Y Flyer

Y Flyer

Development
Designer	Alvin Youngquist
Location	United States
Year	1938
No. built	2,770
Builder(s)	Jack A. Helms Co. Jibetech Turner Marine Hinterhoeller Limited
Name	Y Flyer
Boat
Crew	two
Displacement	500 lb (227 kg)
Draft	4.00 ft (1.22 m) with centerboard down
Hull
Type	monohull scow
Construction	wood or fiberglass
LOA	18.17 ft (5.54 m)
LWL	14.50 ft (4.42 m)
Beam	5.67 ft (1.73 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	centerboard
Rudder(s)	transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
Sails
Sailplan	fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area	110 sq ft (10 m2)
Jib/genoa area	51 sq ft (4.7 m2)
Total sail area	161 sq ft (15.0 m2)
Racing
D-PN	88.1

The Y Flyer is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Alvin Youngquist in 1938 as a one-design racer and first built in 1941. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Production

The boat design was first shown in The Rudder magazine in 1938, as plans for amateur construction. Homebuilding of the boat from spruce and plywood continued after fiberglass boats were commercially available. ^{[1] [3]}

The design was built by Jack A. Helms Co., Jibetech and more recently, by Turner Marine in the United States, but it is now out of production. ^{[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

George Hinterhoeller was establishing his boat building enterprise Hinterhoeller Limited in 1956, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He built 40 Y-Flyers as his first production boat, "before the market dried up". ^[7]

Design

The Y Flyer is a recreational sailboat, initially built predominantly of wood, later versions were constructed of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a flexible fractional sloop rig with wooden or aluminum spars and a rotating mast. The hull is a scow design, with a flat bottom, a reverse sheer and a hard hull chine. The hull features a vertical transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable steel or aluminum centerboard. It displaces 500 lb (227 kg). ^{[1] [3]}

The boat has a draft of 4.00 ft (1.22 m) with the centerboard extended and 6 in (15 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. ^[1]

For sailing the boat has a mainsheet traveler. It may also be optionally equipped with built-in suction bailers, barber haulers, transom flaps and hiking straps. The class rules in the United States prohibit spinnakers, but these are used for racing in Canada. ^[3]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 88.1 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors. ^[3]

Operational history

The design is a supported by an active class club, the Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association, that organizes races and regulates the boat design. ^[8]

By 1994 there were Canadian fleets in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. American fleets were located in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina. There were also fleets in the US northeast and on the Pacific coast. ^[3]

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "The Y Flyer has a hard chine and flat bottom and is unusually stable. A slight heel reduces wetted surface dramatically, however, as may be seen from the [Portsmouth] rating." ^[3]

See also

• List of sailing boat types

References

1. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Y Flyer sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
2. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Alvin Youngquist". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
3. Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 96-97. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN   0-395-65239-1
4. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Helms - Jack A. Helms Co. 1974 - 1984". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
5. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Jibetech (USA)". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
6. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Turner Marine (USA)". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
7. Spurr, Dan (1 January 2000). "George Hinterhoeller". Practical Sailor Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
8. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.

External links

• Media related to Y Flyer at Wikimedia Commons