valcour 67 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Came across this dinghy with an unusual rounded cockpit. Can anyone identify what this thing is? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gouvernail 3,180 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Absolutely zero idea what it is but I suspect the owner lives where Dinghy sailing is conducted in a warm light air venue. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LFL 12 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Lark by Ovington? https://www.sail-world.com/news/146730/New-Lark-from-Ovington-Boats Quote Link to post Share on other sites
valcour 67 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Nice pull, LFL. Looks like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steam Flyer 5,875 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 8 hours ago, LFL said: Lark by Ovington? https://www.sail-world.com/news/146730/New-Lark-from-Ovington-Boats Good catch! That's an unusual cockpit configuration, I'd like to try it out. Looks like it will stiffen the boat more than the usual side tanks. FB- Doug Quote Link to post Share on other sites
valcour 67 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Larks seem to be popular in the UK. Anybody have experience with them? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Board skiff 619 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 They were all the rage back in the 80s and 90s, good party scene especially with universities and young adults. Still pockets of them, but the RS200 has largely taken over for private sales and fireflies for team racing. Very pretty, good in light winds but tricky in a blow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Major Tom 472 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Looks like it was originally used for team racing, rubber gunwhale protection is not normal on a racing boat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steam Flyer 5,875 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 2 hours ago, sosoomii said: They were all the rage back in the 80s and 90s, good party scene especially with universities and young adults. Still pockets of them, but the RS200 has largely taken over for private sales and fireflies for team racing. Very pretty, good in light winds but tricky in a blow. There used to be a dozen or so New England universities that had them as program boats. I assume they are akin to REAL Larks as the Club FJ and Club 420 are to their actual one-design brethren & sistern FB- Doug 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eliboat 366 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Tufts still has them with carbon spars and other tweaks. I remember sailing them at MIT when I was a kid. A lot more fun and powered up than an FJ or a 420. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steam Flyer 5,875 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 4 minutes ago, eliboat said: Tufts still has them with carbon spars and other tweaks. I remember sailing them at MIT when I was a kid. A lot more fun and powered up than an FJ or a 420. Other than that they had a plumb bow and were a lot easier to roll, I don't remember them well. Must have been too busy staring at college girls. I don't think I ever sailed them in more than about 6 knots of wind anyway. With a few memorable exceptions, most of my collegiate racing was light air if not outright drifters. FB- Doug Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Q 530 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 On 3/29/2020 at 1:35 PM, valcour said: Larks seem to be popular in the UK. Anybody have experience with them? I used to race one, 30+ years ago, I didn't recognize that picture because they've changed the internals so much. A few random thoughts... We had very early Lark, number 157 Iirc, she broke her back, recovering her after a capsize, the early versions didn't have enough longitudinal strength. You can see on that new design the bottom of the side tanks are brought in towards the center line to strengthen the hull fore and aft. The crew weight is quite low, and really the crew needs to be heavier than the Helm. It's very easy to scoop up water with the stern when tacking when the helm is heavy like me.. They have an aluminium centreboard that is easy to bend. They are very popular with universities in the UK my sailing club also had three for team racing for a while. . The D-PN is 93.6 (1073 UK PN) quite fast for a boat of its vintage 1966. Our Lark was more like this.. Though ours didn't have the strut across the hull just behind the mast.. More strengthening. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dart96 30 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Curved cockpit looks lovely. Some Pata Finns have the same feature. It never seems to have caught on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fastyacht 1,828 Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I think Bowdoin has (had?) them, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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