Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:
A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. Scows were in common use in the American Great Lakes and other parts of the U.S., Canada, southern England, and New Zealand. In modern times their main purpose is for recreation and racing; there are also garbage scows for aquatic transport of refuse.
Dinghy racing is a competitive sport using dinghies, which are small boats which may be rowboats, have an outboard motor, or be sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern sailing dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.
The Laser is a class of single-handed, one-design sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength and crew weight. Ian Bruce and Bruce Kirby designed the Laser in 1970 with an emphasis on simplicity and performance.
Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift (buoyancy).
The 49er and 49er FX is a two-handed skiff-type high-performance sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. Both of the crew are equipped with their own trapeze and sailing is done while cantilevered over the water to the fullest extent to balance against the sails.
The International 505 is a One-Design high-performance two-person monohull planing sailing dinghy, with spinnaker, utilising a trapeze for the crew.
The OK Dinghy is an international class sailing dinghy, designed by Knud Olsen in 1956.
Hobie Cat is a company that manufactures watercraft and other products as the Hobie Cat Company. "Hobie Cat" can also refer to specific products of the company, notably its sailing catamarans. Its fiberglass catamaran models range in nominal length between 14 feet (4.3 m) and 18 feet (5.5 m). Rotomolded catamaran models range in length between 12 feet (3.7 m) and 17 feet (5.2 m). Other sailing vessels in the Hobie Cat lineup include, monocats, dinghies, and trimarans, ranging in length between 9 feet (2.7 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m). Its largest product was the Hobie 33, 33 feet (10 m) in length. The company's non-sailing product line includes surfboards, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, pedalboards, eyeware, and e-bikes. It was founded in 1961 by Hobart (Hobie) Alter, who originally manufactured surfboards.
The Fireball is a British sailing dinghy that was designed by Peter Milne as a one-design racer and first built in 1962.
The 18 ft Skiff is considered the fastest class of sailing skiffs. The class has a long history beginning with races on Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1892 and later in New Zealand. The boat has changed significantly since the early days, bringing in new technology as it became available. Because of the need of strength, agility and skill, the class is considered to be the top level of small boat sailing. Worldwide this boat is called the "18 Foot Skiff". It is the fastest conventional non-foiling monohull on the yardstick rating, with a score of 675, coming only third after the Tornado and Inter 20.
The International 14 is an International racing sailboat, crewed by two sailors. The class was established in 1928.
The E Scow is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Arnold Meyer Sr as a one-design racer and first built in 1924.
The 12 ft Skiff is a development dinghy class dating back to the early 20th century. It is sailed in Australia and New Zealand. It is 12 ft (3.7 m) in length, hence the name, and is a two-man boat. Both the crew and the helm are able to use the trapeze at the same time. It has an asymmetrical spinnaker and a jib, in addition to the mainsail.
The Cherub is a 12 feet long, high performance, two-person, planing dinghy first designed in 1951 in New Zealand by John Spencer. The class is a development class, allowing for significant variation in design between different boats within the rule framework. The minimum hull weight was originally 110 lbs.
A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.
The Jacksnipe is a two-man racing sailing dinghy with a single trapeze for the crew and symmetrical spinnaker.
The Dabchick is a South African youth sailing dinghy that is raced two up or single-handed. A Bermuda rigged boat, it has a mainsail and jib. Its hull is very shallow and its skipper sits on its flat deck. This hard chined scow was designed by Jack Köper in 1955. Since they were published in 1956, nearly 3,500 plans have been issued to builders, and over 4,000 boats have been built. It is usually sailed by young crew with teenager skipper instead of the Optimist, before moving into higher performance classes.
The O'PEN Skiff, or O'pen Skiff, is a sailing dinghy that was designed by Vitali Design of Italy for children's sail training and as a one design racer. It was first built in 2006.
The Waszp is an Australian, single-handed, hydrofoiling sailboat that was designed by Andrew McDougall as a one-design racer for youth and adults, and first built in 2016.
