 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2023) |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sailing |
| Founded | Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA (1967) |
| Founders | Peter Harken, Olaf Harken |
| Headquarters | Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US |
| Website | www.laserperformance.com |
Vanguard Sailboats was one of the most successful sailboat builders. It was founded in 1967, and is now owned by LaserPerformance.
Vanguard Sailboats was founded in 1967 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA by Peter and Olaf Harken. The brothers started to gain attention after their sailing hardware was used on boats that won Olympic gold in 1968, and after Vanguard supplied the Finn class for several countries in the 1976 Olympics. The hardware segment was maintained somewhat separately, as it was marketed to competing boat builders. In 1986, the Harkens sold Vanguard to Stephen Clark, who moved the business to Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The brothers focused their efforts on the performance sailing hardware business in Pewaukee, WI under the name Harken, Inc., while Vanguard continued in boat building.
In March 1997, Vanguard Sailboats, Inc., bought Sunfish Laser, Inc., which built the Laser, Sunfish and 49er sailboats. [1]
In 2007 Vanguard Sailboats was acquired by Performance Sailcraft Europe. The combined company is known as LaserPerformance.
LaserPerformance is very active in the sailing community and was a major sponsor of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association until 2022. The ICSA is the organization that governs college sailing in North America. Most colleges and universities sail fleets of 420s, Flying Juniors or Vanguard 15s. Additionally, LaserPerformance is a sponsor of many adult and junior sailing regattas.
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.
The Sunfish is a personal-size, beach-launched sailing dinghy. It features a very flat, boardlike hull carrying an Oceanic lateen sail mounted to an un-stayed mast.
The Laser 2, or Laser II, is a sailboat that was designed by New Zealander Frank Bethwaite and Canadian Ian Bruce as a one-design racer and first built in 1978.
Cowan Lake Sailing Association (CLSA) is a yacht club based at the Cowan Lake State Park in Clinton County, Ohio.
The Vanguard 15 is an American planing sailing dinghy that was designed by Bob Ames as a one-design racer and first built in 1992.
The Day Sailer is a day sailer for pleasure sailing as well as racing; it is sailed throughout North America and Brazil. Designed by Uffa Fox and George O'Day in 1958, the Day Sailer possesses a 6-foot beam, an overall length of 17 feet, a fiberglass hull and a cuddy cabin. It is able to sleep two. The sloop rig includes mainsail, jib and a spinnaker on an aluminum mast and boom.
Harken, Inc. is an international manufacturer specializing in performance sailing hardware, headquartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The company was founded in a 60-foot trailer in 1967 by brothers Peter Harken and Olaf Harken. Originally, the brothers manufactured sailboats under the name Vanguard and kept the hardware business separate so they could sell to competing boatbuilders. Gary Comer, founder of Lands' End clothing company, advised and helped them distribute their first blocks by placing them in the Lands' End catalogue.
The Force 5 is a small one-design racing sailboat that is similar to the more well known Laser but with a hard chine aft. Although it is designed for single-handed racing, two people can easily fit into the large cockpit. The boats are currently built in Long Island, New York by Weeks Yacht Yard.
The United States Sailing Association is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team.
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 Wisconsin Hoofers of the Wisconsin Union is a group of outdoor recreational clubs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, operated by the Wisconsin Union Directorate.
Buccaneer Yacht Club is a member-run sailing club which has operated out of Mobile Bay, Alabama since 1928. It is a member club of the Gulf Yachting Association and the United States Sailing Association. Its members are active competitors in Finn, Viper 640, 420, Fish class sloop, Flying Scot, Laser, Optimist, Sunfish, PHRF and Portsmouth class events. While the Mobile Yacht Club predates it, BucYC remains arguably the oldest continuously operating sailing club in Alabama.
The Wawasee Yacht Club was formed in 1935 and is located at 6338 E Trusdell Ave. on the northeast shore of Lake Wawasee, Indiana. It currently has 75 families and 35 social members sailing 28-foot E-Scow, 19-foot Lightning, and 13-foot Sunfish class boats in three regattas held from June through early October.
The Sailfish sailboat is a small, hollow body, board-boat style sailing dinghy. The design is a shallow draft, sit-upon hull carrying a crab claw sail mounted to an un-stayed mast. This style sailboat is sometimes referred to as a "wet boat" because, with its minimal freeboard, the sailor often gets splashed by spray as the boat moves across the water. This flat top was known in some coves as the "ironing board of the ocean."
Frank Willis Butler was the founder of Catalina Yachts, one of the biggest boat designers and manufacturers in the world.
The Snowbird is an American sailboat that was initially designed by Willis Reid as a one design racer and first built in 1921. The boat was re-designed by Edson B. Schock in the 1940s and it became a popular junior class.
LaserPerformance is an Anglo-American dinghy manufacturer. LaserPerformance manufactures many sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish, Bug, Laser Vago, Laser Bahia, Club FJ, Club 420, Z420, Vanguard 15, Dart 16, Funboat and Optimists.
J/Boats is an American boat builder based in Newport, Rhode Island and founded by Rod Johnstone in 1977. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
The Dolphin 15 Senior, sometimes referred to as just the Dolphin Senior, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by brothers Glenn Corcorran and Murray Corcorran and first built in 1964.