The A Scow is an American

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailboat, sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small ha ...

-hulled

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats - usually for fun, learning necessary sailing skills (often also within family), and competition. RYA lists Five essentials of sailing dinghies as: * The sails * The hydrofoil, foils (i.e. t ...

that was designed by

John O. Johnson John O. Johnson (January 10, 1875 - February 1963) was a Norwegian-born, American boat builder, early aviator, and inventor in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Early life and boat building Johnson was born in Oslo, Norway. His mother died when he ...

as a racer and first built in 1901. The A Scow design was developed into the V38, by Victory by Design, LLC in 2005.

Production

The design was initially built by Johnson Boat Works in

White Bear Lake, Minnesota White Bear Lake is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County. The population was 24,88 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but that company closed in 1998 and production passed to

Melges Performance Sailboats Melges Performance Sailboats, is an American sailboat manufacturer founded by Harry Melges, father of former Olympic sailor Buddy Melges. Melges Boat Works, Inc. was founded by Harry C. Melges, Sr. in 1945. The company was originally named '' ...

, who continue to build it.

Design

The A Scow traces its origins back to a Johnson-designed prototype in 1896. Over time the class has changed and evolved into essentially a

one design One-design racing is a racing method which may be adopted in sports using complex equipment, whereby all vehicles have identical or very similar designs or models, avoiding the need for a handicap system. Motorsport One-make racing series (also ...

class today. At

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

, the design is the largest scow raced today and is one of the largest dinghies produced. The A Scow is a racing

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

, with the early versions built from wood and the more recent ones built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

. It has a fractional sloop with a masthead

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a Point of sail#Reaching, reach (wind at 90° to the course) to Point of sail#Running downwind, downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinna ...

. The hull is a scow design with a raised counter, vertical transom; dual spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

s controlled by dual

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

s and dual retractable

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

s. It displaces and carries no ballast. The boat has a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of with a centerboard extended and with both retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. For sailing the design is equipped with an

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing between about 90 and 165 degrees from the angle of the wind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", "A-sail", or gennaker, it can be described as a cross between a genoa (jib) and a spinnaker. It is ...

of , flown from a retractable

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar (sailing), spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestay, forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create ...

. The design is raced with a crew of at least five

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s and normally has a total of six or seven crew members to help balance the boat.

Operational history

The boat is supported by a national class club, the ''National Class A Scow Association'', which regulates the class and organizes races. The A Scow is mostly raced on lakes in the

midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. A film was made about racing A Scows, ''The Ultimate Ride'', by racer Peter Crawford. A review in ''Sailing World'' in 2006 by Gary Jobson, wrote, "these boats sail best when heeled more than 20 degrees, and in a breeze, it takes a lot of courage to do this. The boat rocks up and you feel as if you're about to be catapulted out of the cockpit. But a subtle tug on the tiller, a slight ease of the main and spinnaker sheets, and zingo, you're sailing at 25 knots. There's no crew weight limit, so depending on the wind strength, 5 to 7 crew can be piled on the rail with sailors rotating on or off in between races."

References

External links

* {{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Scows 1900s sailboat type designs Sailboat type designs by John O. Johnson Sailboat types built by Johnson Boat Works Sailboat types built by Melges Performance Sailboats

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links