Surfwind
Description
Surfwind Designed and marketed by Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Chicago, IL) starting in 1969, as an affordable entry-level daysailer. Featured in Sears catalogs (1969–1970s) and documented on SailboatData.com and Sailboat Guide. Like other Sears boats (e.g., Fleetwind), it was mass-produced via OEMs (likely Snark Boats or similar) and sold through mail-order for backyard boating. The Surfwind is a stable, scow-hulled dinghy with a lateen rig, ideal for beginners, kids, or family use on lakes and calm bays. Over 500 units estimated sold; it's unsinkable and trailerable, but dimensions varied slightly by year. Modern owners praise its simplicity but note sail replacements are common due to UV wear. The hull's scow design (flat bottom with chines) provides high stability and easy beaching, while the lateen rig allows quick setup. It's often compared to a Sunfish clone but with more beam for two-person sailing.
Construction Details
| Designer | Sears Development and Test Lab |
|---|---|
| Builder | Snark Boats |
| Length | 14.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | 17.25 ft |
| e | 12.75 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | 17.25 ft | 12.75 ft | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | LATEEN |
|---|---|
| Luff | 17.33 ft - (5282 mm) |
| Foot | 12.75 ft - (3886 mm) |
| Leech | 17.25 ft - (5258 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 68.03 ° |
| Area | * 102.46 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.