Sharpie 22 Cedar Keys

Description

The Cedar Keys Sharpie is a classic, trailerable sailboat design inspired by traditional sharpie workboats from the Cedar Keys region of Florida, known for its shallow-water fishing heritage. Designed by renowned naval architect Francis Sweisguth in 1933, it's a gaff-rigged sharpie with a flat-bottomed hull, centerboard, and shallow draft, making it ideal for skinny waters like bays, estuaries, and coastal areas. The design emphasizes simplicity, stability, and ease of construction, originally intended as an affordable daysailer or small cruiser for recreational use. Sweisguth, who also designed the Comet and other sharpies, created this model during the Great Depression era when economical boats were in demand. It's a monohull with no cabin in its basic form (though some variations add a cuddy), focusing on open-deck versatility for fishing, sailing, or racing. Production was never mass-scale; plans were distributed through magazines like The Rudder and builders like the Luders Marine Construction Company, with a few dozen examples built over the decades. As a vintage one-design class, it's rare today but cherished by classic boat enthusiasts for its historical charm and performance in light winds. Modern replicas or builds from plans continue via wooden boat communities.