The Shark 24 is a Canadian-designed 24 ft sailing yacht which has earned itself a reputation of extraordinary reliability and longevity among sailors both in North America and Central Europe. Having been designed by George Hinterhoeller back in 1959 to cope well even with the harshest conditions found in the Great Lakes region, the vessel has proven to be well suited for extended leisure trips as well as for tough racing.[1]

Shark 24
Development
DesignerGeorge Hinterhoeller
LocationNiagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Year1959
No. builtover 2500
DesignOne-Design
Builder(s)Hinterhoeller Limited
C&C Yachts
Halman Manufacturing Co.
Bodo Guenther Marinedepot* (*current builder)
Roleracer, recreational sailing
NameShark 24
Boat
Crew2 to 3
Displacement2,100 lb (950 kg)
Draft3 ft 2 in (0.97 m)
Hull
Typemonohull
ConstructionFibre-reinforced plastic
LOA24 ft (7.3 m)
LWL20 ft (6.1 m)
Beam6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Engine type3–6 hp (2.2–4.5 kW)
Hull appendages
Keel/board typefixed fin
Ballastiron 675 lb (306 kg)
Rudder(s)transom hung spade
Rig
Rig typebermuda rig
I foretriangle height20 ft (6.1 m)
J foretriangle base7.3 ft (2.2 m)
P mainsail luff23 ft (7.0 m)
E mainsail foot10.2 ft (3.1 m)
Sails
Sailplanfractional sloop
Mainsail area117.3 sq ft (10.90 m2)
Jib/genoa area73 sq ft (6.8 m2)
Upwind sail area190 sq ft (18 m2)
Class is a member of World Sailing

The Shark 24 was awarded International status by World Sailing in 2000.[2]

History edit

George Hinterhoeller grew up in Austria where he sailed the light displacement fin keel sailboats that were common there. By 1959 he had emigrated to Canada and was working for a boat builder in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Hinterhoeller decided to design and build a sailboat for himself that was similar to what he had sailed in his youth in Austria. The result was a 22 ft (6.7 m) plywood boat he named Teeter Totter. Other sailors saw the resulting boat, and how fast it sailed compared to the heavy displacement boats common on the Great Lakes at the time and asked Hinterhoeller to build similar boats for them. Hinterhoeller modified the design, stretching it out to 24 ft (7.3 m) and started production of what he then called the Shark. The customer who commissioned the fifth hull requested it be built in fibreglass and offered to help Hinterhoeller build it using this new material. The resulting boat was a success and all subsequent Shark produced were built in fibreglass as this resulted in a lighter boat that took far less time to build so was less expensive and required much less ongoing maintenance.[1][3]

Design edit

The shark is a light displacement cruising and racing sailboat. It has a 7/8 fractional sloop rig, a small cabin and a self-bailing cockpit. The iron fin keel, combined with a transom hung spade rudder, and a flat run aft allows the hull to ride up on its bow wave and plane under the right conditions, giving the Shark more speed than a displacement hull of the same waterline length. It had a displacement-length ratio of 123, extraordinarily low for its time.[3][4][5]

The Shark has a V-berth, two quarter berths, and a small galley with sink, stove and icebox. It has sitting headroom under the small deckhouse.[3]

Events edit

World Championship edit

A World Championship Regatta for the Shark 24 class has been continuously contested for over 50 years. The regatta follows a three-year rotation where for two consecutive years the regatta is hosted by the Canadian Shark Class Association in Canada, and the third year it is held in Europe in Austria, Germany, or Switzerland.[6]

Gold Silver Bronze
1966 Ottawa   Canada
Sid Dakin
1967 Montreal   Canada
Sid Dakin
1968 Niagara-on-the-Lake   Canada
Sid Dakin
1969 Toronto   Canada
Sid Dakin
  Canada
Roy Brown
1970 Ottawa   Canada
Sid Dakin
1971 Mississauga   Canada
Jim Jackson
1972 Kingston   West Germany
Horst Shaunbacher
1973 Montreal   Canada
John Fitzpatrick
1974 Sandhamn   West Germany
Horst Shaunbacher
1975 Fort Erie   Canada
John Fitzpatrick
1976   Sweden
Eric Schauman
1977 Travemünde   West Germany
Helmut Jungbut
1978 Mississauga   Canada
Clare Norris
1979 Toronto   Canada
Don Walton
1980   West Germany
Rudi Magg
1981 Mississauga   Canada
Ralph Gilbert
1982 Hamilton   Canada
Paul Davis
1983 Attersee   Austria
Anton Stader
1984 Fort Erie   Canada
Hal Ebert
Mike Entwistle
Sandy Ebert
1985 Toronto   Canada
Dana Richardson
Peter Eagar
Mo Regnier
1986 Konstanz   Austria
Flossi Felsecker
1987 Niagara-on-the-Lake   Canada
Hal Ebert
Mike Entwistle
Sandy Ebert
1988 Fort Erie   Canada
Hal Ebert
Mike Entwistle
Sandy Ebert
1989 Attersee   Austria
Flossi Felsecker
1990 Kingston   Canada
Peter Schell
1991 Toronto   Canada
Peter Vickery
David Starck
Jamie Day
1992 Kreuzlingen   Austria
Flossi Felsecker
1993 Oakville   Canada
Greg Cockburn
Peter Eagar
Christine Forsyth
1994 Niagara-on-the-Lake   Canada
Don Ruddy
1995 Friedrichshaven   Canada
Don Ruddy
1996 Kingston   Canada
Jeff Mitchell
Peter Aker
Robert McCooey
  Canada
Graham Jones
Tof Nicoll-Griffith
Luis Carrasco
  Canada
Jack Mitchell
Chris Daniels
Ken Mitchell
1997 Fort Erie   Canada
Don Ruddy
  Canada
Jack Mitchell
Chris Daniels
Ken Mitchell
  Canada
Jeff Mitchell
Peter Aker
Robert McCooey
1998 Breitenbrunn   Canada
Don Ruddy
John Clark
Kathy Ruddy
  Austria
Flossi Felsecker
Franz Lackerbauer
Johannes Tinsobin
  Austria
Franz Flasch
Franz Gratzel
Doris Potsch
1999 Toronto   Canada
Sid Dakin
John Dakin
Julian Aziz
  Canada
Jack Mitchell
Chris Daniels
Ken Mitchell
  Canada
Mark Wiggins
2000 Parry Sound   Canada
Don Ruddy
John Clark
Martin Shaw
  Canada
Sid Dakin
John Dakin
Julian Aziz
  Canada
Jeff Mitchell
Andrew Shaw
Peter Aker
2001 Kreuzlingen   Canada
Don Ruddy
John Clark
  Austria
Flossi Felsecker

  Canada
Rodney Smith

2002 Toronto   Canada
Greg Cockburn
Peter Eagar
Christine Forsyth
  Canada
Steve Elwood

  Canada
Michael Lee

2003 Ottawa   Canada
Greg Cockburn
Peter Eagar
Christine Forsyth
  Canada
Sid Dakin
John Dakin
Julian Aziz
  Canada
Don Ruddy
John Clark
2004 Müritz   Canada
John Clark
John Fraser
Ethier Annie Claude
  Germany
Jürgen Ahlfeldt
Jürgen Borgwardt
Dieter Dülffer
  Austria
Michael Schahpar
Elfriede Schahpar
Peter Feichtinger
2005 Windsor   Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
  Canada
Sid Dakin
John Dakin
Kyle Dakin
  Canada
Paul Davis
Peter van Rossem
Nathan Baron
2006 Toronto   Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
  Canada
Stephen Jones
Lisa Katz Jones
Kathryn Fuller
  Canada
Jeremy Lucas
Chris Dorrington
Graham Eisenhauer
2007 Traunsee   Germany
Horst Rudorffer
Anita Correll
Thomas Molz
  Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
  Austria
Michael Schahpar
Florian Leitner
Elfriede Schahpar
2008 Hamilton   Canada
David Foy
Jamie Foy
David O'Sullivan
  Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
  Canada
John Dakin
Kyle Dakin
Morgan Dakin
2009 Niagara-on-the-Lake   Canada
David Foy
Jamie Foy
David O'Sullivan
  Canada
Josh Wiwcharyk
Chris Clarke
Martha Rafuse
  Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
2010 Kreuzlingen   Canada
Greg Cockburn
Hal Ebert
Peter Aker
  Canada
David Foy
Jamie Foy
David O'Sullivan
  Austria
Ernst Felsecker
Klaus Kratochwill
Franz Gratzel
2011 Montreal   Canada
David Foy
Jamie Foy
David O'Sullivan
  Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
  Canada
George Stedman
Etienne Portelance
Robert Levy
2012 Kingston   Canada
Robert Davis
Paul Davis
Brandon Tattersall
  Canada
Peter Aker
Howard Moscrop
David Giles
  Canada
Johan Koppernaes
Doug Brown
Michael Lee
2013 Muritz   Canada
Keven Piper
Tom Nelson
Jordin Clark
  Austria
Michael Schahpar
Bernhard Hynie
Nancy Harvey
Douglas Mc Farlane
  Canada
Greg Cockburn
Hal Ebert
Peter Aker
2014 Toronto   Canada
Keven Piper
Tom Nelson
Jordin Clark
  Canada
Peter Van Rossem
Peter Van Rossem Jr
Stan Wallace
  Canada
Andrew Morgan
Daina Morgan
Martin Shaw
2015 Ottawa   Canada
Dave Foy
Jamie Foy
David O'Sullivan
  Canada
John Dakin
Morgan Dakin
Trevor Dakin
  Canada
Peter Van Rossem
Stan Wallace
Peter Jr. Van Rossem
2016 Ebensee   Austria
Michael Schahpar
Klaus Kratochwill
Ben Hynie
  Canada
Keven Piper
Tom Nelson
Jordin Clark
  Austria
Christan Binder
Thomas Czajka
Harald Hynie
2017 Toronto   Canada
Richard Robarts
Colin Clark
Cameron Mason
  Canada
Greg Cockburn & crew
  Canada
Jeffrey Gillmeister & crew
2018 Kingston   Canada
Stephen Jones
Geoff Moore
Breck McFarlane
  Canada
Martin Shaw
Andrew Morgan
Daina Morgan
  Canada
Peter Van Rossem
Stan Wallace
Matt Fair
2019 Muritz   Austria
Christian Binder
Harald Hynie
Thomas Czajka
  Canada
Peter Van Rossem
Matthew Fair
James Fair
  Austria
Michael Schahpar
Ben Hynie
Klaus Kratochwill
2020 Montreal

See also edit

 
Sharks upwind

Similar sailboats

References edit

  1. ^ a b "The Shark". Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. ^ "World Sailing - Shark 24". Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Shark". Canadian Yachting. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  4. ^ "George Hinterhoeller". Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Royal Canadian Yacht Club Models - Panel 11, Shark 1960". Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Shark 24 Racing". Retrieved 8 December 2018.

External links edit