I was looking at a boat called simply the 12' Dinghy and stumbled across a man called Goeller. (The boat is also known as the Goeller Dinghy and the 12' Outboard Motor Dinghy.) I then wondered about the man and wondered if he was any good. That is when it got interesting.

12' Dinghy

In Fifty Wooden Boats: A Catalog of Building Plans, Volume 1, the 12' Dinghy is featured. L. Francis Herreshoff "felt that Frederick Goeller was one of the best draftsmen he knew" (Fifty Wooden Boats, pp. 20-21). He worked for Herreshoff. High praise indeed and that got me wondering about the man.

Recently, there was a discussion online about a designer/builder hall of fame and I thought well I would like to research Goeller and start the hall of fame rolling. If I wasn't prepared to make the effort and write how could I expect others to. So I rolled up my sleeves and showed the way forward...

Goeller had talent both as a designer and draftsperson. He was actually employed by The Rudder prior to WWI.  Apparently, his original drawings did not survive but we do have his published plans and there are many in The Rudder. The Sea Bird original design is at the Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Collection Library at Mystic Seaport (from Return of the Seabird).

There's time now to have a look at some of his designs (designs pre 1923 are in the public domain it seems and remember there were no computers back then to produce drawings):

Type	Name	The Rudder Ref:
catboat, 14'	Sea Mew	Nov 16:513
catboat, 15'	Sea Gull	Feb 11:88
catboat, 15'	[no name]	Oct 10:199
catboat, 22'5"	[no name]	Dec 12:278
catboat, 26'	[no name]	Sep 32:37	Post 1922
cruiser, 28'	Porpoise	May 16:235
cruiser, 28'	Porpoise	Jun 16:287
cruiser, 28'	Porpoise	Jul 16:330	ll
cruiser, 28'	Porpoise	Aug 16:375	ll
cruiser, 30'	[no name]	Dec 06:709
cruiser, 35'	Autan	Nov 14:515
cruiser, 35'	Flying Fish	Feb 13:81
cruiser, 35'	Flying Fish	Mar 13:239	ll
cruiser, 35'	Flying Fish	Apr 13:290	ll
cruiser, 48'	[no name]	Apr 27:56	Post 1922
cruiser, 55'	[no name]	Dec 15:535
cruiser, 68'	Toorac	Aug 29:49	Post 1922
dinghy, 9'	Pollywog	Mar 12:141
launch, 20'	Blue Fish	Aug 12:68
launch, 21'	[no name]	Apr 15:207
launch, 25'	Tuna	Nov 11:214
launch, 25'	Tuna	Dec 11:272	ll
one-design cat, 16'	Sea Duck	Nov 15:498
one-design cat, 16'	Sea Duck	Dec 15:531	ll
one-design sloop	Indian Harbor	Jul 14:357
one-design sloop, 14'	Sea Mew	Nov 17:714
one-design sloop, 24'	Yankee	Jan 38:76	Post 1922
one-design, 25'	Wianno	Apr 15:208
one-design sloop, 25'	[no name]	Apr 17:308
patrol boat, 42'	[no name]	Apr 17:275
patrol boat, 50'	[no name]	Jan 16:32
sailing dinghy, 12'	[no name]	May 15:243
sailing dinghy, 12'	[no name]	Jun 15:291	ll
schooner, 34'	Seagoer	Aug 13:481
schooner, 50'	[no name]	Aug 08:99
service launch, 28'	Whale	Apr 11:313
skiff, 12'	Catbird	Jan 17:30
sloop, 15'	Junco	Nov 14:518
sloop, 15'	Junco	Dec 14:556
sloop, 60'	[no name]	Jul 13:444
yawl, 28'	Hippocampus	Feb 16:66
yawl, 3-masted	Seagoer	Jun 13:396
yawl, 3-masted	Seagoer	Jul 13:441	ll
yawl, 45'	[no name]	Jun 15:295

Source

If you have more information on Goeller please contact us.

Why not shoot Chuck an article on your favorite designer and we'll add it to the hall of fame.

*****

Bibliography

Slideshow

Woodenboat Store

Woodenboat and Woodenboat Directory

Lost Paddle Boatworks

The Rudder 

Sailboat Data

Leo Robbins

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