Arey’s Pond Boat Yard Unveils Latest Catboat

There have been hundreds of custom boats handcrafted at Arey’s Pond Boat Yard over the years, but none quite like “The Cat and the Hat (comes back).”

The catboat, named for the famed Dr. Seuss character, is the first 19-foot Caracal made from fiberglass. Its four predecessors were made from wood.

“So what’s really cool about this boat is this is hull number one, with a fiberglass hull,” said Tony Davis, who has owned the boat yard since 1991. 

The boat is the third that the Arey’s crew has made for Paul Hoogenboom and his family, whom Davis said have been sailing out of Stage Harbor since the 1960s. The first boat, the original “Cat in the Hat,” was a 16-foot catboat built 33 years ago. Soon afterward, Hoogenboom sold the boat and had a second one built that was named after a family member. The latest boat took Davis’ team about two years to complete from concept to final construction.

Dan Agar was the lead boatbuilder on the project. He said Hoogenboom came to the shop looking for a boat with an open cockpit area in place of a traditional cabin. 

“So Tony’s solution to that was to give them a slightly longer boat,” he said.

In 2016, Davis and Bill Nash designed the hull for what would be the shop’s first 19-foot wooden Caracal. Davis said the popularity of the wooden model led the Arey’s team to try their first in fiberglass. To do it, the shop commissioned Pine Grove Plastics in Freetown to create a mold from one of the wooden hulls.

With the additional space, the new boat can accommodate eight to 10 people, Davis said, perfect for a large family that loves to sail together. 

“On their vacation time they sail as a family and pack the boat,” Davis said. “Now they’ve got one they can put everyone in and they go out and spend the day sailing off Monomoy, going to the beach, swimming.”

Other features include a self-tacking wishbone rig, storage space beneath the seating and an onboard electric motor that can operate for up to five hours on a single charge.

“Now we’re going through the water at two or three knots," Davis said as he fired the motor up. “When this is closed, you’ll hardly hear anything.”

While Agar was the boat’s lead designer, constructing the new catboat was a team effort. Davis himself was involved in much of the layout and design, while Arey’s head boatbuilder, Leslie Gouveia, assisted with the installation of the motor.

“Being wooden boatbuilders at heart, I’m just really proud of what the gang, the crew, did to replicate this hull to look like a wooden boat,” Davis said of the end product.

Davis said he and his team look forward to the challenge that each project provides. With everything built to their individual clients’ specifications, no one project has been alike, he said.

“What we do here at Arey’s is we don’t shy away from challenges that our shop can do,” he said. “With skilled boatbuilders like Dan and Leslie, if I think we can do it and I’ve got the team, I’ll take it on.”

The new “Cat in the Hat” was set to undergo its first test sail on Aug. 15, and Davis said the boat was expected to make an appearance at the boat yard’s annual Cat Gathering on Aug. 23. After that, the boat will be sailed locally through the end of the 2026 season before being relocated to South Carolina.

Over the years, the Arey’s crew has built and delivered boats all over the U.S. and to other parts of the world. But Davis said few things beat the thrill of seeing boats he’s helped design and build sailing in Cape waters.

“Out here in Pleasant Bay on a Saturday or Sunday race day, I’m in the race and I’m looking around and I know every boat and every little thing about it. It’s pretty cool,” he said.

If you’re interested in customizing a boat, call the boat yard at 508-255-0994 to set up an appointment.