Production began in 1972, and 100 boats were built. The design was accepted into the H Class for competition because of its fidelity to the original. While the wooden 12½ demanded constant care, the Doughdish was engineered to be stronger, safer, and less expensive to keep afloat—without sacrificing the appearance, shape, displacement, or sailing performance that made the original a benchmark.
Design and Construction
The Doughdish reproduces the appearance, shape, displacement, and sailing performance of the original wooden boats and is substantially identical in detail. Its foam-sandwich hull is roughly three-quarters of an inch thick. The bulkheads and decks are also fiberglass, and the deck has a simulated canvas nonskid finish.
Varnished teak is used for the sheer strake, toe rails, coamings, inner face of the transom, and miscellaneous moldings and trim. The cockpit sole is oiled teak, with removable center slats that provide access to the bilge. Hardware is bronze and stainless steel throughout.
Compared with its wooden sisterships, the Doughdish’s fiberglass hull is very strong and relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain.
Rig and Handling
The standard Doughdish is a gaff-rigged sloop with a self-tending jib, although a Marconi rig was optional. The spars are varnished spruce, as is the rigging. Sheets are normally cleated rather than held, easing the crew’s workload.
A reviewer writing in Ballentine’s found the boat lovely to sail single-handed and manageable by children or great-grandmothers. The Doughdish is smart and responsive in light air, and she turns readily and reliably. A person can stand anywhere aboard without fear of instability.
For a displacement boat of her size, she is unusually fast. Testers have described her as tremendously seaworthy and as capable as a boat can be in heavy wind and seas.
Cockpit, Storage, and Crew Capacity
Despite the Doughdish’s modest overall length, the cockpit is wide enough for adults to sit opposite one another without crowding. Fore-and-aft teak seats run the length of the cockpit, and the opposite bench serves as a foot brace when the boat is heeled hard.
Manufacturer literature says the boat is roomy enough for a family and can be sailed comfortably with as many as five or six people. A magazine review also notes abundant space for a crew of four with unobstructed legroom.
Small storage spaces in the forward and aft bulkheads can hold a spinnaker, sail ties, PFDs, and a picnic lunch. An oar or the optional spinnaker pole ties beneath the seats. The bilge is large enough to accommodate the anchor, manual bilge pump, and even a bucket.
Safety and Flotation
The forward and aft compartments contain foam flotation. Tests confirm that the Doughdish has ample reserve buoyancy to float level if she fills with water.
Removable slats in the cockpit sole provide quick access to the bilge and pump. Together with the reserve flotation, this reinforces the Doughdish’s character as a safe, forgiving daysailer rather than a bare reproduction of a fragile antique.
Equipment, Auxiliary Power, and Ownership
New boats came with a Dacron mainsail and jib, Dacron running rigging, and an optional nylon spinnaker.
Auxiliary power could be supplied by a 2 or 3 horsepower longshaft outboard, either gas or electric, mounted on a compact bracket on the port deck beside the tiller. The bracket slips off its fastenings when not in use, preserving the boat’s clean lines, while the engine stows on a mast-mounted bracket. The builder recommended the Torqeedo electric motor for this application.
The Herreshoff 12½ design itself saw no significant modification in 80 years, a testament to the underlying concept that the Doughdish was built to perpetuate.
The Verdict
The Doughdish succeeds as a faithful fiberglass Herreshoff 12½, preserving the original’s charm and seakeeping while shedding much of a wooden boat’s maintenance burden. She is stable, quick, easily single-handed, and has genuine family capacity as well as H-Class legitimacy. Her small size and daysailer focus, however, limit her to sheltered-water and coastal day use rather than cruising.
Pros
- Faithful fiberglass reproduction of the Herreshoff 12½, with H-Class acceptance
- Foam-sandwich fiberglass hull and fiberglass decks are stronger and less expensive to maintain than wood
- Exceptionally stable and seaworthy for her size; manageable by children and novices
- Roomy cockpit with practical teak seating, useful storage, and easy bilge access
- Foam flotation and proven reserve buoyancy allow her to float level if flooded
Cons
- Daysailer dimensions limit crew comfort and any potential for overnight use
- Auxiliary power is limited to small longshaft outboards
- Varnished teak trim still requires regular upkeep to look right
