It is a smaller adaptation of traditional Cape Cod 20 to 30 ft (6 to 9 m) catboat designs originally intended for fishing in shallow waters.

[8] The design was also built in Marans, Charente-Maritime, France by Construction Navale Franck Roy.

It has a gaff-rigged catboat sailplan with wooden spars of fir, a spooned plumb stem, a near-vertical transom, a shallow depth, transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centerboard daggerboard.

[1][2][3] The boat has a draft of 2.00 ft (0.61 m) with the centreboard/daggerboard extended and 6 in (15 cm) with it retracted, allowing operation in very shallow waters, beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.

[2] Notable owners of Beetle Cats include John Kerry, Jacqueline Onassis, who had one shipped to Greece in 1969 for John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy to learn to sail in, Steven Spielberg and Calvin Klein.

"[2] Reviewing the design in 2007, naval architect Robert Perry, wrote "Beetle Cats are true to the traditional Cape Cod catboat model.