Penobscott 17
Description
The Penobscot 17, a lightweight glued-lapstrake plywood daysailer/cruiser/rowboat designed by Arch Davis (Arch Davis Design, Maine, USA). Introduced as a larger evolution of the Penobscot 14 (inspired by builder requests for more capacity while retaining similar shapely, sea-kindly lines), it features traditional aesthetics with a fine high bow, double-ended hull, and five-strake planking for excellent rowing efficiency, stability, and performance in protected waters, coastal exploring, or camp-cruising. The design emphasizes amateur-friendly construction (stitch-and-glue or glued-lapstrake plywood/epoxy, full-size patterns, no lofting; kits/plans available), positive flotation for safety, a centerboard/daggerboard for shallow draft, and versatile sailing/rowing balance. Arch Davis offers three interchangeable rigs: gunter sloop (most common in reviews), ketch (yawl-like with main + mizzen for easy shorthanded control, reefing, and heavy-weather versatility), and schooner. It's praised for spirited sailing (responsive, dry, and stable), excellent rowing (tracks well, not much slower than kayaks), trailerability, and family/small-group use; production is plans/kit-based (via Arch Davis Design, Duckworks, or WoodenBoat), with many hulls built by home builders (hundreds estimated across variants), and remains available today.
Construction Details
| Designer | Arch Davis |
|---|---|
| Builder | Home Built |
| Length | 17.000 ft |
| LOA | 17.000 ft |
| LWL | 15.670 ft |
| Beam | 5.330 ft |
| Displacement | 3000 lb |
| Max Draft | 3.000 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.790 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 12.92 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 6 ft |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.92 ft | 6 ft | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Penobscott 17 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 12.67 ft - (3862 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 6.58 ft - (2006 mm) |
| Leech | 11.083 ft - (3378 mm) |
| Percentage LP | 95.83 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 6.9 ft - (2103 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.89 ° |
| Area | * 36.43 ft² |
| Comments | Gunter Sloop Rig, Jib |
| Edit in Calculator |
Penobscott 17 - 3-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 6 ft - (1829 mm) |
| Leech | 12.58 ft - (3834 mm) |
| Tack Ang | 81.3 ° |
| Area | 35.59 ft² |
| Comments | Ketch Rig Mizzen |
| Edit in Calculator |
Penobscott 17 - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 6.33 ft - (1929 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Leech | 18.5 ft - (5639 mm) |
| Head | 11.25 ft - (3429 mm) |
| Diagonal | 11 ft - (3353 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 85.6 ° |
| Area | 87.14 ft² |
| Comments | Gunter Sloop Rig, Gunter Main Sail |
| Edit in Calculator |
Penobscott 17 - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 6.38 ft - (1945 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | 14.92 ft - (4548 mm) |
| Head | 10.58 ft - (3225 mm) |
| Diagonal | 10.25 ft - (3124 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 85.8 ° |
| Area | 81.25 ft² |
| Comments | Ketch Rig, Lug Main |
| Edit in Calculator |
Penobscott 17 - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 6.17 ft - (1881 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | 15.5 ft - (4724 mm) |
| Head | 10.67 ft - (3252 mm) |
| Diagonal | 10.08 ft - (3072 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 85.2 ° |
| Area | 79.55 ft² |
| Comments | Schooner Rig Lug Main |
| Edit in Calculator |
Penobscott 17 - 4-SIDED SAIL
| Luff | 5.25 ft - (1600 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 6.67 ft - (2033 mm) |
| Leech | 13.67 ft - (4167 mm) |
| Head | 9.67 ft - (2947 mm) |
| Diagonal | 8.21 ft - (2502 mm) |
| Tack Angle | 86.2 ° |
| Area | 56.63 ft² |
| Comments | Schooner Rig Lug Foresail |
| 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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