I paid $300 for mine last spring. It is a mid-80s model with the ABS covered hull. It was well cared for and came with mast, spars, original sail, and two rudders and tillers, one with a a tiller extension. I think that was a fair price, but I also hear plenty of folks say they got their Super Snark for a song, i.e., between free and $100.

Now I’m trying to “fix” it up which is mostly mending a large crack which probably happened when someone stepped into it just real of the center board slot. I used West Marine epoxy and some quite fine fiberglass cloth. That will work nicely so long as it isn’t applied in thick layers. Epoxy is a chemical curing plastic and not an evaporative cure and there is a good deal of heat generated. If you were to mix it in a EPS cup it will almost certainly melt it. So, if you need to find some big gouges as I did, use some filler to add to the epoxy to keep it from slumping and apply a number of thin layers to manage the heat of cure.

Now then, HELP! This is an all EPS Snark. What paint can I use to cover up my ugly repairs? I’m told latex based will dissolve the EPS as will many of the oil based paints.

PS: The Snark may just be the best little boat ever!

I offer several upgrade options for the Snark that I don’t think are available any where else: A rowing rig, stabilizers, taller mast, bigger sail. Also the standard boat, and replacement sails in various colors.

My Super Snark is the kind with ABS plastic cladding on the hull. This serves to make the centerboard trunk fairly rigid, so righting the boat with the centerboard is not much trouble. If your Snark has the expose styrofoam hull, I’m really not sure how it would stand up to that abuse, but I do suspect it van handle more than you think.

Last time I capsized, the boat swamped and turned turtle – woohoo! completely upside down! – so the centerboard was really the only option. If the boat is on it’s side you might be able to hoist it up by pulling on the halyard with you feet against the hull, gunwhale, or base of the centerboard.

Happy sailing,
Ian

The bow splash guard I made for the Super Snark is a worthwhile addition. I had the boat out in some rather rough conditions last fall and it did keep water out of the boat. It’s also adds a handsome ‘finish’ without seeming overdone. The trick – and this is important – is to build a pointed splash rail just ahead of the mast socket. Mine is only ~1.75 inches high, but it’s enough to shed a good bit of chop.

I built mine from mahogany lauan with red oak battens to give it some rigidity. Then I applied some 3/8 weather stripping foam to the bottom edge of the piece and secured it to the hull with brass wood screws which I tipped with a bit of marine epoxy. But first, I drilled small pilot hole through the splash deck, marked the gunwhale through those holes, and drilled small pilot holes in the abs plastic of the gunwhale. I sailed and cartopped the boat many times last summer and fall, and the deck is still secure. I should add that my deck completely covers the mast step and the cleats are bolted through both. This makes it pretty darn secure.

Good luck! Please post here if you go ahead with your splash deck.