The Worst Sailboats?

 

I thought this video about the worst sailboats is interesting. I do not totally agree but almost do.

I made a comment on this video, here it is...

"I am the one in the video sailing the Super Snark. I used to sell this boat until covid took it out of production. In this video he comments that they are fragile, but they are anything but. I have seen the original boats (call the Sea Snark with no plastic covering) that are all foam, not plastic covering still sailing, 1960's models. This boat first went into production in 1954, later in the 80's they covered the hull and cockpit in plastic and renamed if the Super Snark. More people have learned to sail on this boat than any other. I sailed my Snark for years, raced against Lasers in light winds and won, they are great in light winds. Sailed in heavy air too, and still fun to sail. By the way the mast is not flexi as they are short masts due to a lateen sail set up. Sure, this boat is not high performance, but who cares as they are fun to sail, and durable.

Sad to say I got a dealership selling the 26M, bad mistake. New boats would come to me that leaked bad, inconsistent thickness of fiberglass in the hull and deck. They sail like crap and do not motor all that well either. Yes, there are some who own them, that love them, but it's because they do not know any better.

Not mentioned in this video are the West Wright Potters, likely due to them being built well, etc. I think the Potters are less than desire-able, the 14 and 15 can capsize, which is next to impossible to recover from, and the 19 sails like a box (not a good thing). Still with those faults they should not in this video as one of the worst sailboats.

I agree with his assessment on the other boats in the video. When it comes to trailer-able sportboats I love the Montgomery's, Sage17, San Juan 21, Catalina 22, Compacs, and the Malbec18.com . Great boats."

Snark Stories

I thought it would be fun to post some old stories of the Sea/Super Snark owners sense the Snark last year went out of production. Some nostalgia. The Sea Snark has been in production sense 1954. The longest production run of any sailboat in history and I might add the most sold of any sailboat in the world. Sadly, the pandemic/plandemic in the state of Michigan was the death of the boat, like with so many other products/businesses. It was particularly bad in blue states like Michigan that had excessive lock downs.

If you want a similar boat in line with the Sea/Super Snark or Sunfish click here to learn about the USA made Rocket. Click Here to learn more.

1960 Sea Snark with Kool cigarette sail logo

First Generation

When I was twelve I scraped together all the money I had made from yard work, doing piecework in my Dad's machine shop, and anything else I could scrounge and bought a sailboat--a Sea Snark, then in it's first incarnation (1960) and I've kept it ever since. My Dad taught me the basics, but soon was sailing solo. The original Snark had an unprotected hull made of expanded polystyrene ("Styrofoam") with a plastic sail and a very flimsy plywood rudder that lasted only two summers.  The plastic sail was soon replaced with a red and white nylon sail bought from the manufacturers. That's me on the far left, peeking around the sail, at age twelve.

Second Generation

I sailed it on Clark Lake in Michigan for most of my growing-up years.  The centerboard was lost and replaced with one made from marine plywood scrounged from the garage.  It didn't see much use during my college days until the summer of my Junior year.  I had my wife-to-be (then girl friend) up to visit.  We had sailed it to the far West end of the lake and practically becalmed when my Dad arrived in his Aztec and buzzed the house to let us know to pick him up in Napoleon.  Kathy was not pleased to meet her future father-in-law looking wind-blown and red-faced.  After we were married a few years Kathy sewed up the blue and yellow sail to replace the now-shredded red and white sail.

Third Generation

When I joined the staff of Campus Crusade in 1974 and moved to Florida, I took the Sea Snark with us.  We sailed it in Tampa bay and Daytona Beach.  Once while sailing peacefully across Tampa Bay a dugong surfaced and exhaled noisily right next to us, scaring us well into the next century.  We move to Indiana in 1976, then California in 1980 where we began to sail on Mission Bay in San Diego and Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains.  This picture shows me sailing with Josh at about age three.

Fourth Generation

I recently made a new sail from my old hang glider and we tried it out on Mission bay recently.  It was bordered with 1" webbing that was sewn into the boom/spar edges of the sail. Where they cross they were sewn together and a brass grommet inserted.  The stainless steel hinge bolt (between the boom and spar) runs through this grommet and anchors the sail.  The opposite ends of the webbing are anchored to the boom and spar with hose clamps.  Small holes melted every foot along the length of the edges allow nylon cable ties to fix the sail to the boom and spar leaving the aluminum entirely visible.

SEND US YOUR SNARK STORIES AND VIDEOS!

Here are some fun videos of fellow Snark sailors :)

Boat Show Sales

BOAT SHOW SALES! It is that time of year again to get boat show season sales. Email or text for details... funtosail@gmail.com or 208-704-4454.

Due to the Spokane Boat Show being cancelled and the Coeur d'Alene Boat Show (only for Hagadone Corp products) being only for powerboats FunToSAIL is doing specials during the boat show season for the month of February.

Attention we now sell Corsair Trimarans and soon iFly foiling catamaran...

We have been selling Hobie Cats for almost 20 years...

Announcement November 6, 2020

Buy a new sailboat now and receive it this spring or early summer! Great way to reserve your boat when boats can be hard to get in the summer due to lock downs, etc.

We will be posting new content shortly such as some great sailing videos, product and club updates, etc.

Our new online store is almost ready to launch.

Stay tuned!

If you want a new Hobie Catamaran or Hobie Mirage Island, or Super Sea Snark, or Corsair now is the time to buy as our manufactures are getting ready to start shipments again with the reduction over time of lock down orders. There are still a few boats available. Boat availability is limited due to reduced production.

Spokane Boat Show 2020 Ended

Another successful Spokane Boat Show has ended. If you missed it there is always next year. We have been absent from this show for many years and now plan to be in it each year from this point on. The Spokane Boat Show is great for those who love runabouts, fishing boats, ski boats, and of course sailboats. Lots of boating accessories available as well.

Our business had they only display of sailboats at the show. Next year we are expanding our booth to include Corsair Trimarans and a bigger Hobie display. We are looking at a new line of monohulls to also include.

Here is a short little video of our booth and the boats around us. Also some pics.

 CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

To learn about these dealers/boats and this show visit spokaneboatshow.com

Super Sea Snark Videos

Just posted our new Super Sea Snark videos... One short sailing video and the other a rigging video.

The Super Sea Snark is the least expensive and most sold small sailboat on the market today, yet has great durability and wonderful sailing performance, especially in super light winds as seen in our video. To learn more visit this link or click on the Snark tab above.

The Super Sea Snark makes a great gift for any aspiring sailor who needs time perfecting their skill learned in one of our learn-to-sail classes!

Righting Your Snark

Nice video by Paul on how to right ones boat after a capsize... Please post in the comment below if you have used any other technique to right your snark.

Snark Sailing