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Windward Boatworks Butterfly Sailboats for Sale

John Barnett·1961·~10,750 hulls·Barnett Boats
Approximate drawing

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Hull Type
Scow · centerboard
Rig
Cat Rig
LOA
12' · 3.66 m
Disp.
137 lbs · 62 kg
First year
1961

The Windward Boat Works Butterfly is a 12foot scow that John Barnett drew in the early 1960s as a light, fun lakegoing take on the ILYA Cscow, and Windward Boat Works put it into production in 1961. More than ten thousand were built, and the class has stayed virtually unchanged since 1962, which tells you something about how completely the original brief satisfied its audience. It remains a nationally established onedesign governed by the National Butterfly Association, with singlehanded and doubles national regattas every year and a deep local fleet structure behind them.

Specs & Review

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Windward Boatworks Butterfly Buyer's Guide

The Windward Boat Works Butterfly is a 12-foot one-design scow that John Barnett designed as a light lake version of the ILYA C-scow, with production starting in 1961 and the class essentially frozen since 1962. On the used market you are buying into a fleet of more than ten thousand near-identical boats raced from junior camps to national regattas, so the question is condition and completeness rather than specification drift.

Layouts on the Used Market

There is effectively one layout: a cat-rigged scow with a deep molded footwell, a centerboard-style daggerboard, and a kick-up rudder. The 25-by-15-inch footwell is the whole cockpit, and all gear except the two-piece mast stows inside it. Beam is a full 54 inches and hull depth 15 inches, so the boat carries several people up to a 600-pound crew limit while staying dry. Because the class is unchanged, a 1977 hull and a recent one share the same sealed hull, footwell, and deck geometry — you are not choosing between generations.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Buyers should focus on the pieces that matter for sailing and trailering rather than cosmetic extras. A wooden tiller with a folding metal hiking extension, the sturdy alloy kick-up rudder, and the substantial wooden daggerboard are the core control items, and a boat missing any of them is incomplete. Rigging centers on the rotating mast with three quick-connect steel stays and a bolt-rope sail in a mast slot; a custom boom vang was a mast provision rather than standard, so its presence is a plus, not a baseline. The two nine-foot mast sections and the car-top or small-trailer portability define how you will move the boat.

What to Inspect

The one documented recurring fault is the toe rails: a surveyed 1977 example showed them loose and badly repaired, and that was called the most common issue with these boats. Check that the rails are tight and that any prior repair is sound, since they also serve as a makeshift mainsheet traveler. Beyond that, confirm the sealed hull and deck are intact and the internal foam is present, because the boat’s swamp-proof behavior and ability to float boat and crew depend on that airtight molded footwell.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Regional availability is not specified in the market record, so shop by fleet and class association rather than assuming local density. For a buyer, the short list is: verify toe-rail tightness and repair quality, confirm the sealed hull and foam flotation, and make sure the wooden tiller with folding hiking stick, alloy rudder, wooden daggerboard, and two-piece mast with stays are all present. A complete, sound Butterfly is a low-cost, low-maintenance one-design that old and new owners race together.