Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using (1) the sails and (2) underwater foils (daggerboard or centreboard and rudder). The GP14 is a 42m (14 ft sailing dinghy developed in 1949. Almost 14000 GP14s have been built and the class is active in the UK Ireland Australia and South Background The Topper is a one-design boat with a large international following it is also an International class by the ISAF and is an approved youth class of the Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. A foil is a surface designed to maximize lift (force generated perpendicular to the fluid flow while minimizing drag (force generated in the direction of the fluid A daggerboard is a retractable Keel used by various Sailing craft centreboard is a retractable Keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a Sailboat, known as a centerboard trunk (US or case A rudder is a device used to steer a Ship, Boat, Submarine, Hovercraft, or other conveyance that move through a fluid (generally air or It also involves adjusting (3) the sail trim and (4) balance by movement of the crew, particularly in windy weather ("move fast or swim"). A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. A crew comprises a body or a class of people who work at a common activity generally in a structured or hierarchical organization In rivers and tidal waters the effective choice of route in terms of existing and anticipated wind shifts (5) and currents (6) can be important.
When racing, the above skills need to be refined and additional skills and techniques learned, such as (7) the application of the "racing rules of sailing", (8) boat handling skills when starting and when rounding marks, and (9) knowledge of tactics and strategy relative to individual boats or the fleet in order to avoid the harmful effects of their sails on your wind, or to influence their movements to your advantage. The Racing Rules of Sailing (often abbreviated to RRS govern the conduct of Yacht racing, windsurfing kitesurfing model boat racing Dinghy racing and virtually
Those shared challenges, and the variability of the weather and sea can make dinghy sailing and racing a fascinating and rewarding recreational sport: physically, mentally, and in terms of personal relationships with other crew member(s), competitors, and organizers.
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Development of the dinghy
Early beginnings
There has always been a need for small tender boats for transporting goods and personnel to and from anchored sailing ships. Together with other smaller work craft such as fishing and light cargo, small inshore craft have always been in evidence. Charles II of England had a private sailing boat presented to him when he returned from exile to England in the 17th century, and he sailed for recreation and competition. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Towards the end of the 19th century people began to use these small boats for sport and recreational sailing, utilising the opportunities for leisure afforded by the industrial revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the Larger privately used sailing boats had developed separately, and have resulted in the yachts of today. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts There has been some crossover, in that the sloop sail plan was adopted as standard and most convenient by early dinghy designers. For the military definition of sloop see Sloop-of-war. For the open learning project see SLOOP Project. A sail-plan is a set of drawings usually prepared by a naval architect.
Planing and trapezing
The development of the sailing dinghy was helped in the early 20th century by Uffa Fox (1898-1972), an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast. The Musto Skiff is a single-handed Sailing Skiff with a length of 4 Uffa Fox (1898-1972 was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast He developed and contributed to many dinghy classes which are still with us nearly a century later: the Albacore, International 14, National 12, the Firefly, Flying Fifteen and the Scorpion. The International 14 is 14-foot double-handed dinghy. The class originated in England in the early part of the 20th century The National 12 is a two-person two-sail twelve-foot (36 metre long Sailing dinghy. The Firefly is a two-sail sailing dinghy with no Spinnaker, designed by Uffa Fox in 1938. Introduction The Flying Fifteen is a Keelboat designed by Uffa Fox in 1947 The scorpion is a class of small sailing dinghy. The Scorpion is a lightweight high performance two person racing dinghy
He also introduced the major advance of hull shapes which can plane, and which can therefore reach beyond the usual speed limits for small sailing boats. planing Boat 's hull skims across the surface of the Water rather than pushing through the water in the way a traditional Displacement hull In effect, a boat which is planing is skimming along the surface, rising up on its own bow wave. This results in less friction because of reduced waterline length, reduced displacement (the amount of water needing to be pushed aside by the boat), and reduced 'wetted area'. Waterline refers to an imaginary line marking the level at which Ship or Boat floats in the Water. In Sailboating, the wetted area is the area of the hull which is immersed in water The power given by the sails has to overcome less resistance, and therefore speed increases dramatically.
In 1928 Uffa Fox introduced planing to an astonished racing world in his International 14 boat, the Avenger. He gained 52 first places, two seconds and three third places out of 57 race starts that year. Note: Graham Anderson in his 1999 book Fast Light Boats, a Century of Kiwi Innovation [1] argues that planing centreboard sailing boats were introduced into New Zealand in the early 20th century - well before Uffa Fox popularised the concept.
Another advance in dinghy sailing was introduced in the 1930s, when the technique of trapezing was introduced. In Sailing, the trapeze refers to a wire that comes from a point high on the mast, usually where the shrouds are fixed to a hook on the crew member's harness This involves using the crew to provide more leverage to keep the sails vertical, by hanging outside the boat on a harness and rope attached to the 'hounds' or upper mast. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts As a result the boat is easier to keep upright, and the sails can deliver maximum power most of the time.
Trapezing during a race first appeared in 1934, on the Thames A Class Rater Vagabond sailed by Peter Scott (son of the famous Scott of the Antarctic), and John Winter. The Thames A Class Rater is both a historic and modern specialist sailing craft designed for the particular conditions at Thames Sailing Club, on the River Thames Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC, FRS, FZS, ( September 14, 1909 – August 29, 1989 John Winter may refer to John Winter (Manx, Born on the Isle of Man now living in Vancouver,Canada John Winter (athletics, an Australian The owner of the boat, Beecher Moore, of Thames Sailing Club had worked on developing the technique, in discussion with Uffa Fox. Vagabond was spectacularly successful in that race, winning by four minutes.
The innovative technique was immediately banned, and received little development until it was reintroduced on the Osprey and Fiveohfive Class (505) in 1954 by John Westell and the Flying Dutchman class in the early 1960s. The International 505 is a One-design high-performance two-person Monohull planing centerboard Dinghy. The Flying Dutchman (FD is a high-performance class of racing dinghy
Post WWII developments
During the Second World War plywood had become a major building material for aircraft. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including After the war, plywood was adapted for building sailing dinghies. Two primary methods of construction were adopted: Stitch and glue and timber framed construction. Stitch and glue is a simplified boat building method which uses sheet plywood and eliminates the need for stems and chines Jack Holt designed many dinghies to be built by home handymen using these construction techniques. Jack Holt OBE (1912-1995 was a prolific designer of sailing dinghies. The Mirror Dinghy was predominantly built using stitch and glue, while the Heron is an example of a boat built using plywood on a timber frame. The Mirror is a highly successful pram Dinghy, with more than 70000 built The Heron Dinghy is a Dinghy designed by Jack Holt of the United Kingdom as the Yachting World Cartopper (YW Cartopper
Modern developments
At the beginning of the 21st century, dinghy sailing is still a rapidly developing sport. It is losing its image of being expensive, time consuming and exclusive. This is because of the earlier work of pioneers such as Uffa Fox, and through the use of modern designs and techniques such as lighter hull materials (eg, fibreglass and foam sandwich hull construction, which eliminate time-consuming maintenance of wooden hulls), more responsive sail materials and design, easily transportable boats (many car-toppable), and simpler rigs such as Gennakers instead of more complex Spinnakers. Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. A gennaker is a recently-developed Sail used when Sailing Downwind; it can be described as a cross between A spinnaker is a special type of Sail that is designed specifically for Sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind i These advances are more economical in time and money, and have greatly extended the appeal of dinghy sailing.
Increasingly sailing is a young person's sport, and the number of participants is mushrooming. In many dinghy clubs in the UK the adult members are sometimes outnumbered by junior members, and the balance of activities can change from mainly racing to increasingly providing training courses. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Sailing is also becoming more accessible to people with disabilities, partly through new boat designs, and generally through recognition of everybody's right to participate in all areas of life. (See the Sailability website)
In Britain and Europe dinghy sailing has also been considerably advanced by the RYA, the regulatory authority which regulates racing and which provides modular and accredited training courses for leisure and competitive sailing. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Yachting Association ( RYA) is the national governing body for Watersports in the United Kingdom. A basic sailing course can be completed in several days, and participants can be sure that the training is competent and delivered in a safe setting.
Types of dinghies
Skiffs are the fastest and arguably most difficult type of dinghy to sail. The term skiff is used and has been used to refer to many various types of small boats A skiff has a flat narrow hull with a disproportionately large sailplan, usually consisting of an asymmetric spinnaker, blade jib and fully battened main. Sailors manage the rig with the use of racks (wings) and trapeze. Examples are the 49er, an Olympic boat, and the advanced International 14
High Performance dinghies are fast and powerful dinghies designed for racing around an Olympic triangle (Olympic Racing Course). The International 14 is 14-foot double-handed dinghy. The class originated in England in the early part of the 20th century The Olympic triangle is a Sailing course used in racing Dinghies, particularly at major regattas like State National and World Titles and was used at the Olympics Examples of such dinghies are the Flying Dutchman, the Fiveohfive (505), the Jet 14, the Fireball, the Osprey, the Javelin and the 470. Introduction The Jet 14 sailboat is a One-Design racing dinghy Originally designed by Peter Milne in 1962 the Fireball is a One-design high-performance sailing dinghy. The 470 is a double-handed Monohull planing Dinghy with a Centreboard, Bermuda rig, and center sheeting They can all plane easily, even upwind and they use trapeze and a symmetric spinnaker. Not all are two handed boats: the Contender and the RS600 are high performance single handed boats equipped with a trapeze, but not a spinnaker, and demonstrate a comparable performance. Skiffs are usually classed as High performance dinghies. The term skiff is used and has been used to refer to many various types of small boats
Cruising dinghies are designed for leisure and family sailing and are usually more stable than high performance dinghies. This is provided by a 'chined' (less rounded) hull, greater displacement, and proportionally smaller sail area. Examples of these are the Wayfarer, the Mirror, the Laser Stratos, the Drascombe and the Laser 16. The Wayfarer is a wooden or Fibreglass hulled Bermuda rigged Sailing dinghy, often used for short sailing trips as a 'day boat' The Mirror is a highly successful pram Dinghy, with more than 70000 built The Laser Stratos is an all-round cruising and racing boat built by the same company as the famous Laser Standard dinghy A Drascombe is a type of Sailing boat sold in the UK. The name is also a trademark first registered by John Watkinson applied to a series of sailing Sailing these boats can still give much excitement.
Classic dinghies are typically used as yacht tenders or shore boats, and emphasize beauty and versatility over sailing performance. Although many are still made entirely from wood, the majority of the most popular classic sailing dinghies combine a fiberglass hull with enough finely finished teak or mahogany to represent the "best of two worlds" approach. Examples of classic sailing dinghies are Minto, Fatty Knees, Trinka, Bauer, Whitehall and Gig Harbor. The Minto Sailing Dinghy is a Sailing dinghy first produced commercially in the early 1960 and still in production The Fatty Knees Fibreglass Sailing dinghies were designed by Lyle Hess (1912 - 2002
Catamarans are fast, high masted and double hulled boats which fall under the definition of dinghy also, usually having adjustable daggerboards. A catamaran (From Tamil 'kattumaram' is a type of Multihulled Boat or Ship consisting of two hulls or vakas joined by some The influential Hobie Cat was developed in America, and this has its keel built into each hull shape. A Hobie Cat is a small Catamaran (or two-hulled sailboat manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company of Oceanside California USA The Tornado is a high performance Olympic class catamaran, not for the fainthearted. The Tornado is an olympic class sailing Catamaran, with a crew of two A catamaran (From Tamil 'kattumaram' is a type of Multihulled Boat or Ship consisting of two hulls or vakas joined by some
Racing dinghies cover a wide range, and many are descended from Uffa Fox's seminal International 14. People often "travel" with their dinghies to international races in famous sailing spots such as Lake Garda in Italy.
The International 14 remains a popular racing class, having acquired racks (for trapezing crews) and a gennaker since its original design. The International 14 is 14-foot double-handed dinghy. The class originated in England in the early part of the 20th century The Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 are the variants of the Laser dinghy, a single-hander whose combination of simplicity, portability and performance has done much to advance dinghy racing and training. The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular One-design class of small sailing dinghy The Laser Radial is a popular One-design class of small sailing dinghy built by Vanguard Sailboats. The Laser 47 is a One-design dinghy class in the Laser series More modern dinghies like the Musto Skiff, RS600 and RS Vareo have also increased dinghy sailing participation around the UK. The RS Vareo is a modern singlehanded sailing dinghy widely raced throughout the UK at both club and national level Two popular dinghies used in high school and college racing are the 420 and Flying Junior. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution The International Flying Junior or FJ is a Sailing dinghy which was originally designed in 1955 in Holland by renowned boat designer Van Essen and Olympic sailor
Sports Boats: These classes are larger off-shore racing dinghies which shade off into classes of yachts with fixed keels. Usually they have several crew members as well as the helm. Melges 24 and Laser SB3 are current examples of this type. Notes and references
Development classes: Most dinghy classes have a fairly fixed layout of sails and hull design, and changes are very infrequent. However, some classes can compete and sail with less rigid definitions and measurements. This encourages experiment which often leads to innovation in techniques and construction. Examples are the International 14, National 12, the 18ft Skiff and the International Moth. The International 14 is 14-foot double-handed dinghy. The class originated in England in the early part of the 20th century The National 12 is a two-person two-sail twelve-foot (36 metre long Sailing dinghy. The 18ft Skiff is considered the fastest class of sailing skiffs The Moth is worth noting because of its use of foils on the rudder and daggerboard. These generate enough lift to push the hull above the water, significantly reducing friction and allowing speeds in excess of 25 knots (46 km/h). Classes which are not development classes are usually referred to as "One design". The first one design was the Water Wag, which first sailed in Dublin Bay in 1887. Dublin Bay ( Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a delta shaped Inlet of the Irish Sea off the east Coast of Ireland. The class is still sailed today, well over a hundred years later.
Dinghy racing
Racing is one of the most popular forms of dinghy sailing, and it contributes to the development of sailing skills as well as to improvements in dinghy and sail construction and design. See also Dinghy sailing Dinghy racing is the competitive Sport of sailing dinghies.
Lists of dinghy classes
| Sailing dinghies (ISAF International Classes) | |
|---|---|
| 14 Foot | 29er | 420 | 470 | 49er | 505 | Cadet | Contender | Enterprise | Europe | Finn | Fireball | Flying Dutchman | Flying Junior | Laser Standard | Laser 4.7 | Laser II | Lightning | Mirror | Moth | OK Dinghy | Optimist | Snipe | Splash | Sunfish | Topper | Vaurien | Zoom 8 | |
Reference books
Bob Bond "The Handbook of Sailing" DK & Pelham Books revised 1996 ISBN 0-7207-2016-8
External references
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