Dilys is a Welsh name and means “perfect, true and reliable” which is just right for this sturdy little ship—it also happens to be my wife’s name and the meaning certainly fits her too! This is a 4 plank per side ply on frame version of the well known North American Catboat—boats with a generous beam giving enormous stability and vast room inside for their length.

She has the standard layout for a catboat of this length of just 2 berths with comfortably sized wc compartment and galley and very large cockpit. She could of course, with some redesign, take 4 berths. Maximum headroom as drawn is 6’ (1.83m). The drawings give details for both an inboard diesel engine installation and an alternative outboard well.

Many had a centreboard rather than a fixed keel and she could also be adapted to take this arrangement. Construction is based on a modern pre-shaped egg-box type plywood framework of frames/bulkheads slotted together with fore and aft girders.