Johnson Boat Works was a builder and developer of racing sailboats of the scow design in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. It was founded in 1896, by John O. Johnson who had emigrated from Norway in 1893. After working with Gus Amundson [ who? ] for three years, Johnson started his own boat-building business in 1896. His first major success was the "Minnezika" a 38 ft scow design which won the championship on White Bear Lake in 1900. This sailboat was the beginning of the A-Class. As more classes were founded, Johnson moved on to B's, C's, D's, and E's.
Johnson was commissioned to build the 16 ft X-Boat for youth in the 1930s. Johnson designed the J-Scow in the mid-1950s which was converted to the MC.[ clarification needed ] Through the years, the boat builder built Optis and 420s. In 1994, the builder brought out the Johnson 18. In 1998, two years after JBW turned 100 years old, the family sold the company. The scow molds were sold to their competitor Melges Boat Works (now called Melges Performance Sailboats) in Wisconsin. The other molds, including the Johnson 18 mold, were sold to Catalina Yachts in California. The repair and storage part of the company was sold to a family member who renamed[ when? ] the company White Bear Boat Works.
A scow is a type of flat-bottomed barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. Scows were in common use in the American Great Lakes and other parts of the U.S., in southern England, and in New Zealand. In Canada, scows have traditionally been used to transport cattle to the islands of New Brunswick's Saint John River. In modern times their main purpose is for recreation and racing.
Harry C. "Buddy" Melges Jr. is a competitive sailor. He has earned national and international championships in several classes in conventional sailing and ice-boating.
The Blue Jay is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Drake Sparkman of Sparkman & Stephens as a trainer for the Lightning one-design racer. The Blue Jay was first built in 1947.
The Melges 24 is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. The monohull sportsboat is notable for its ability to plane over the water downwind in modest winds, and for its combination of a simple design that is highly tunable.
One-Design is a racing method which may be adopted in sports which use complex equipment, whereby all vehicles have identical or very similar designs or models.
The A Scow is an American scow-hulled sailing dinghy that was designed by John O. Johnson as a racer and first built in 1901.
The Melges17 is a Bermuda rigged racing scow first launched in January 2004 by Melges Performance Sailboats. The boat's rig consists of a main with a large roach, a roller furling jib and an asymmetrical spinnaker used in conjunction with the retractable bowsprit.
The I-20 is a modernized version of the M-20. It is a 20 ft (6.1 m) sloop rigged scow with a spinnaker. The boat was first built at Melges Boat Works, now Melges Performance Sailboats. The boat has two bilgeboards and two small rudders. After a couple years of experimentation, the class settled on its current rules in 2002. The new rules permitted a larger, asymmetrical spinnaker and a carbon fiber rig. It is currently made by Windward Boatworks. In 2005, Melges brought out a new Melges 17 to compete with the I-20.
The MC Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed as a one-design racer and first built in 1956.
The C Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by John O. Johnson as a one-design racer and first built as early as 1905. Sources disagree as to the first-built date, with claims of 1905, 1906 and 1923.
The M Scow, also called the M-Scow and the M-16 Scow, is a Canadian/American sailing dinghy that was designed by Johnson Boat Works and Melges Boat Works as a one-design racer and first built in 1950.
The E Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Arnold Meyer Sr as a one-design racer and first built in 1924.
Melges Performance Sailboats, is a United States company founded by Harry Melges, father of former Olympic sailor Buddy Melges.
The X Boat, also called the Cub, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by John O. Johnson as a one-design racer and first built in 1932.
The Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club (NNYC) is based in Neenah, Wisconsin and was established in 1864. This makes it one of the oldest yacht clubs in the country. Since it’s formation the NNYC has been committed to promoting sailing for individuals of all ages through sponsorships of club racing and cruising for a wide variety of boats. NNYC participates in Lake Winnebago events, helping to support the Fox Valley Sailing School and many other community events. When the NNYC was formed it set out to accomplish several goals:
The Butterfly is a one-design sailing dinghy, originally designed for a crew of two, but now most commonly raced single-handed. It was designed in 1961 in Libertyville, Illinois by John Barnett. The 12-foot (3.7 m) hull is a scow design. The craft has a stayed 18-foot (5.5 m) mast set as a Marconi rig with a single mainsail with a 75-square-foot (7.0 m2) surface area. The cockpit is 15 ½" deep, exceptionally deep for this size of sailboat, and can accommodate an adult up to 6 feet in height.
The Johnson 18 is an 18-foot (5.5 m) sailing dinghy designed by Rodger Martin. Although it is no longer produced, Johnson Boat Works fabricated over 100 of these sport boats before closing its doors in 1998.
John O. Johnson was a Norwegian-born, American boat builder, early aviator, and inventor in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
The Mariner 19 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Philip Rhodes and first built in 1962.