Murray Wright of Dundee, NY designed and built his first model “K” sailboat in the early 1930s. Over the next 40 years he built a total of 323 of the sloop-rigged Ks. The 16 ft round bottom boats were built from western red cedar strips clench nailed to steam-bent white oak ribs, and were trimmed out with mahogany (rails, seats, transom, rudder and center-board trunk). The 27 ft Sitka Spruce mast carries 145 SF of sail.

The boat shown here was built in 1954, and incorporates an external fiberglass skin applied by the builder. (Wright was just beginning to experiment with such construction techniques.) Her original owner sailed the boat on Keuka Lake for over 50 years prior to donating her to the Museum.