Folkboat Whitby 25 Sailboats for Sale & Market Overview

Hull type

Monohull · full

Rig

Masthead Sloop

LOA

25.25' · 7.7 m

Displ.

5,500 lbs · 2,495 kg

First year

1961

The Whitby 25, frequently referred to in historical records as the Continental Folkboat or the Walton 25, represents a significant chapter in the early transition from wood to fiberglass construction in North America. Commissioned by Kurt Hansen’s Whitby Boat Works in the early 1960s, the design was an adaptation of the legendary Nordic Folkboat lines penned by Tord Sundén. Unlike the strictly regulated wooden racing class, the Whitby 25 was marketed as a rugged, affordable coastal cruiser capable of withstanding the challenging conditions of the Great Lakes and the Atlantic seaboard. The hull remains instantly recognizable for its "clinkerstyle" fiberglass molding, which mimics the overlapping planks of its wooden ancestors, a design choice that adds significant longitudinal stiffness to the hull while preserving its classic aesthetic.