P-class sailing dinghy

Last updated
P-Class
Development
Designer Harry Highet
Year1923
NameP-Class
Boat
Crew1
Hull
Type Monohull
Construction Wood; Plywood; Fibreglass
LOA 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Rig
Rig type Bermuda rig
Sails
Upwind sail area45 sq ft (4.2 m2)

The P-Class is a type of small single sail dinghy, popular as a training boat for young people in New Zealand. This class is famous for being the sailing trainer vessel for many new entrants into the sport, and virtually every famous New Zealand yachtsman, including Dean Barker and Russell Coutts, learnt to sail in one. [1] The P-Class was for many years the most common sailing boat in New Zealand.[ citation needed ]

Origin

The P-Class was designed by New Zealand civil engineer Harry Highet as a simple vessel in which children and young people could learn to sail. [2] It is a 2.13 metre long, slab sided, v bottom single hull, single sail Bermuda rigged dinghy, and is designed to be sailed by one person. The low aspect ratio Bermudan rig took over from a gunter rig in the 1950s. The boom overhangs the stern of the boat. It has a small deep cockpit with the rest of the hull making water tight buoyancy compartments. When capsized the boat floats very high in the water. The hull has a minimum weight of 90 lbs so is very solid. Even 40-year-old boats can be bought in good condition.

The first example appeared at Onerahi near Whangārei on New Year's Day, 1920. However it was not until Highet and his family moved to Tauranga in 1923 that the full potential of his design became apparent. Soon a fleet of a dozen or so boats were racing each weekend on Tauranga Harbour. The P-Class was initially known as the "Tauranga Class". Boats carried the letter "P" on their sails, to indicate they were primary trainers.

By 1940, an Inter-Provincial Competition had been established for the P Class, but this was held only in 1940 and 1941, before lapsing for the rest of World War Two. The competition resumed in 1945, with sailors racing for the Tanner Cup, a trophy donated by Mr George Tanner. A separate Inter-Club competition for the Tauranga Cup began at about the same time. Both competitions are still held annually.

Originally built of solid wood, plywood was introduced in 1956 and fibreglass hulls were allowed in 1975. Aluminium spars were introduced in 1976 and carbon fibre - composite masts, in 1998. The class is a one design class with tight building restrictions ensuring that hulls spars sails and foils are very similar in weight and dimensions.

A beginner's boat sells for $300 NZ and a top racing boat about $3000–5000NZ. Racing boats have a full range of double sided sail controls with masts and foils made of carbon fibre, and at least 2 quality sails for different wind strengths.

The P class is generally sailed by boys and girls from 11 to 15. Because of its short length it is difficult to sail down wind in waves, giving the boat a tendency to nose-dive. So children develop advanced sailing skills at a young age.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinghy sailing</span> Sailing of small boats, usually for sport

Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinghy racing</span> Racing Dinghy boats as a sport.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">49er (dinghy)</span> Olympic sailing class

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bermuda rig</span> Configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat

A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 17th century; the term Marconi, a reference to the inventor of the radio, Guglielmo Marconi, became associated with this configuration in the early 20th century, because the wires that stabilize the mast of a Bermuda rig reminded observers of the wires on early radio masts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">420 (dinghy)</span> Ship type

The International 420 Dinghy is a sailing dinghy popular for racing and teaching. The hull is fiberglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 has a bermuda rig, spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and is designed to plane easily. The 420 is an International class recognised by World Sailing. The name refers to the boat's length of 420 centimetres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">505 (dinghy)</span> International racing sailing class

The International 505 is a One-Design high-performance two-person monohull planing sailing dinghy, with spinnaker, utilising a trapeze for the crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OK (dinghy)</span> International racing sailing class

The OK Dinghy is an international class sailing dinghy, designed by Knud Olsen in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International A-class catamaran</span> Competitive catamaran class

The A-Class Catamaran, often abbreviated to A-Cat, is a development class sailing catamaran for singlehanded racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18ft Skiff</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International 14</span> Sailboat class

The International 14 is an International racing sailboat, crewed by two sailors. The class was established in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moth (dinghy)</span> Small development class sailing dinghy

The Moth is a small development class of sailing dinghy. Originally a small, fast home-built sailing boat designed to plane, since 2000 it has become an expensive and largely commercially produced boat designed to hydroplane on foils though many are still built at home, typically at much lower cost.

Zeddie is an old New Zealand sailing dinghy. The first boat was designed and built by Mr R.B. Brown at Northcote in the 1920s. The Zeddie originally was gunter rigged, which shortened the spars for convenience. Some have been converted to Bermudan, no jib and a spinnaker which was sheeted around the front of the mast leading to many capsizes. This rule was changed in the interests of safety. The Zeddie is 12 foot 6 inches long and about 5 foot in the beam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailing hydrofoil</span> Sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bermuda Fitted Dinghy</span>

The Bermuda Fitted Dinghy is a type of racing-dedicated sail boat used for competitions between the yacht clubs of Bermuda. Although the class has only existed for about 130 years, the boats are a continuance of a tradition of boat and ship design in Bermuda that stretches back to the earliest decades of the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banshee (dinghy)</span> Sailboat class

The Banshee, sometimes called the Banshee 13, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Richard L. Reid as a one-design racer and first built in 1969.

The Norfolk Punt is a type of yacht, derived from the flat-bottomed gun punts that roamed the Broadland waters in the mid-to-late 19th century. However, at the turn of the 20th century, in order to get to and from the hunting grounds more quickly, the punters developed their highly unstable craft to carry a basic mast and sail for travelling with the wind. It is from these humble beginnings that one of the country's most exciting and powerful racing dinghy classes was born.

A 16 ft Skiff is a class of three-person sailing dinghy with twin trapezes and a large asymmetrical spinnaker. The class is unique to Australia, where it is one of the most popular boats sailing with 95 boats registered in 12 clubs. The class has the largest fleet of high performance skiffs on the east coast of Australia. Due to the nature of only allowing two trapezes, the age of the sailors can vary between 15 and 60 years old, making it a versatile class of boat.

<i>Condor</i> (yacht)

Condor is a maxi sailing yacht designed for racing and built in 1981 by Killian Bushe at Kiwi Boats U.K.,in Penryn Penryn, England. She was registered in Hamilton, Bermuda during her 7-year ocean racing campaign and her sail number is KB-80. She is not to be confused with her predecessor Condor of Bermuda (KB-78), also owned and campaigned by Bob Bell.

Condor was "probably the most famous Maxi ever, winning every major ocean racing event Twice" according to her present owners, Prosail, the overnight adventure charter outfit in Australia's Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sailing:

The ClubSwan 36 is a Finnish sailboat that was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian as a one design racer and first built in 2018. Giovanni Belgrano was the principal engineer and aerodynamic expert, while Hervé Devaux designed the rig.

References

  1. "First step on America's Cup road". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. "P Class", Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club, archived from the original on 2023-06-17, retrieved 2024-02-03