One hundred years of E Scows

When the first gun sounds at the E Scow National Championship regatta this September, more than 100 boats are expected to be on the line on Lake Mendota, Wisconsin. And while competition will be fierce—as always—there will be a bit more on that line than usual, for this year marks the 100th anniversary of this unique and storied class of boats that counts among its fans some of the country’s greatest sailors.

Officially launched in 1924, the 28-foot E Scow was an answer to the much harder to manage 38-foot A Scows that began sailing in Minnesota in 1900, and the single-sail, 20-foot C Scow that was usually used for training. Typically sailed with a crew of three or four, the boat’s sail plan has changed over time, but today it is sloop-rigged with an asymmetrical spinnaker that can zing it downwind at more than 20 knots. It’s exciting, fun, and exhilarating to be hiking out for all you’re worth upwind to keep the boat flat and the snub-nosed bow clear of any waves.

“The scow is a challenging boat to race well, and these sailors are people who thrive on good competition,” writes E Scow sailor Gary Jobson in the official book on the topic released last year, A Century of Racing E Scows: An Enduring Legacy. “The physical demands are strenuous, and yet sailors of all ages excel on the E Scow. It is a family boat, gender welcoming, and technologically fascinating; to win a championship is a feat that few achieve.” – Full report