Town Class sailboats are 16+1⁄2-foot-long (5.0 m) lap strake one-design dories, constructed in either wood or fiberglass.
The first Town Class sailboat was designed and built (in wood only) in 1932 by Marcus C. Lowell in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Marcus' son, Percival M. "Pert" Lowell, later took over the business and relocated to Newbury, Massachusetts.
[1] The National Town Class Association was formed in 1962, also marking the first year of the Town Class National Regatta (an annual two-day racing event) which took place in Nahant, Massachusetts.
The Town Class Nationals have been held in Marblehead, Wakefield, Sharon, and Newburyport, Massachusetts; as well as Touisset Point, Rhode Island[2] and Spofford Lake New Hampshire.