpussys built until 1970.