2 GP14s, a Topper and a Graduate

Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using (1) the sails and (2) underwater foils (centreboard and rudder). It also involves adjusting (3) the trim and (4) balance by changing position of the crew and helm within the boat. Together with (5) 'course made good' (effective choice of route and manoeuvres), these are the five essentials of dinghy sailing. 2 GP14s, a Topper and a Graduate. ... 2 GP14s, a Topper and a Graduate. ... GP14 from astern The GP14 is a 4. ... A Topper under unexacting conditions The Topper is an 11 sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. ... Sailing at sunset Wooden sailing boat Sailing is the skillful art of controlling the motion of a sailing ship or smaller boat, across a body of water. ... A sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind —in essence a vertically-oriented wing. ... A foil is a surface designed to maximize lift (force generated perpendicular to the fluid flow) while minimizing drag (force generated in the direction of the fluid flow) in a given range of conditions. ... A centreboard is a form of movable keel on a small sailing boat or dinghy which can be moved to lower the draught (or depth) of the vessel. ... The worlds oldest depiction of a rudder. ... The word trim can mean: Adjustment of sails on a ship or boat. ... A crew comprises a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. ... A helm can mean: The steering mechanism of a vessel, from Old English helma, Proto-Germanic *khelman handle (c. ... This article describes routing in computer networks, a method of finding paths from origins to destinations, along which information can be passed. ...

Development of the dinghy

Early beginnings

There has always been a need for small tender boats as transport to and from moored sailing ships. Together with other smaller work craft such as fishing and light cargo, small inshore craft have always been in evidence. Charles II of England had a private sailing boat presented to him when he returned from exile to England in the 17th century, and he sailed for recreation and competition. Charles II or The Merry Monarch (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

Towards the end of the 19th century people began to use these small boats for sport and recreational sailing, utilising the opportunities for leisure afforded by the industrial revolution. Larger privately used sailing boats had developed separately, and have resulted in the yachts of today. There has been some crossover, in that the sloop sail plan was adopted as standard and most convenient by early dinghy designers. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Watt steam engine in Madrid. ... A yacht A yacht was originally defined as a light, fast sailing vessel used to convey important persons. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat In sailing, a sloop is a vessel with a Fore-and-aft rig. ... A sail-plan is a formal set of drawings, usually prepared by a naval architect. ...

Planing and trapezing

A Musto Skiff dinghy on the reach

The development of the sailing dinghy was helped in the early 20th century by Uffa Fox (1898-1972), an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast. He developed and contributed to many dinghy classes which are still with us nearly a century later: the Albacore, International 14, the Firefly, and the Flying Fifteen. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Introduction A Musto Skiff reaching at Lake Garda The Musto Skiff is a single-handed sailing skiff with a length of 4. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Introduction Uffa Fox was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... The Albacore is a 4. ... Fang Aili 19:49, 28 December 2005 (UTC) . Category: ... The firefly is a two sail hiking sailing dinghy with no spinnaker. ...

He also introduced the major advance of hull shapes which can plane, and which can therefore reach beyond the usual speed limits for small sailing boats. In effect, a boat which is planing is skimming along the surface, rising up on its own bow wave. This results in less friction because of reduced waterline length, reduced displacement (the amount of water needing to be pushed aside by the boat), and reduced 'wetted area'. The power given by the sails has to overcome less resistance, and therefore speed increases dramatically. A Musto Skiff, planing on a fast reach A planing boats hull skims across the surface of the water rather than pushing through the water in the way a traditional displacement hull works. ... Waterline refers to an imaginary line marking the level to which ship or boat submerges in the water. ... This is a sailboat term for the area of the hull which is immersed in water. ...

In 1928 Uffa Fox introduced planing to an astonished racing world in his International 14 boat, the Avenger. He gained 52 first places, two seconds and three third places out of 57 race starts that year. 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Another advance in dinghy sailing was introduced in the 1930s, when the technique of trapezing was introduced. This involves using the crew to provide more leverage to keep the sails vertical, by hanging outside the boat on a harness and rope attached to the 'hounds' or upper mast. As a result the boat is easier to keep upright, and the sails can deliver maximum power most of the time. 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... An acrobat below a balloon Trapeze artists, in lithograph by Calvert Litho. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ...

Trapezing during a race first appeared in 1934, on the Vagabond sailed by Peter Scott (son of the famous Scott of the Antarctic), and John Winter. The owner of the boat, Beecher Moore, of Thames Sailing Club had worked on developing the technique, in discussion with Uffa Fox. Vagabond was spectacularly successful in that race, winning by four minutes. Categories: People stubs | 1909 births | 1989 deaths | British illustrators | British painters | Ornithologists ... Robert Falcon Scott Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was a Royal Naval officer and Antarctic explorer. ...

Sadly, the innovative technique was immediately banned, and received little development until it was reintroduced on the Osprey and Fiveohfive Class (505) in 1954 by John Westell and the Flying Dutchman class in the early 1960s. The International 505 is a one design high-performance two person monohull planing centerboard dinghy. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Flying Dutchman is a high-performance class of racing dinghy. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

Post WWII developments

During the Second World War plywood had become a major building material for aircraft. After the war, plywood was adapted for building sailing dinghies. Two primary methods of construction were adopted: Stitch and Glue and timber framed construction. Jack Holt designed many dinghies to be built by home handymen using these construction techniques. The Mirror Dinghy was predominantly built using stitch and glue, while the Heron is an example of a boat built using plywood on a timber frame. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Jack Holt Jack Holt (actor) (May 31, 1888 - January 18, 1951) U.S. motion picture actor. ... A Mirror on Combs Reservoir in Derbyshire The Mirror is a highly successful pram dinghy, with more than 70,000 built. ... The Heron Dinghy is a dinghy designed by Jack Holt of the United Kingdom as the Yachting World Cartopper (YW Cartopper). ...

Modern developments

A 49er skiff in a race

At the beginning of the 21st century, dinghy sailing is still a rapidly developing sport. It is losing its image of being expensive, time consuming and exclusive. This is because of the earlier work of pioneers such as Uffa Fox, and through the use of modern designs and techniques such as lighter hull materials (eg, fibreglass and foam sandwich hull construction, which eliminate time-consuming maintenance of wooden hulls), more responsive sail materials and design, easily transportable boats (many car-toppable), and simpler rigs such as Gennakers instead of more complex Spinnakers. These advances are more economical in time and money, and have greatly extended the appeal of dinghy sailing. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x567, 154 KB) User:Gwicke and Wolf Jeschonnek competing in the Australian Nationals 2003 of the olympic 49er class. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x567, 154 KB) User:Gwicke and Wolf Jeschonnek competing in the Australian Nationals 2003 of the olympic 49er class. ... The 21st century is the century that began on 1 January 2001 and will last to 31 December 2100. ... There is a disputed proposal to merge this article with glass-reinforced plastic. ... Look up Rig in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In Norse mythology, see Ríg. ... A gennaker is a downwind sail that can be described as a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. ... A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing downwind (with the wind behind the boat). ...

Increasingly sailing is a young person's sport, and the number of participants is mushrooming. In many dinghy clubs in the UK the adult members are sometimes outnumbered by junior members, and the balance of activities can change from mainly racing to increasingly providing training courses.

Sailing is also becoming more accessible to people with disabilities, partly through new boat designs, and generally through recognition of everybody's right to participate in all areas of life. (See the Sailability website)

In Britain and Europe dinghy sailing has also been considerably advanced by the RYA, the regulatory authority which regulates racing and which provides modular and accredited training courses for leisure and competitive sailing. A basic sailing course can be completed in several days, and participants can be sure that the training is competent and delivered in a safe setting. Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europes actual borders. ... The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the UKs recognised national association for sailing, windsurfing, motor cruising, sportsboats, personal watercraft and powerboat racing. ...

The quest for speed

With the advent of the 70s, high performance sailing really kicked off. Today, millions of dollars are spent funding attempts at the world sailing speed record, currently held by Windsurfer Finian Maynard at 46 knots. Strangely, some high performance sail craft can actually sail faster than the measured windspeed. Endeavour was sailing in a stiff breeze of 20knots, yet it was clocked at twice that speed. How is this possible? It all lies in how we define wind. There are three types. Relative wind, felt by the boat and generated by its movement. True wind, the stationary windspeed. And Apparent wind, the vector sum of these two quantities. Due to the fact that boats sail on the apparent wind, it is possible to sail faster than the true wind, but not the apparent wind. This doesn't seem to make any sense. A sailboat can sail faster than the windspeed has nothing to do with aparent wind. Apparent wind is the wind the skipper feels while moving in a sailboat.

Types of dinghies

Skiffs are generally the fastest type of dinghy. The skiff has a flat and narrow hull, and is designed to plane in most conditions with the crew trapezing. It has impressive sail areas including a massive foresail, usually a Gennaker or asymmetric spinnaker. The 18ft Skiff is one example which usually has a crew of three: another is the Musto Skiff, a singlehander. The term [skiff] is applied to various river craft, but a skiff is typically a small flat-bottomed open boat with a pointed bow and square stern. ... A foresail refers to one of several types of sail set on the foremost mast (foremast) of a sailing vessel: Any triangular sail set forward of the foremast, such as a jib. ... A gennaker is a downwind sail that can be described as a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. ... A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing downwind (with the wind behind the boat). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Introduction A Musto Skiff reaching at Lake Garda The Musto Skiff is a single-handed sailing skiff with a length of 4. ...

High Performance dinghies are fast and powerful dinghies designed for racing around an Olympic racing course. The examples of such dinghies are the Flying Dutchman, the Fiveohfive (505), the Fireball, the Osprey, the Javelin and the 470. They are all planning easily including upwind and use trapeze and a symmetric spinnaker. Originally designed by Peter Milne in 1962, the Fireball is a one-design high-performance sailing dinghy. ... The 470 is a monohull planing dinghy with centerboard, bermudan rig and center sheeting, designed for a crew of two. ...

Cruising dinghies are designed for leisure and family sailing and are usually more stable than high performance dinghies. This is provided by a 'chined' (less rounded) hull, greater displacement, and proportionally smaller sail area. Examples of these are the Wayfarer, the Mirror, the Laser Stratos and the Laser 16. Sailing these boats can still give much excitement. The Wayfarer is a wooden or fibreglass hulled bermudan rigged sailing dinghy, often used for short sailing trips as a day boat. The boat is 15 foot 10 inches (4. ... A Mirror on Combs Reservoir in Derbyshire The Mirror is a highly successful pram dinghy, with more than 70,000 built. ... // Laser Stratos Introduction The Laser Stratos is an all-round cruising and racing boat built by the same company as the famous Laser Standard dinghy. ...

Catamarans are fast, high masted and double hulled boats which fall under the definition of dinghy also, usually having adjustable daggerboards. The influential Hobie Cat was developed in America, and this has its keel built into each hull shape. The Tornado is a high performance Olympic class catamaran, not for the fainthearted. It has been suggested that Catamaran History be merged into this article or section. ... Hobie Cats are small racing catamarans that are mainly used for racing and personal use. ... The Tornado is an olympic class sailing catamaran, with a crew of two. ... It has been suggested that Catamaran History be merged into this article or section. ...

Racing dinghies cover a wide range, and many are descended from Uffa Fox's seminal International 14. People often "travel" with their dinghies to international races in famous sailing spots such as Lake Garda in Italy. The International 14 remains a popular racing class, having acquired racks (for trapezing crews) and a gennaker since its original design. The Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 are the variants of the Laser dinghy, a single-hander whose combination of simplicity, portability and performance has done much to advance dinghy racing and training. Two popular dinghies used in high school and college racing are the 420 and Flying Junior. The Laser Standard Rightening a capsized boat This article focuses on the Laser Standard dinghy. ... The Laser (often called Laser Standard to avoid confusion with the laser variants) is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. ... The Laser 4. ... Flying Junior Dinghy The Flying Junior or FJ is a sailing dinghy designed in 1955 in Holland by Van Essen and Conrad Gulcher. ...

Sports Boats: These classes are larger off-shore racing dinghies which shade off into classes of yachts with fixed keels. Usually they have several crew members as well as the helm. Melges 24 and Laser SB3 are current examples of this type. The Melges 24 is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. ...

Development classes: Most dinghy classes have a fairly fixed layout of sails and hull design, and changes are very infrequent. However, some classes can compete and sail with less rigid definitions and measurements. This encourages experiment which often leads to innovation in techniques and construction. Examples are the International 14, the International Moth, and the 18ft Skiff. Classes which are not development classes are usually referred to as "One design". The first one design was the Water Wag, which first sailed in Dublin Bay in 1887. The class is still sailed today, over a hundred years later. To meet Wikipedias quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dublin Bay is a bay off the east coast of Ireland. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ...

Dinghy racing

Racing is one of the most popular forms of dinghy sailing, and it contributes to the development of sailing skills as well as to improvements in dinghy and sail construction and design. See main article on dinghy racing. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

List of dinghy classes

Reference books

Bob Bond "The Handbook of Sailing" DK & Pelham Books revised 1996 ISBN 0-7207-2016-8

External references

Lark Class Owners Association

UK Dinghy Racing Website