In 1908 B.B. Crowinshield was asked to draw up a one-design class of knockabouts to be initially known as the Manchester 17-1/2.  The class was to become one of the most popular and long-lived of the knockabouts; about 200 boats were built in Maine, for example, where the name altered to reflect yacht club affiliation.  The most common name for the design is now the Dark Harbor 17-1/2, named after the summer colony at Islesboro that once had the largest number of these boats.

One still finds many a Dark Harbor 17-1/2 “knocking about” New England waters.  (A dozen or so reside at Buck’s Harbor Yacht Club in Brooksville, where they are still raced on Eggemoggin Reach.)  The boats were built well and have lasted well, with cedar planking over oak frames, a lead ballast keel, copper and bronze fittings, and simple deck construction -- canvas-over-cedar-or-pine -- to discourage freshwater leaks.  Most were built with the self-bailing cockpit as shown on the drawings, although a few were given deep cockpits with seats for more comfort.  While intended primarily for afternoon sailing and racing, these boats have often been used for coastal cruising; the low cabin trunk has space for two transom berths. 

The plans consist of four sheets, including lines, offsets, sail plan, and construction plan.  WB Plan No. 19 -- $60.00.

Ref. Fifty Wooden Boats  (Pages 56 - 57)  Description and Plan used by permission
Copyright 1984,  Wooden Boat Publications, Inc.
Naskeag Road
Brooklyn, Main  04616

See also... Wooden Boat,  June 2007, Number 196  (Pages 66 - 75)