Martha Jane

Phil Bolger’s Martha Jane design has character. After building mine, I loved settling back into the corner of her big, deep cockpit and looking up at that beautiful 200-sq-ft tanbark balance-lug sail as it worked us to windward—which it accomplished amazingly well at about 50 degrees off the wind. The boat is also very dry and comfortable. I remember the first time I saw a Martha Jane on the water: I was sailing a Sea Pearl 21—a relatively seaworthy open camp cruiser—and hanging on by my fingernails, while the skipper of the nearby Martha Jane was standing up drinking a cup of coffee.

Some people say that the late Mr. Bolger’s designs are an acquired taste. Perhaps that’s true, but there is an inherent beauty about this particular boat. The proportions are right, and there is no extraneous detail. The design is a tremendous study in economy and in form following function.

Brian Hunsaker

The Phil Bolger–designed sharpie-yawl Martha Jane is a big, simple, well-performing boat. She has good seakeeping ability, and can also be poled up into shallow creeks.

This is a big small boat at 23′6″ LOA. It is built of plywood that is either scarfed or butted into 24′ long pieces. I used butt joints, reinforcing them with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, which has proven to be strong. Construction is straightforward, and it begins upside-down: The sides are attached either at the bow transom or the stern and then bent around temporary frames and two permanent bulkheads. Two layers of 1⁄2″ plywood cover the bottom.

Interior chine logs join the sides to the bottom, but additional strength comes from a sheathing of fiberglass and epoxy, as well as from additional ’glass tape at the chines. I used extra ’glass on the forward portion of her bottom since I would be beaching this boat and sailing in extreme shallow water. Turning the hull over to work on the interior was surprisingly simple: a couple of friends and carefully placed lines, and over she went.

“She amazes onlookers with her unique box-shaped sides and cut-off bow. She also amazes people with her sailing ability.”

Martha Jane is a cat-yawl—a delightful self-tending rig. The mizzen furls around its mast for storage. (Builders might consider sheathing the mizzenmast step in ’glass cloth set in epoxy and finished off with high-density filler, since this spar will be rotated in place for furling and unfurling the sail.) The mainmast hinges on a tabernacle and is simple to raise. In ten minutes, we’re ready to launch.

The mainsail is of the balance-lug variety, and its sheet is best belayed on a swiveling cam cleat on the center of the bridge deck. The balance lug is self-vanging, and I love its simplicity, power, and beauty. The sail is big enough to require lazyjacks to make furling manageable. I added a boom gallows, too, and it’s a breeze to drop the main into the lazyjacks and then lower it onto the gallows. Coming home, I usually have the sail lowered and tucked into its cover before arriving at the ramp, and sometimes I even lower the mast onto the gallows before arriving at my destination.

Mike Stockstill

Bolger later drew an optional high house, similar to that of his Birdwatcher design, that allows for exceptional visibility from the shelter of the cabin. Owner Mike Stockstill uses this boat mostly for motoring.

The boat has leeboards, and I love them. If you have never sailed with leeboards, you might be amazed at their effectiveness. They provide excellent lateral resistance even in very shallow areas; I could sail to wind- ward in 18″ of water. The boards never jam. Big and heavy, they are ballasted with lead and pivot on simple rope hinges. There is absolutely no need to investigate or invest in any kind of metal hardware. I employ the sides of the gallows for a three-part purchase to make raising the leeboards a simple task, and belay their lifting tackle to a cam cleat on the rail.

Because Martha Jane was meant to be trailered, she was originally ballasted with 500 lbs of water stowed in tanks beneath the berths. To improve stability, Bolger later revised this, adding 500 lbs of additional ballast in the form of a steel plate on the bottom. It seemed to me, and still does, that a steel plate on the bottom of this boat complicates her otherwise simple construction.

Originally, I had reservations about water being stowed inside my plywood boat. Many Martha Janes have used this system successfully, but perhaps my location in the tropics, where wood rots in the blink of an eye, made me hesitate. I had my drill bit up against the chine and was ready to drill the hole, but I couldn’t pull the trigger. I decided to put lead shot into the ballast tanks beneath the berths instead. I figured that the greatest strain on my towing vehicle would be pulling the boat up the ramp and out of the water, fully ballasted. If my car could pull it up the ramp, it could easily pull it down the interstate. I’ve never regretted the decision to go with the full 1,000 lbs of solid ballast.

Concerned about the boat’s stability, Bolger added sponsons to the design. With these, and with the extra ballast, she became a powerful and awesome sailer. When hit by a gust, she would lower her shoulder, slowly gather speed, and just keep going while others were fighting to stay upright.

Steve Anderson

The original Martha Jane design was drawn with a standard trunk cabin. Author Anderson built this boat, and painted it green; a subsequent owner painted it white.

Other optional modifications included dual shallowdraft rudders and a high house. I added the rudders, and they’re a tremendous improvement over the original “trapdoor” design. The original rudder design was a traditional rudder on a rudderpost mounted through a “trap door” on the cockpit sole. The trap door was hinged, enabling it to kick up. I seem to recall that Mr. Bolger once said that the design of that trap-door rudder entailed excruciating intellectual effort—but he admitted that the new dual rudders offered superior virtues. They draw no more than the hull itself and with bottom plates provide excellent grip and control.

I find it very aggravating to have a shallow-draft hull negated by a traditional rudder drawing 2′ and becoming unwieldy when partially raised. The dual rudders operate flawlessly. The high house is surrounded by glass, much like Bolger’s Birdwatcher design, and gives the “new” Martha Janes standing headroom with an awesome view all around. The raised high house also contributes to even greater stability, though there’s a penalty in increased windage.

Martha Jane, like all sharpies, will pound if motored into a chop or sailed upright. Sharpies need to heel to feel good and sail well. It doesn’t take much of a heel before she begins to slice through the water on her chine rather than pound on her bottom. Sleeping in a sharpie can be a bit noisy, because the water wants to lap beneath that rockered bottom (the bow stands proud of the water). Small waves against the vertical sides make noise as well. On the other hand, with such shallow draft it’s not difficult to pull into a very sheltered cove or even motor or pole up a creek or stream to a very quiet and secluded spot. I remember once running aground upon a sandbar. We simply backwinded the main, spinning Martha Jane around on her rockered bottom and sailed off in a new direction. What fun!

Martha Jane’s flat sections suggest a propensity to pound in a chop, but a slight angle of heel will introduce a chine to the waves, smoothing the ride. Designer Phil Bolger wrote about the design in his book Boats with an Open Mind (International Marine, 1994).

The cabin has the feel of a gymnasium. Two berths run the length of it with sitting headroom. Filler boards create a V-berth, which is roughly queen-sized. One could build interior furniture, but there is a certain virtue in keeping the interior simple and open for camp-cruising with a camp stove and Porta-Potti. It’s a big step down from the companionway into the cabin; a cooler bungeed into place makes breaks up the distance. A simple ladder could also be installed.

The bow well is a great place to ride. I have many fond memories of standing there with someone else at the helm—or leading the sheets forward so I could stand in the well and steer the boat by sail adjustments. The well also provides a secure place for handling the anchor or fishing. Two openings in the bow transom form steps for climbing aboard.

Martha Jane is a delight. She amazes onlookers with her unique box-shaped sides and cut-off bow. She also amazes people with her sailing ability. I have never been disappointed.

Plans for Martha Jane were available from Phil Bolger and Friends in Gloucester, MA, USA, but unfortunately Phil passed away in 2009.

Check Out These Other Bolger Designs!

Blackbird– A striking outboard cruiser design finished by Bolger

The Chebacco Boats – Three versions of Bolger’s catboat Yawl (plans found at H.H. Payson)

Hand-Me-Down – A 1995 16′ Bolger-designed pirogue

The Gloucester Light Dory – A 15′ 6″ LOA Dory designed by Bolger and built by Tom Jackson (plans found at H.H. Payson)