It may be 33 years old but the Mike Jackson-designed Lark dinghy
has lost none of its appeal. despite a sticky period in the early
90s when championship attendances dropped dramatically. This low
maintenance, lightweight, two-man one-design is makinga welcome
comeback. Sue pelling reports...
In the early 1990s the Lark class regularly attracted over 100
boats to its national championship and had a reputation for being
the class to be seen in. However, like many older designs, it suffered
when class stalwarts left to try out some of the new asymmetric
one-designs that flooded the market in the mid 90s. But despite
a bit of a doom and gloom period for the Larks, the strength of
the class outweighed the threat of close competition and now, a
few years on, it's on the up again.
But it wasn't just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the
dust to settle during the wobbly period; the class had to make some
drastic changes in an effort to prevent losing the remaining class
support and to bring the class into the new millennium.
New century, new look
The first step in the right direction was when Rondar took over
the original Parker moulds and produced a new boat. But it wasn't
enough. Although people liked the new build quality, the boat was
still very similar to the original and the advantages of having
a new boat built were not significant enough. The class then decided
that, in an effort to win back some of its support, it needed to
change the look of the boat radically but without affecting its
performance. 'We knew we needed to do something drastic to the look
of the boat,' said Nigel Scott, Chairman of the class association,
'but we were very aware of not grandfathering the boats we already
had on the circuit.' Another major factor in the redesign was to
reduce the cost of a new boat. Thankfully, with Rondar Raceboat's
involvement, they were able to develop a dinghy that was both stronger
and easier to build, which has effectively reduced the build costs.
New boat success
As with any class revamp, the proof of success is on the racecourse.
The boat was evaluated throughout the summer and, when the new design
was finally signed off, it was interesting to see how it performed
at the national championship against the original boats. Thankfully
there was no great difference in performance. Among the five new
boats at the event, the best result was a third.
Nigel Scott - chairman of the Lark association.
Getting into the class
Because the Lark is a versatile boat and not particularly weight
critical, it offers excellent racing for a wide range of sailors
from students upwards - and a lot of competitive crews are sailing
with a total all-up weight of about 18-28 stones.
As well as providing a suitable boat for age and weight range,
the class is also well aware of how important it is to create a
good first impression. 'I was really impressed,' said Nigel Scott,
'when my brother and I first came into the class because, when we
turned up at open meetings, other sailors would come and chat to
us and generally make us feel very welcome. I think this is one
of the major contributing factors that made us decide to join the
class.' Apart from the friendly welcome, the class has decided to
make life even easier for the newcomer by having a brand-new Rondar
boat available at one of the many class open meetings for anyone
who wants to have a go, completely free of charge.
Training
As well as having a boat available for open meeting use, the class
is keen to promote training days - particularly popular for newcomers
and for those who need boat tuning advice.
Clubs
At present there are five key clubs racing Larks, including Waldringfield
where 25 boats turn out regularly. Other clubs include Frensham
Pond SC, Barnt Green SC, South Staffs SC and West Kirby SC, but
it is hoped that they'll be another five Lark clubs by next year.
Affordability and choice
As a result of the introduction of the new Rondar boats, there are
some good, competitive boats on the second-hand market at very reasonable
prices. Old but competitive Larks can be picked up from as little
as £500, while the new Rondar boat from Purple Marine will cost
£4,995 complete with trolley, cover and a rigging manual.
A look at the new boat
The new-look glassfibre/foam sandwich Lark is very impressive and
at first glance resembles a bigger version of the curvy Rondar Firefly
which was launched a couple of years ago. With the Lark, the builders
have managed to retain the qualities that made the boat popular
but completely modernised the interior layout without affecting
the performance. The deck and cockpit have been designed to aid
comfortable sitting-out with smooth rounded inwales, and the stylish
aft buoyancy tanks blend neatly into the deck, avoiding nasty sharp
edges. The class has chosen not to go for a double bottom but the
relatively small cockpit area keeps water to a minimum when the
boat comes up after a capsize.
All the control lines are led to the top of the thwart/centreboard
case, including the centre mainsheet, and the spinnaker is stowed
neatly on the forward buoyancy tank shelf, which doubles as a spinnaker
chute. The one negative comment I have about the new boat is the
lack of space in the crew area for someone of my height. While I
understand there's a technique to sailing any type of boat, I did
feel at 5ft 8ins I would struggle to squeeze myself under the swept
back kicking strap on the boom and over the centreboard case on
those all-important tacking duels up the last beat!
Vital Statistics Loa: 4.06m Beam: 1.64m Weight: 95kg Sail Area: 9.75sq m Spinnaker: 7.40sq m PN: 1072
The modern curvy mouldings resemble the updated
Rondar Firefly.
Looking forward. Note the 'comfortable'
sidekicks and the control blocks positioned on the thwart,
and the neat spinnaker stowage shelf above the forward bulkhead.
