Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:
The Mirror is a type of popular sailing dinghy with more than 70,000 built.
The Albacore is a 4.57 m (15 ft) two-person planing dinghy, for competitive racing and lake and near-inshore day sailing. Hulls are made of either wood or fiberglass. The basic shape was developed in 1954 from an Uffa Fox design, the Swordfish. Recent boats retain the same classic dimensions, and use modern materials and modern control systems.
A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach to downwind. Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually nylon, and are often brightly colored. They may be designed to perform best as either a reaching or a running spinnaker, by the shaping of the panels and seams. They are attached at only three points and said to be flown.
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.
Hobie Cat is a company that manufactures sailing catamarans, surfboards, sailboats, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and pedalboards as the Hobie Cat Company. It was founded in 1961 by Hobart Alter, who originally manufactured surfboards. Its line of products has included more than twenty sailing craft, plus a variety of other watercraft.
The 29er is a two-person high performance sailing skiff designed by Julian Bethwaite and first produced in 1998. Derived from the Olympic class 49er class, it is raced in the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships. The 29er is able to reach high speeds fairly quickly by having a sleek and hydrodynamic hull and will often exceed the wind speed when planing both up and downwind.
A fractional rig on a sailing vessel consists of a foresail, such as a jib or genoa sail, that does not reach all the way to the top of the mast.
Otter is a classification referring to a particular design for a two-man sailing dinghy with a glass fibre hull. Its rig consists of a main, a jib and an optional symmetric spinnaker. The hull dimensions are 11 ft 11 in length and 4 ft 10 in beam. The boat has a draft of 3 ft 6 in with the centreboard down. The sail area is 75 sq. ft. The class symbol is a stylised glass bubble; due to the original lightweight "cigar box cedar" construction of the prototypes, the name 'Bubble' was first used for the boat. John Baker obtained the plans for an expanded version of the boat in G.R.P. and hence renamed the boat 'Glass Bubble'. After being put into production by Baker, the name 'Otter' was adopted; coming from the river of the same name in East Devon, close to where the boat was manufactured.
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.
The RS800 is a light-weight sailing dinghy designed by Phil Morrison and manufactured by RS Sailing. The boat is sailed by two people both on trapeze and has a main, jib and spinnaker. The RS800 has a Portsmouth Yardstick number of 799 and a D-PN of 77.0. There is a large racing circuit in the UK, and some European events each year.
The RS Vareo is a modern, single-handed sailing dinghy raced throughout the UK at both club and national level. The RS Vareo is a hiking singlehander with an asymmetric spinnaker.
The Laser 3000 is a racing sailing dinghy crewed by two persons with a trapeze for the crew. Launched in 1996, the 3000 was developed from the Laser 2, using the original Frank Bethwaite-designed planing hull combined with a brand new self-draining deck by Derek Clark. Clark also re-designed the rig, using spars and sails from premium proprietary sources and replacing the symmetric spinnaker of the Laser 2 by a larger asymmetrical spinnaker. The gennaker is chute-launched and retrieved using a single halyard line, and is set on a retractable bowsprit. Helm balance and handling were improved using a shorter-footed mainsail with two full-width battens giving a larger roach. A mast with conventional spreaders replaced the now-unusual diamond arrangement of the Laser 2.
The 3000 is a racing sailing dinghy crewed by two persons with a trapeze for the crew. Launched in 1996 as the Laser 3000, the 3000 was developed from the Laser 2, using the original Frank Bethwaite-designed planing hull combined with a new designed self-draining deck by Derek Clark. Clark also re-designed the rig, using spars and sails from premium proprietary sources and replacing the symmetric spinnaker of the Laser 2 by a larger asymmetric spinnaker (gennaker). The gennaker is chute-launched and retrieved using a single halyard line, and is set on a retractable bowsprit. Helm balance and handling were improved using a shorter-footed mainsail with two full-width battens giving a larger roach. A mast with conventional spreaders replaced the now-unusual diamond arrangement of the Laser 2.
The RS700 is a single-handed racing dinghy built by RS Sailing and designed in 2000 by Nick Peters and Alex Southon as part of the RS series and built in 2001. It is raced in many sailing clubs around Britain, with a PY number of 850 and a D-PN of 73.3.
The Buzz is a sailing dinghy designed in 1994 by Ian Howlett and John Caig and manufactured by Reg White Limited of Brightlingsea as part of the "White Formula" range of boats originally marketed by Topper International Ltd but since 2013 by Vantage Sailing. The Buzz is a double handed racing boat, with a single trapeze for the crewman. The boat has a fully battened mainsail, furling jib and an asymmetrical spinnaker. There have been around 500 boats built. The Buzz is designed to be an easy to sail boat, but it can also be raced competitively.
ISO is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) class of two-person sailing dinghy with a single trapeze and an asymmetric spinnaker. The ISO was designed in 1993 by Ian Howlett and John Caig and manufactured by Reg White Limited of Brightlingsea as part of the "White Formula" range of boats originally marketed by Topper International Ltd and since 2013 by Vantage Sailing Ltd. The boat has a fully battened mainsail, jib and an asymmetric spinnaker.
The X1 is a fast, light-weight sailing dinghy designed for sailing on rivers, estuaries and inland waters by Phil Morrison. The dinghy is sailed by 2 or 3 people and has a main, a jib and a symmetric_spinnaker. The boat is designed to be easily driven in very light wind, easy to sail and rig and quick to tack. It has a PY of 949."RYA Portsmouth Yardstick". RYA. Retrieved 2015-03-22.. Currently the PY is the same as an RS400 but can perform better in light wind and slower in heavier winds.
The Topper Topaz is a British single-handed or two-handed sailing dinghy that was designed as a beginner and intermediate racer.
