Any sonar 23 info?

[akoutdoors1]

I'm interested in the sonar 23. Anyone own one of these? I'd love to know about its construction, performance, etc.
Cheers

[sailingdog]

I don't own one, but have sailed on one many times. Good little boats, and a lot of fun. You can read more about them here and here.

[akoutdoors1]

Thanks for the info. I'd like to know more about the boat's construction materials and techniques if anyone can help there.

[Valiente]

There's one at our club. If I see the guy, I'll tell him about this thread.

[sailingdog]

Ak-

The second link I posted has details on the construction techniques, layup and materials used in the Sonar. It says the following:

Hull Hand laid up woven fiberglass with coremat coring for added strength and impact resistance. Each boat carefully crafted to meet one-design rules. White gelcoat standard; custom hull gelcoat colors and bottom paint optional.

Deck Fabricated as one-piece insert; includes three seat storage lockers. Two bunks (and space for a small Porta Potti) in lockable cuddy cabin with hatchboard. Extruded aluminum toerail bolted thru deck and hull flange.

Cockpit Huge 11'6" self-bailing cockpit with full-length seats, angled seatbacks. Seats 8 adults in comfort. Adjustable mainsheet traveler amidships.

Keel 900 pounds of cast lead, deep fin design. Narrow, with advanced foil shape for superior windward performance. Optional sling available for hoist launching.

Rudder 2" thick, very high-aspect and deep. Balanced design and large area provides excellent control and manueverability, even under spinnaker in strong winds. Inboard hung for protection and to retain the same light feel at all angles of heel. Laminated curved tiller.

Rigging Bendy tapered aluminum mast. 75% fractional rig is responsive, makes sailhandling easier. Elliptical mast section is keel stepped. Swept spreaders, adjustable backstay and moveable mast blocking at the partners permit fine tuning. Running rigging is Dacron and Spectra, cut to length and fitted for each application.

Sails Large Dacron mainsail and 100% jib, legal for class racing. Combination of larger main and smaller jib is easier to handle when tacking. Standard cunningham, outhaul, traveler controls and jib leads provide complete sail-shaping ability. Spinnaker and tapered aluminum pole available.

Hardware Boat is shipped "race ready," equipped with top-quality marine hardware -- Harken, Ronstan, etc. Deck and cockpit fittings are mounted with stainless steel hardware.

By asking about the boat's construction materials and techniques, it would appear that you didn't read the webpage very carefully or can't read. What information regarding the construction and materials did this not answer??

[Jeff_H]

I really love these boats. (I also really like the J-22 equally).

One word of caution, at least on the early boats that I sailed, I think that the cockpit was not truely self-bailing. My recollection was that the cockpit has an Elstrom type bailer that had to be opened to drain the cockpit only when the boat was at speed. This means using a boom tent and bailing the cockpit something of a necessity if they are stored in the water.

Jeff

[Loewe]

Hey AK,

The Sonar is the second best keelboat trainer out there. Colgate 26 being the best. We have used Sonars exclusively in our operation since 1997 to train >800 sailors. It is a day sailor racer and nothing more. Pros; very simple rig at the basic level, huge comfortable cockpit, most manueverable, they love wind and are fast. Very easy to learn at the beginner level. Cons; designed to be dry sailed, wet boat in chop/wind due to low freeboard, water ingress at the partners is annoying, Elvstrom bailers need maintenance requiring haul, zero amenities (guys are ok with this...)
Want to know more send me a note and I will be glad to help. I have sailed these for the last 10 years so I have a fair idea what kind of boat they are. BTW they are back in production both in NA and Europe.

Regards,
Red

[tigerregis]

Google Ontario Yachts, they build them.