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Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:
The Mirror is a popular sailing dinghy with more than 70,000 built.
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 Topper is an 11 foot 43 kg (95 lb) sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. The Topper is a one-design boat sailed mostly around the British Isles. It was recognised as a World Sailing Class. The boat is constructed from polypropylene, and is popular as a racing boat or for sail training. The class association (itca) organise racing events, which range from small travellers to major championships. The RYA run squads alongside the events; in these squads young sailors who are given specialist race coaching.
The Wayfarer is a wooden or fibreglass hulled fractional Bermuda rigged sailing dinghy of great versatility; used for short 'day boat' trips, longer cruises and for racing. Over 11,000 have been produced as of 2016.
The Optimist, also known as the ‘opti’, or 'oppie', is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children and teenagers up to the age of 15. Contemporary boats are usually made of fibreglass, although wooden boats are still built.
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 and an optional spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and is designed to plane easily. It can be rigged to be sailed single-handed or double-handed. The 420 is an International class recognized by World Sailing. The name refers to the boat's length of 420 centimetres.
The Sunfish is a personal-size, beach-launched sailing dinghy. It features a very flat, boardlike hull carrying a lateen sail sail mounted to an un-stayed mast.
The Laser 4000 is a racing dinghy designed by Phil Morrison crewed by two persons. Its one-design weight-equalised system enables physically differing sailors to compete on a level playing field. It is most popular in Europe, particularly the UK, France and Italy.
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 Splash Dinghy is 3.5 m in length and all boats are identical, thus, as is typical in One-Design classes, the sailor's ability rather than equipment is emphasised fleet racing. The boats employ an un-stayed mono rig with a sail area of 6.3 m2, which makes the class easy to handle by sailors ranging from 45 to 80 kg. This, combined with the low hull weight of 55 kg, allow the class to serve as a stepping stone between the Optimist Dinghy and boats such as the Laser Radial, suiting sailors in the age range from 13 to 21 years.
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.
The RS Tera is a one-man monohull dinghy in the RS Sailing range of sailing boats. It is recognised by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as an international class, and is a popular boat for beginners and for children to race.
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 RS Vision is a sailing dinghy created by RS Sailing designed for 2 crew members. It can, however, be sailed by a larger crew or be single handed. It is sailed at many clubs around the world.
The Topaz Omega is a sailing dinghy created by Topper International designed for between 1 and 7 crew members. It is sailed at many clubs around the world and is an ISAF 'Learn to Sail' class.
The Topaz Taz is a sailing dinghy created by Topper International designed for between 1 or 2 children. The Taz is an ISAF ‘Learn to Sail’ class.
The Topaz Vibe is a British sailing dinghy designed by Ian Howlett and Rob White. Built by Topper International, it was first introduced in 2006. There are two models, the Vibe and the Vibe X, with the latter carrying larger sails. The Vibe is a World Sailing Learn to Sail class.
The Minisail is a 13-foot single-handed dinghy which was designed by Ian Proctor in 1959 and became popular in the 1960s. It was the predecessor to the Topper and was the first British production boat to popularise the idea of the "sailing surfboard". As the Topper gained popularity in the 1980s, the Minisail disappeared from the scene. However, on 28 August 2011, a group of enthusiasts restarted the Minisail Class Association, which now has a small but committed following mainly in north-west Europe.
The Topper Topaz is a British single-handed or two-handed sailing dinghy that was designed as a beginner and intermediate racer.
References
- ↑ "Portsmouth Yardstick" (PDF). RYA. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ "Topaz Magno - Test Report" (PDF). Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ "About the Topaz Magno". New to Sailing. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
