Design and Construction
Barnett’s design is a chine-less scow with a sealed hull and deck and added internal flotation, and the footwell is molded into the deck so the hull is completely airtight — the boat is swamp-proof and carries enough foam to float boat and crew together. A spray rail runs across the deck to keep water out of that footwell, and the generous 54-inch beam paired with a 15-inch hull depth keeps the boat notably dry while adding capacity. The glass finish is careful and the woodwork is hand-rubbed varnish, with mahogany handrails that double as a secure hand and toe grip. The class has absorbed incremental updates over the years that the builder says made newer boats stronger and longer-lived without changing how they perform.
Rig and Handling
The Butterfly is cat-rigged with no jib, a stayed rotating mast stepped on a rounded deck hardpoint and held by three steel cables with quick-connect adjustable fittings. The 18-foot mast breaks into two nine-foot sections, so it travels shorter than the hull and stows excepted from everything else that packs into the footwell. One person can step or strike it in a couple of minutes, and the sail runs on a bolt rope in a mast slot, which lets even younger kids hoist it and lets the mast stay up when you pause for the day. A daggerboard and spring-assisted alloy rudder let you launch and recover from sand, grass, or a trailer, and the toe rails can serve as a makeshift mainsheet traveler by hooking a loop of the sheet around their rounded forward end. There is also provision on the mast for a custom boom vang.
Accommodations and Use
This is a daysailer and trainer rather than a cruiser, but the footwell is a roomy 25 by 15 inches and 15 inches deep — deeper than most boats in its size and weight class — so adults well over six feet sail it comfortably, and it is large enough for several people within the 600-pound crew capacity. At roughly 135 pounds of hull weight, it is light enough for one person to launch and easy for two to lift off a car roof, and it can be towed on a small trailer or carried on a car top. Many yacht clubs and camps use it as a junior training boat, which explains why old and new boats still race side by side as a regatta favorite.
Known Issues
The one documented weak spot is the toe rails: a close inspection of a 1977 example showed them loose and badly repaired, and the reviewer called that the most common issue with these boats. Otherwise the sealed construction and foam flotation mean a capsize is uneventful — the hull rides high, the boat is easy to recover, and it comes back up with the footwell still dry.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership is straightforward. The boat is virtually maintenance free by design, updates have only improved build quality over time, and the one-design rulebook keeps the class identical so a well-kept older hull stays competitive with a new one. The factory-supplied tiller is wooden and folds out a metal hiking stick, paired with the kick-up alloy rudder and a solid wooden daggerboard as the pieces worth keeping or replacing like-for-like.
The Verdict
The Butterfly is a rare thing: a fifty-year-old one-design that still rewards both the kid learning to hike and the serious racer, because the class never drifted from Barnett’s 1962 spec. It is dry, unsinkable in practice, trivial to transport, and cheap to keep, and the only recurring fault is repairable rail loosening.
Pros
- Sealed, foam-filled hull makes it swamp-proof and easy to right
- Deep, roomy footwell suits tall adults and small crews
- Two-piece mast and 135 lb hull make solo trailering and launching realistic
- Class stability keeps old and new boats genuinely competitive
Cons
- Toe rails are prone to loosening and poor repairs
- No jib and minimal accommodation beyond the footwell by nature of the design
