CartHistory of Snark Sailboats
Email: Jim@SailboatsToGo.com Tel 1 888 JOY SAIL or 617 645 1605
SailboatsToGo is proud to be continuing the long tradition of selling the Snark Sailboat line and Parts For Snark Sailboats. We'll let Jim McMullen, co-founder of the original company, tell the early story:
My name is Jim McMullen, I was co-founder of Snark Products back in
the mid-sixties. My only product was the Sea Snark. We originally
retailed it for $99. We started and based it in Ft. Lee New Jersey.
Later we moved it to our own building in North Bergen N.J. on the
Hudson River.
For all these years people have asked me "where is Snark now and who
has it?" So finally I Googled you and am happy to see part of our line
at least, is still being offered.
When I started the business we outsourced production to a Styrofoam
moulder in Connecticut. After we grew substantial sales, we opened our
first production facility in Pt. Clinton Ohio on lake Erie. I was the
one who conceptualized the promotion of the Kool Snark to Brown &
Williamson in Louisville Ky. We sold several thousand branded Kool
Snarks and the promotion was so successful they repeated it for the
second year. The campaign also won the national popi award as being
the most creative and inventive for that year.
Also sold hundreds of Snarks as dealer loaders to Coke, Livoris,
Vicks, Budweiser etc.
We then developed the skinned version and called it the Sunflower.
Sold it for $199. then $220. We also built and designed a line of
boats for Sears called the Jetwind. It was to compete with the Lazer
from Canada. We also produced a dingy called Moby Dink, Super Snark,
Mayflower, Sunflower, Triumph, all using our trademarked 'Corelite'
which was bonding the ABS skin to a foam core. Sears were our largest
single customer but we had several hundred dealers in the U.S. and
Canada. We had licensing agreements in Japan, Germany, UK, and Canada.
We supplied the molds and all marketing material to all licensees. In
'72, sold the company to DDB who at the time were the third largest
advertising agency in the world and were publicly traded. I had a two
year management agreement and at 40 yrs. old, I retired to Florida.
The Snark venture was the highlight of my career and I'm very proud of the fact that I introduced thousands of people to the sport of sailing for the first time.
Lot's of luck!
We now continue the Snark story based on other sources of information...
McMullen's recollection that he started the company in the mid-1960s conflicts with this 1971 New York Times article about the sale to DDB that refers to Snark's "10-year history." If the Times is to be believed, Snark started in 1961 then. But other sources say even earlier - 1958 - without corroboration. Pending further evidence, we go with 1961.
The ad agency that purchased Snark from Jim McMullen and his associates apparently later sold it to Kransco, a company based in San Francisco. Or perhaps it passed through other hands in between. Production was moved around various locations in the east, including a stint in Virginia Beach. Various models were introduced.
- In the summer of 1984, another boat company, Lockley, purchased Snark from Kransco, and the new merged company was subsequently purchased by Entwistle of Hudson, Massachusettes
- The Snark name was continued to be used and production took place in New Castle, Pennsylvania
- Many of the Snark product lines were dropped when the companies merged (see below)
- The new line of boats became the Super Snark, Sunflower 3.3, Sea Skimmer, Sunchaser I, and Sunchaser II. This is the current line being produced to this day
- In 1996, Snark was purchased by Meyers Boat Company and production was relocated to Adrian, Michigan. This is the current production location. SailboatsToGo is an authorized dealer for Meyers. SailboatsToGo founder Jim Luckett, began sailing Snarks in the 1970s and is thrilled to now make his living selling small sailboats, including the Snarks. Click Here for more information or to buy.
Snark Product Line Through the Years
| Sea Snark | active model but availability varies |
| Super Snark | active model |
| Sunflower with 45 SF sail | discontinued |
| Sunflower with 55 SF sail | renamed Sunflower 3.3, active model |
| Sea Skimmer | active model (was Sea Devil) |
| Sunchaser I | active model |
| Sunchaser II | active model (Was Sea Witch) |
| Sundancer | discontinued in 1984 |
| Super Snark II | discontinued in 1984 |
| Sandpiper 100 | discontinued in 1984 |
| Super Scamper 115 | discontinued in 1984 |
| Windsailer | discontinued in 1982 |
| Mach II | discontinued in 1982 |
| Hooker | discontinued in 1981 |
| Super Scamper 101 | discontinued in 1979 |
| Sandpiper 55 | discontinued in 1979 |
| Sandpiper 60 | discontinued in 1979 |
| Mayflower | discontinued in 1979 |
| Wildflower | discontinued in 1979 |
| Mach V | discontinued in 1979 |
| Triumph Trimaran | discontinued in 1973 |
| Moby Dink | discontinued in 1973 |
Other discontinued models: Sea Swinger, Sears Jetwind