The Kingston Lobster Boat

Kingston Lobster Boat with her builder Kevin Rathbone

Pete Culler's Wherries and designs for the Kinston Lobster Boat gather their lineage from workboats popular around Scituate and further down on the cape. Pete had a way of inspiring others, maybe because he worked out of his backyard in Hyannis. It's not that he didn't build larger boats, it's just that the small boats have a character that's distinctly his. And, he convinced people that crafting a fine boat at home was within their reach.

While at the Concordia Company, he was asked to come up with a design for production. A series of three plans were produced starting with the Concordia Sloopboat, then the Kingston Lobster Boat and finally the Buzzards Bay Sloop.
The two former have essentially the same hull while later has another foot overall. The "Lobster" boat is rigged more like the original working boats with hardly any gear by today's standards. At 17 feet 8 inches and a 5 foot beam,
she rows well and her hull moves easily under sail.

Kevin crafted this boat over thirty years ago using traditional boat building methods. She's built lapstrake with local cedar planking over white oak frames. He sails her mostly in his home waters of Long Island Sound, but has been a faithful participant at the John Gardener Small Craft Workshop for many years. He carved the oars himself and encourages others to do the same.

Kevin's Wherry has been an inspiration for newcomers to the workshop. He, like Pete Culler, is a strong supporter of the sprit rig. It is arguably the easiest rig to douse and one favored by fishermen in the 1800s. The mizzen adds balance and he says it's worth the trouble. I can say he handles it nicely. Sprit rigs have a low center of effort and boast the greatest sail to mast height proportion.

Although out of print, Pete Culler's books do turn up from time to time, albeit quite costly. He has a very loyal following in small craft circles for good reason. He showed people how to build some great boats.