19-foot Small Ohio Sharpie  This has been the most popular design in The Sharpie Book. She is basically a one-half-size model of the large 36’ Ohio Pound Net Sharpie. Shown in the photo is my own “Gato Negro” which I built in Islamorada, Florida, about 1989. The vessel is an excellent performer, being a fast sailor with fine balance, yet capable of carrying an easy 1,000 lbs payload. I spent idyllic days sailing her on the flats of the Florida Keys, slipping along in scant inches of water, steering by shifting my weight slightly while sitting on the bridge deck without tending sheets or tiller!  The design (see the Sharpie Stock Plans List for price) is more traditional and both lighter and finer than “Gato Negro”, which was designed as a work boat. I have drawn two rigs for the model: one is a sprit-rigged cat ketch, with spar dimensions the same as “Gato Negro’s”, and the other is my reconstruction of a sloop-rigged Pound Net Boat, which I imagine may resemble the rig used in the small Ohio sharpies. This particular boat is also very simple to build, and represents an excellent model for the beginner.