Erieau Lark

Description

The Erieau Lark is a classic 16-foot flat-bottomed wooden scow sailboat, a one-design racing class primarily associated with the Erieau Yacht Club (EYC) on Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada. It is a modern adaptation of the original Lark scow designed by C.G. Davis (Charles G. Davis) in the winter of 1897–1898 as a simple, chined, flat-bottomed hull for personal use, which gained popularity worldwide in the early 1900s as an affordable, fast, and easy-to-build daysailer—often called the "Laser of the early 1900s" for its simplicity and performance. The Erieau fleet uses a version updated in 1963 by William (Bill) Kerr, who produced plywood construction plans with a gunter rig (replacing the original gaff rig) for easier handling and better performance; these plans have been used for recent builds, including plywood with modern twists like carbon fiber sheathing in some cases. Boats are typically homebuilt or small-shop constructed (historically by local builders like Lester Stokes or Fred "Pop" Weir in the Rondeau Bay/Erieau area during the 1950s–60s), with a fleet still active at EYC for one-design racing (open to members, with events like summer regattas); the class emphasizes strict one-design rules for fair competition, and the boat is known for its planing ability in a breeze, shallow draft for beaching, and fun, spirited sailing on inland waters like Rondeau Bay.