SONAR FAQ-technical questions
(FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS about technical stuff)

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WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE SONAR?

In 1979, a group of one-design sailors at Noroton Yacht Club (Darien, CT) became concerned about falling participation in one design racing. After survey results showed significant design shortcomings in existing one-designs, sailors were again surveyed about the characteristics of "the ideal one-design fleet racer." Their input specified a boat with good performance and maneuverability, large cockpit, and no special crew requirements for size or strength. In the resulting design competition, Bruce Kirby's (designer of the Olympic Laser) design for a 23-footer was the winner.

According to Kirby, the Sonar was based on his Laser and International 14 design experience. The design intent was to create a stable fleet racer/day sailer, but one that "felt like a dinghy, performed like a dinghy and must be sailed like a dinghy."

WHAT ARE THE SONAR'S SPECIFICATIONS? Length - 23' 10" Length Water Line - 19' 11" Draft - 3' 11" Beam - 7' 10" Displacement - 2,100 lbs Keel ballast - 900 lb. deep fin foil bolted to fiberglass sump. Sail area (main & jib) - 245 sq. ft Sail area (spinnaker) - 250 sq. ft Rudder - Balanced, inboard hung high-aspect ratio Crew - 3 or 4 Max crew weight - none specified

SAILS, TUNING and RIGGING.

NORTH SAILS, DOYLE SAILS, SHORE SAILS, UK SAILS and QUANTUM SAILS BOSTON are the most commonly seen sail logos on New England area SONARS. Each of these organizations has a tuning guide for tuning your SONAR. Each company makes good sails and the prices are competitive. The approximate 2005 cost of a main, jib, and spinnaker will be around $3000-3100 plus shipping, tax and Sonar Class Association royalities. There are other sailmakers for SONARS in other parts of the country and the world.

TOWING A SONAR

The class-legal minimum weight for a Sonar is 2100lb; the weight includes anchor, rode, but not sails, radios, or other gear on the boat. The trailers weigh 700-750 lbs. The total will be amost 3,000 lbs. on the trailer. Trailers are usually single axle, frequently equipped with surge brakes. Serious traveling sailors usually tow with an SUV. van, or larger station wagon. Check your owners manual for the towing capacity of your vehicle. And remember to add the weight of the people in the car, their gear, and all the other boat stuff in computing your vehicle's effectiveness as a tow vehicle. Careful planning is an important part of safe and successful towing adventures.

HOW DO SONARS PERFORM?

Mass Bay PHRF currently gives the Sonar a rating of 171 seconds per mile. For comparison, an Etchells rates 129, a Rhodes 19 rates 264, a J/24 rates 168 with the genoa, and a J/22 rates 177. In the Marblehead Racing Association racing, the J-24 Fleet starts behind the Sonar Fleet. In most races, the two fleet don't merge or overlap. Occassionally, the lead J-24s catch the last Sonars in the usual 3.2-4.0 mile races.

Sonars have a relatively large rudder, hung inboard, and a deep fin keel. The efficient foils and big mainsail allow the boat to accelerate very quickly out of tacks. Along with excellent maneuverability, this makes racing Sonars a very tactical experience. You can afford to tack without losing much speed, even in the choppy conditions common in Marblehead and other ocean venues. With this quickness, the Sonar excels in closed course racing. The best crews roll-tack their boats. When the Sonar is sitting on a trailer, it looks like a large dinghy, with a wide, relatively flat bottom. This also allows the Sonar to plane downwind in breezes in excess of 15-18 knots. Planing downwind in a pack of 6-8 Sonars is a lot of fun!

The competition in Fleet 14 is very stiff. It is common for Fleet 14 to supply several boats to the top five finishers in Sonar North American and Sonar World Championship Regattas. Even the bottom-of-the-fleet boats of Fleet 14 are very good, competetant racers. Recently, several of the top Marblehead Etchells sailors have sold their Etchells and bought Sonars in order to have boats that they can competetively race and also daysail with their young children. This has increased the competition in Fleet 14.

WHAT DOES THE SONAR COST?

The Shumway Marine 2003 list-price for a brand new Sonar is $23,900. without a trailer. Shumway Marine lists a new trailer with surge brakes at $2600. Some Sonar sailors use trailers without the surge brakes. These prices do not include any taxes, shipping or other extra costs. Consult Skip Shumway at Shumway Marine for the exact prices. Our UK and European friends should consult Sonar Yachts Ltd.for UK or European prices. New sails costs approximately $3000. for main, jib, and spinnaker. The class strictly limits sail purchases but even the top boats do not buy a new suit of sails every year, as the main and spinnaker lasts for more than one season of normal usage. Having a "regatta" jib that is new and sailing all other events with an everyday jib will make you very competitive.

Sometimes, Shumway Marine will build a group of boats for use at a regatta. These boats will then be sold, as is, as almost new, for less than a new boat. Consult with Skip Shumway at Shumway Marine about this type of deal.

Most racing Sonars are the more recent boats built by Ontario Yachts (#360 and up). Ontario Yachts starting building Sonars in Spring 1986. Demand is significant, and these boats sell for $11,000. to $25,000.00 based on condition and sail inventory. The popular perception is that the pre-Ontario built boats are less competitive.. Some of their first boats are still winning major regattas.

The older DS Yachts and Ryder-built Sonars are a relative bargain for day sailing, available for as little as $4,500. up to $8,000. or so. These boats are not in demand for racing, as they are older, lack the rigging refinements of the Ontario Yachts-built boats, and may be over the class weight minimum (class rules do address removing extra weight from older boats). The updating to prepare these boats for racing is possible, but the work is very labor-intensive. The serious competitor will usually select one of the newer, Ontario-built boats. For day sailing, rigging, sail, and weight details are less important than overall condition, and the Ryder and DS-built boats are durable and fun.

HOW MANY SONARS HAVE BEEN BUILT?

As of February 2003, more than 700 Sonars have been built. In the 2003 February Sonar Mid-winters, boats 701, 384, and 369 successfully competed! There are large fleets in Marblehead, Long Island Sound,and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (they usually don't wear cheeseheads while racing Sonars). There are three Sonars sailing from the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. St. Petersburg Yacht Club, in Florida, owns a fleet of boats, has privately owned boats, and hosts the Mid-Winter championships.The New York Yacht Club, at their Newport, Rhode Island Station, owns a fleet of Sonars for club racing and club hosted events. Fleets have been started in Kansas, Texas, and at Cowes, UK. Fleets are planned in Israel, the Netherlands and Ireland.

WHAT RACING IS AVAILABLE TO MARBLEHEAD and BOSTON AREA SONAR SAILORS?

See Marblehead MRA Schedule and go to Local Sonar Racing for more information at this site.
Go Regattas and Events for information about regattas and events.

Sonars participate in the Spring, Summer, and Fall Marblehead Racing Association (MRA) series, the Corinthian Yacht Club Thursday Twilight series, and the Boston Yacht Club Wednesday night PHRF series.

Piers Park Sailing Club has Sonars and lets qualified members race them on Friday Evenings from their dock in East Boston. Community Boating Inc. has Sonars. A fleet has been started in Scituate, MA.

Class members receive the Echo. Contents include regatta notices, how-to articles, race reports, boats for sail, and interviews.

Fleet 14 use a list-server for informal information distributation. The list-server is open to anyone who chooses to suscribe. Fleet 14 also uses a closed email list for non-public notices and emails. This closed list is for paid-up owners, co-skippers, crew, and associates of Fleet 14. Certain items will be mailed via Snail-mail. And obviously, if you are reading this, you know the fleet has a website.

WHO BUILDS AND DISTRIBUTES THE SONAR?

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Updated May 21, 2004