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The Sonar was designed by Bruce Kirby (designer of the Laser) in 1979, at the request of Kirby's own yacht club, the Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT. Designed in response to sailor surveys, the Sonar has an unusually roomy cockpit and is adaptable for handicapped sailors to use without a spinnaker. (A whisker pole extends the sail area instead.) The boat has been designated the Paralympic keelboat since 2000. A 23-foot (7m) day racer, it is crewed by three to five people (most often four). The Sonar is raced primarily on the U.S. East Coast, but there are fleets in Israel, the U.K., and Australia. Over 700 boats have been built. The Sonar is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Recognized Class Association. For more information, read the Sonar Wikipedia article.