History

Crosby Yacht Yard has been an icon of Cape Cod’s Osterville waterfront for more than two centuries. In 1798, Daniel and Jesse Crosby, Jr., began building boats on a piece of waterfront land in this tiny farming and fishing village of Osterville. At that time, they entered into a lease on the land for 60 years at a total price of $9.

In 1850, the Crosby name truly came into its own when brothers Horace S. and C. Worthington Crosby constructed Little Eva, the original Crosby Catboat.

Built from timbers cut in the brothers’ backyard, this vessel was the start of the Crosby boat building tradition. Within decades, Crosby Catboats became frequent sights in Northeast waters. A stoutly built inshore fishing vessel combined with elegant proportional lines made for a vessel that was as attractive as it was seaworthy.

Over time, other family members lent their talents and expertise to the burgeoning business, and subsequent generations carried on the Crosby boatbuilding tradition. In 1914, Horace Manley Crosby designed the Wianno Senior, a gaff-rigged centerboard sloop. Perfect for the shallow waters local to the area, it provided a fine gentleman’s platform for one design racing sailors of the Wianno Yacht Club. Soon the Crosby Striper followed as well as many other commissioned new builds helping to cement the Crosby name and quality reputation.

As Cape Cod’s standing as a summertime escape grew, so did the Crosby Yacht name — particularly after a native son of Massachusetts took the country’s highest office. President John F. Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, Senator Ted Kennedy, and the rest of the family spent plenty of afternoons sailing aboard Victura, their beloved Wianno Senior built, stored and maintained at Crosby Yacht Yard. Plenty of clicking cameras were around to immortalize those moments, and the images made their way around the world and into our history.

The Crosby name has evolved through the generations and past decades. The Crosby Yacht Building and Storage Company, Crosby Boat Builders, Crosby Yacht and Crosby Yacht Yard all entities in the same location with the same commitment to quality yachting heritage. Constant through the years is the famous name of Crosby.

Today, Crosby Yacht Yard, Inc. remains a proud and active pillar of Cape Cod’s maritime community.