| Specifications Under Current Rules | |
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| Class Symbol |  |
| Crew | One |
| LOA | 7 ft 9 in (2. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts 36 m) |
| LWL | 7 ft (2. Waterline length, length at the waterline or length waterline (abbreviated to LWL) is measurement of Ships and Boats The term 13 m) |
| Beam | 3 ft 8 in (1. The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point or at the mid-point of its length 12 m) |
| Draft | 5 in (0. The draft (or draught) of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the Waterline and the bottom of the hull ( Keel) with the thickness 13 m) / 2 ft 9 in (0. 84 m) |
| Hull weight (with fittings) | 77 lb (35 kg) |
| Mast height (above deck) | 7 ft 5 in (2. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking 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 26 m) |
| Mainsail area | 35 ft2 (3. A mainsail is the most important sail raised from the main (or only mast of a sailing vessel 3 m2) |
The Optimist is a small, single-crew sailing dinghy for children up to the age of about 15. Dinghy sailing is the activity of Sailing small boats by using (1 the Sails and (2 underwater foils ( Daggerboard or Centreboard Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built. A fibre-reinforced plastic ( FRP) (also fibre-reinforced polymer) is a Composite material comprising a Polymer matrix reinforced with fibres
It is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 132,000 boats officially registered with the class and many more built but never registered[1].
The Optimist is also recognized as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation. The designation International Class may be granted by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF to classes of sail boat that offer a high standard of international competitive The International Sailing Federation (ISAF is the world governing body for the sport of Sailing, particularly yacht, dinghy, Windsurfing and
Contents |
Origin
History
The Optimist was designed in 1947 by Clark Mills. Clark Mills (1915-2001 was an American designer and builder of Boats He was best known as the designer economical and practical boats The design was slightly modified and introduced to Europe by the Dane, Axel Damsgaard, and spread outwards across Europe from Scandinavia. The design was standardized in 1960 and became a strict one-design in 1995. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995
The Optimist is a pram, meaning a boat with a flat bow. A pram or pramm describes a type of shallow-draught flat-bottomed ship It is essentially designed to be a contoured box made of plywood or glass-reinforced plastic. Plywood is a type of Engineered board made from thin sheets of Wood, called plies or veneers Glass-reinforced plastic ( GRP) is a Composite material or Fiber-reinforced plastic made of a Plastic reinforced by fine fibers Although the Optimist breaks many of the principles of good boat design, it still has surprisingly good handling characteristics. Mills built the boat on a commission from the local Optimist Club as a boat which a youngster could build themselves. Mills claimed that it was the largest possible usable sailboat that could be built from two 4ftx8ft sheets of plywood.
Description
Sail
The single sail of the Optimist is sprit-rigged. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. The spritsail is a form of three or four-sided fore-aft Sail and its Rig. Two battens stiffen the leech. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail It is secured evenly with ties along the luff to the mast and along the foot to the boom, pulled down tightly by a vang. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail 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 In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail In Sailing, a boom is a Spar (pole along the foot (bottom of a Fore and aft rigged Sail, that greatly improves control of the angle A boom vang (US or kicking strap (UK is a line or piston system on a Sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape The light, slim third spar, the sprit, extends through a loop at the peak of the sail; the bottom rests in the eye of a short cable (sometimes referred to as the snotter) which hangs along the front edge of the mast. In Sailing, a spar is also know as a round pole of wood or Metal used on a Sailing ship. In Sailing the parts of a Sail have common terminology for each corner and edge of the sail A snotter is a rope or tackle used in Sailing to tension the sprit on a Spritsail, or a sprit boom on a sprit-boomed sail Raising and lowering the sprit and adjusting the boom vang allow for adaptation of sail trim to a range of wind conditions.
A monograph-style "IO" insignia (after IODA - the International Optimist Dinghy Association) on the sail is a registered trade-mark and may only be used under licence from the International Optimist Association. Optimists also have a national sail number using the Olympic abbreviation of their country and a sequential number.
Hull
Just in front of a bulkhead, which partitions the boat nearly in half, is the daggerboard case. A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a Ship. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and Deckheads Etymology A daggerboard is a retractable Keel used by various Sailing craft Right behind it on the centerline of the hull floor are attached a pulley and ratchet block. In Sailing, a block is a single or multiple Pulley. One or a number of sheaves are enclosed in an assembly between cheeks or chocks These anchor the sheet and its pulley on the boom directly above. In Sailing, a sheet is a line ( Rope, Cable or Chain) used to control the moveable corner(s of a Sail. At the bow resides a thwart to support the mast which passes through a hole in its center. The bow (pronounced &mdashrhymes with how) is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a Ship or Boat,
Buoyancy bags are installed inboard along each side in the front half of the boat and at the stern to add buoyancy in the event of capsizing. Two straps run lengthwise along the floor from bulkhead to stern. The stern is the rear or aft part of a Ship or Boat, technically defined as the area built up over the Sternpost, extending upwards from the Counter These and a tiller extension allow a sailor to hang off the side for weight distribution--commonly called "hiking out". This can be crucial to maintaining the boat in near horizontal disposition during heavy air.
The vast majority of hulls today are made of glass-reinforced plastic, although it is still possible to make and buy wooden hulls. Glass-reinforced plastic ( GRP) is a Composite material or Fiber-reinforced plastic made of a Plastic reinforced by fine fibers
Introductory sailboat
Optimists are among the only boats well-suited for complete beginners to intermediate sailors between the ages of 7 and 15. Very small children are sometimes "doubled up" in Optimists but in general the boats should be regarded as single-handers - it is in this mode that children gain the most in terms of confidence and improved skills. Most sailing schools have a number of them and they are the first boat most beginners will sail.
First-timer classes offered teach the rudiments of sailing technique in a variety of conditions depending on regional weather patterns but many also offer immediate immersion into competition within the topography of a standard race course.
Optimists are also the main training ground for future Olympic sailors. Over 60% start in the boat and over 40% of them are already international competitors by the age of 13-15. By December of the year in which they turn 15, Optimist racers are said to "age out"; that is, they become too old to continue racing.
The Optimist is the biggest and most competitive youth racing class in the world. As well as the annual world championship the class also has six continental championships, attended by a total of over 700 sailors a year. Many thousands more take part in international and national regattas. Many of the top world Optimist sailors immediately become world-class Laser Radial or 4.7 sailors after they "age-out", and even average Optimist racers later do well in the "more advanced" classes including double-handers such as the 420 and 29er. 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 Optimists provide real international competition because they are manufactured to the same specification by dozens of builders.
The first World Championships were held in Great Britain in 1962, and they have since been arranged annually. For the first 20 years, the class was dominated by sailors from the Scandinavian countries, with 13 world champions. In the 1990s Argentina was by far the dominant country, and Argentina and Peru have ever since been the best team-racing countries in the world (the two together having won 12 team racing championships (IODA Challenge Cup) since 1990). Since the turn of the millennium there has been no single dominant country, with medallists from countries such as Trinidad, Bermuda and Malaysia.
Optimist Specifications & Construction:
- Rig: Cat
- Hull: FRP, wood or wood/epoxy, hard chine, flat bottom.
- Keel: Daggerboard
- Spars: Wood or aluminum.
Manufacture
Over 4,000 boats a year are produced by nearly 40 builders worldwide. A list of them is available at www.optiworld.org/ioda-builders.html
Pictures
 Field of Optimists |
 typical storing |
 Rigging on shore and relations of measures |
External links
- Optimist Class Association
- Optimist Dinghy Association, Australia
- Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association
- Ecuador Optimist Association
- International Optimist Dinghy Association in Ireland
- Optimist Class Norway
- Optimist Class Association, South Africa
- Optimist Class Sailing Race Results Website
- Canadian Optimist Dinghy Association (CODA)
Footnotes
| 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 | |
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