Martha's Tender
Description
The Martha's Tender is a classic 9'6" yacht tender designed by Joel White (son of author E.B. White and a renowned wooden boat designer at Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine). Introduced in the 1980s (plans first published in WoodenBoat magazine), it's a simple, easy-to-build plywood rowing/sailing dinghy with good capacity for its size, designed to tow well behind larger yachts, row efficiently, and provide reasonable stability for family use or light sailing. Built using glued-plywood construction (no lofting required), it features a pram-style bow for easy beaching, flared sides for stability as it heels, and an optional sailing rig (small lug or spritsail) for fun in light winds. It's popular among WoodenBoat readers and home-builders for its timeless appeal, lightweight build, and practicality—many are used as yacht tenders, lake explorers, or training boats.
Construction Details
| Designer | Joel White |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 9.500 ft |
| LOA | 9.500 ft |
| Beam | 4.330 ft |
| Year Built | 1985 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Martha's Tender - STANDING LUGSAIL
| Luff | 5.083 ft - (1549 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.42 ft - (2566 mm) |
| Leech | 10.5 ft - (3200 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 81.47 ° |
| Diag (clew/throat) | 9.167 ft - (2794 mm) |
| Head | 7.25 ft - (2210 mm) |
| Area | * 53.73 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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