Production
The design was built by Bombardier Limited in Canada starting in 1973, but it is now out of production. Bombardier Limited applied for a trademark of the ''Invitation'' name, for "boats and parts", on 7 December 1973. The trademark was granted on 15 November 1974, but expired on 12 January 1990 and was not renewed.Design
The Invitation is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of fibreglass, with wood trim. It has a catboat rig with aluminum spars and a loose-footed mainsail. The hull has built-in foam for buoyancy. The sail is without sail battens, is installed over the two-piece mast with a sewn-in sleeve and can be wrapped around the mast. The hull has an enclosed foredeck, a spooned raked stem, a vertical Transom (nautical), transom, a wooden, kick-up, transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller with a hiking stick and a retractable wooden daggerboard. The hull alone displaces . The boat has a Draft (hull), draft of with the daggerboard extended. Retracting the daggerboard allows Beaching (nautical), beaching or ground transportation on a Boat trailer, trailer or car roof rack. For sailing the design is equipped with hiking straps, an adjustable outhaul, a boom vang and a vacuum bailer. The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 99.3 and is normally raced with a crew of one or two sailors.Operational history
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood described the Invitation as, "a boat designed for ease in cartopping, with two-piece mast and overhanging two-inch gunwale to assist lifting ... [the] Invitation is a one-design with rigid class rules."See also
*List of sailing boat types Related development *Bombardier 3.8 Similar sailboats *Laser (dinghy)References
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