The North Star 500 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat that was designed by the American firm of Sparkman & Stephens as an International Offshore Rule Quarter Ton class racer and first built in 1973.
It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a slightly reverse transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel.
[5] In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "in 1969, U.S. Steel, anxious to take part in the boom in leisure market goods, bought Hughes Boatworks Ltd. of Centralia, Ontario, Canada, and began selling boats under the North Star Yachts brand name.
However, production of the boat was discontinued in 1973, perhaps partly because she was a comparatively well built but expensive toy with a single purpose, namely to win quarter ton races.
Worst features: The North Star has the least headroom in her comp group, and the deepest draft, both of which limits her utility as a cruising boat.