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• Sailboat Reviews

Practical Sailor Reviews Seven Performance-Sailing Dinghies

Agile, fun boats like the classic sunfish and new hobie bravo keep the smile in summer sailing..

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

Messing around in small boats is a global theme-one thats embraced by pond-bound pram sailors, river riders, lake voyagers, and all of us who call salt water home. The purpose of this sailing dinghy profile is to highlight seven very interesting little sailboats. Some are new designs, and others have stood the test of time, but all are currently being manufactured, and each drives home just how much fun sailing close to the water can be.

This isn’t a shootout among anorexic speedsters or a report on the best tender that doubles as a sailing dinghy. Its a look at perennials like the Optimist, Sunfish, and Laser-legendary competitors that have helped spawn some of the best sailors in the world. But its also a look at three of the newest entries in the dinghy-sailing circle: Bics Open, Hobies Bravo, and Laser Performances Bug. These agile, new sailing dinghies are chock full of fun and boat-handling features to inspire kids of all ages to go sailing.

Well also take a look at Chesapeake Light Crafts kit approach to getting started-one that offers meaningful lessons and tangible rewards well before the boat ever hits the water.

Scale down an Open 60, add sail technology long favored by windsurfers, and put it into play in a tough thermo-formed hull, and you have the makings for a new kind of watercraft. The result is a very interesting blend of performance and reliability that targets adolescent interest. When all is said and done, Bics boat is more akin to a sit-down windsurfer than a traditional Blue Jay. And like all good boats, its vying for attention not just based on performance, construction quality, and style, but just as importantly, on the price tag stuck to the hull.

The Open Bics light weight and wide, flat stern section means that even small chop can be surfed; and bursts of planing on a reach add a zing factor to dinghy sailing. The Open Bic is already an International Sailing Federation (ISAF)-sanctioned class, and fleets are developing around the US. Another bonus: Its an easily portable boat that can be carried like a windsurfer, adding excitement to a Sunday picnic at the beach.

The thermo-formed polyethylene hull is a modified hard-chine design with lots of beam aft. Sailed flat, the boat is agile enough to surf wavelets, and with a shape thats ergonomically friendly to hiking, the ensuing heel on the upwind leg puts just the right amount of chine into the water. In light air, careful control of heel can significantly reduce wetted surface.

The design team that developed the Open Bic saw it as a transition bridge from Optimist sailing to a more performance-oriented dinghy. An interesting innovation is that the Open Bic can be sailed with an Optimists rig and blades. This buy the hull only approach can be a significant incentive for parents with children outgrowing their Opti as fast as their boat shoes. However it wont be long before the kids want the fully turbo-charged feel delivered with the Open Bics well-shaped 4.5-square-meters rig, sail, and nicely foiled blades.

Bottom line: The Open Bic is fast, agile, and buckets of fun for kids uninspired by sailing in the slow lane.

Just when you think that Hobie Cat Co. has covered whats possible in beach-cat innovation, their design/engineering crew comes up with a new twist that reinvents the wheel. The Hobie Bravo is a good case in point.

In a recent visit to Backyard Boats ( www.backyardboats.com ) in Annapolis, Md., we got a good look at the Bravo. Nearly as narrow as a monohull but still quite stable, this quick-to-launch beach cat packs plenty of get-up-and-go. Its a simple to sail, entry-level boat that fast tracks learning the steer, sheet, and hike trilogy. The boat features a single, midline rudder and roto-molded hulls. The shape of the hulls provides enough lateral plane to allow a crew to make headway to windward.

The narrow (4 feet), 12-foot Bravo uses crew weight and hiking straps to add to the righting moment once the breeze is up. Whats done with webbing on larger cats has been converted to a shallow, rigid deck well on the Bravo. It does raise the weight of the boat to 195 pounds, but it offers comfortable seating plus room for cushions and a cooler. Kids or grown ups can have a Tom Sawyer-Huck Finn type of adventure aboard this fun little sailing machine. Or the family on a beach picnic can set it up and take turns speed reaching along a sandy shoreline.

The furling mast supports a roachy sail with slightly slanted vertical battens, helping to shape the boomless mainsail. The result is convenient sail handling, decent performance, and superior safety. Theres no boom to clobber the crew, and the roller-furled sail and mast are easily stepped in the tripod-like receiver. This interesting set of struts raises the top bearing point of the mast step and spreads rig loads out to the hulls. The furling mainsail offers the ability to reef, a big plus in a building breeze or when teaching children to sail.

Like all of the boats in the Hobie lineup, theres a wide range of specialty parts and fittings that make the boats fast to rig and easy to handle. The kick-up rudder is hung on gudgeons mounted in the center of stern, and just as rig loads have been effectively spread via the tripod step, the energy radiating from the large rudder is spread athwartships via a contoured deck element.

Bottom line: The boat is quick to rig, easy to launch, and responsive to beginners-more experienced sailors will have just as much fun power reaching when the breeze is up.

A pocket-sized club trainer, the Bug is an evolution of the kids trainer/club racer that leverages lessons learned in Optis, Dyers, and Sabots. It pulls together the logic of a stable hull shape and simple-to-sail rig, and puts it all in a cost-effective package.

Lending to its success is designer Jo Richardss ergonomic, roto-molded hull, a fabrication that is as close to zero maintenance as a boat can get. The straight out-of-the-mold polyethylene skin gets a few decals, and theres no wood to refinish or gelcoat to wax. These tough, abrasion-resistant hulls have a bumper boat tolerance thats a big plus when it comes to kids learning to sail. Best of all, owners can start with a learn-to-sail rig and upgrade to a more performance-oriented mast and sail package (41 or 56 square feet) that kicks performance into the fast lane.

Oars and an outboard motor bracket can be added to turn the little sailboat into a dual-purpose dinghy. Even the bow painters means of attachment makes sense-no projecting hardware ready to knick the topsides of unintended contacts. Instead, theres a recessed hole in the stem allowing a line to be lead through and a knot used to keep the painter in place.

Bottom line: Aimed at club programs and families look for boats that can be transported on the car top, the Bug is easy to rig and definitely kid friendly. The fact that its manufacturer, Laser Performance, is an international interest and a major player in the performance dinghy industry means that this boat and its parts will be around for a while.

Photo courtesy of Hobie Cat Co.

Eastport Pram

Chesapeake Light Craft expedites boatbuilding for do-it-yourselfers looking to take their garage-built boats for a sail. The company pre-cuts parts, packs kits with all the materials, epoxy, and paint youll need, and leads homebuilders through a thoroughly detailed stitch-and-glue approach to assembly. Kits are available in various stages of completeness, ranging from plans only to the full package, including sail, hardware, running rigging, and paint.

The Eastport Pram is just shy of 8 feet, and the marine plywood and epoxy construction delivers a boat that weighs in, sans sailing rig, at just 62 pounds. Lighter than the comparatively sized Bug, this stiff, durable dinghy, rows like a real boat and sails comfortably with one or two aboard. In keeping with other good tender attributes, the Pram behaves under tow and is equally amicable when propelled by a small outboard or tacked up an estuary under sail.

Kit boatbuilding continues to have a niche following. Theres also an added-value feature worth noting: On one hand, the builder receives a box of pieces and the result of his or her endeavor leads to an aesthetic and utilitarian dinghy. In addition, the DIY skills the builder develops will be useful in other epoxy bonding, brightwork, or mono-urethane application projects. Such talents will benefit many other boat maintenance endeavors.

Whats hard to quantify is the sense of accomplishment derived from sailing a boat that you have built yourself. When the project is tackled in tandem with a child, spouse, or friend, the memories and the boat will last.

Bottom line: With neither sidedecks or a sealed hull, this is not a boat thats easy to recover from a capsize. So once the kids favor on-the-edge sailing in a building breeze, a non swamping, easier-righting boat is probably a better option. The Pram can then be put to use by their appreciative parents or grandparents.

Never in their wildest dreams did Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce imagine that the Weekender (the Lasers original name) was destined to become an Olympic class sailboat and one of the most popular springboards for top-tier sailors in the world today. Originally envisioned as a car-topper for weekend campers, the cat-rigged, low freeboard sailing dinghy morphed from its original roots into a boat favored by college competitors and revered by generations of agile sailors of all ages. Even frostbiting winter sailors have locked onto the Laser.

Designed in 1969, the Lasers first few years were anything but smooth sailing. Popularity grew quickly, but along with the limelight came plenty of consternation. Dubbed a surfboard not a sailboat by a growing cross-section of the yachting elite-many parents warned junior sailors to steer as clear of Lasers as they did sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. The campaign failed, and junior sailors in yacht club programs around the country fell into the grip of the new one-design dinghy-discovering the sailboats proclivity to plane.

Dyer Dhows languished in boat sheds across the country as a new theme in sailing took hold. Dubbed fast is fun by sailor/engineer Bill Lee, the young Merlin of Santa Cruz, Calif., took the theme to big-boat sailing, merging California culture with the Laser logic of light displacement and planing hull shapes.

Best of all, the Laser embraced the ideal of a tightly controlled one-design class that put people on the water in identical boats and left winning and losing races up to sailing skill and tactics rather than a boats performance edge. For decades, the boat has been the single-handed sailors choice among junior sailing programs, and with the addition of the Radial, 4.7 and M rigs, smaller competitors have also found the boat to be a great sailing platform. Today, theres some lawyer saber-rattling over the sale of the design rights, but the boat remains more popular than ever.

The sleeved sail, two-part spar, daggerboard, and kick-up rudder make the boat a quick-to-rig and fast-to-get underway dinghy. Light-air efficiency is good for a one-design sailboat, but this means that as the breeze builds, the non-reefable sail can become a handful in a hurry. In fact, the boats Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde demeanor is what builds talent among Laser practitioners. The big boys block the mainsail and blast off for the layline, while lighter sailors heavy-weather tactics include more nuanced de-powering and feathering. In light air, the tables turn, and the winner is often the sailor who planes quickest on the reaches. The old guards surfboard slam may have held some credence after all.

Bottom line: The Laser is a timeless classic thats easily transported and is built for performance. Its well suited to adrenaline-seeking teens as well as the more fit adult crowd.

Designed in 1947 by Floridian Clark Mills, the utilitarian Optimist could be made out of two sheets of plywood-and from its inception, the Optimist was meant to link kids with the water. Slipping into obscurity in the U.S., the little pram found fertile ground to grow in northern Europe. With just a few tweaks, the Scandinavians took Millss lines and parlayed them into whats become the favored junior sailing trainer for kids from Detroit to Timbuktu. Statistics show that there are about 30 builders worldwide putting out approximately 4,000 boats each year. With about 130,000 boats class registered and an estimated 300,000 total hulls built (amateur and pro), theres plenty of reasons to get excited about an Opti.

The example weve chosen is the USA-built McLaughlin boat, both a demonstration of high-quality FRP construction and modern manufacturing techniques. Its also a boat that can be purchased in a range of performance-inducing iterations-upgrades designated as club, intermediate, advanced, and professional versions. Like all performance sailboats, stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio is important. But class rules include a minimum weight, so the most competitive hulls meet the mandatory lower limit but use good engineering and building technique to reinforce the daggerboard slot and mast step and produce overall stiffness.

The low mast height and high aspect ratio sprit sail is very versatile, affording young (and small, 65 to 130 pounds) sailors a wide window of decent performance. The flat bottom, slab-sided hull is responsive to crew weight-driven trim changes, and the better the sailor, the more agile they become. Light-air performance is all about minimizing wetted surface and maximizing sail area projection. When the breeze starts to kick up, the sailor becomes the ballast, and the art of hiking, sheet handling, and tiller wiggling come into play.

Under careful adult supervision, two 6- to 8-year-olds can double-hand the friendly little dinghy, or one more-confident child can solo sail it. In fact, introducing kids to sailing with similar proportioned small prams has been a right of passage around for decades. A set of oarlock gudgeons can turn the pram into a functional dinghy thats also adaptable to the smaller Torqeedo outboard (www.torqeedo.com).

McLaughlin also markets a Roto-molded polyethylene version of the Opti and sells DIY kits for those who want to create their own wood version.

Bottom line: The Opti is like a first bicycle without the need for training wheels. The fact that at the last Olympics, over 80 percent of the winning sailors had gotten their start in an Optimist speaks well to the value of messing around in this particular dinghy.

Designed in 1951 by ice boaters Alexander Bryan and Cortland Heyniger, the hard chine Sunfish was the prototype board boat. In 1959, it made the transition into fiberglass, and over the following half-century, more than a quarter-million hulls would hit the water. Simplicity and decent sailing attributes combined with an attractive price to make the Sunfish the most popular one-design dinghy ever raced.

Far more than a platform for racers, these boats are an excellent training tool for sailors of all ages. Also built by Laser Performance, they reflect the fun of summer and put sailors in close contact with the water on which they sail. Its no surprise that the larger fleets coincide with warm water and many see going for a swim to be part and parcel of the low-freeboard experience.

The lateen rig is in keeping with the overall design concept and simplifies rigging. A short stub of a mast is stepped and a single halyard hoists the sail along with tilting V-shaped upper and lower booms.

The total sail area is nearly the same as the Laser, but the halyard hoist versatility of the lateen rig make it a handy beach boat and a little less daunting when the wind begins to build. The clean sail shape on one tack and deformation caused by the mast on the other tack are a slight drawback. The Laser rig is more efficient, but when caught out in a squall, its nice to be able to ease the halyard and dump the sail. Its also handy to be able to leave the boat tethered to a mooring, and the doused sail and short mast make it possible.

Multiple generations of sailors are often found sailing Sunfish, and the boat represents one of the best bargains to be found in the used boat market. When considering a pre owned boat, the potential buyer needs to take a close look at the daggerboard-to-hull junction and mast step, points where previous damage can create hard-to-fix leaks.

Bottom line: The Sunfish is a great beach boat that can turn a hot afternoon into a fun-filled water experience.

There were no losers in this group, and picking winners and runners-up proved a difficult task. The outcome had to be based on assumptions about how these boats would be used. For example, parents with a competitive 9-year-old who swims like a fish, always sprints for the head of the lunch line, and likes to steal bases in Little League probably have an Opti racer in the making. Less competitive junior sailors-future cruisers in the making-will do better learning aboard a Bug. Many newly formed sailing clubs target the boat as their trainer of choice.

The Bravo holds plenty of appeal for those with a lakeside cottage or a favored campground destination. Whether its a solo sail just before sunset or a fun race on Sunday, the quick to set up and put away features are a plus, and for those who feel that two hulls are better-the Bravo will hold plenty of appeal.

Serious competitors can campaign a Laser for life, and whether youre headed for a local district regatta or getting ready for the Olympic trials, the hull, rig, and sail remains identical-sort of like the Monaco Grand Prix being raced in a street legal Mustang.

Bic Opens new little speedster tickled our fancy, and as a trainer/performance boat crossover, it drew a strong nod of approval. Watching the junior sailors smiles as they sailed their Open Bics endorsed our opinion.

And if there is any boat that defines the essence of summer, the Sunfish takes the prize.

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2024 Boat of the Year Best Dinghy: RS Toura

• By Dave Reed
• December 21, 2023

Sailboat racing’s future is inextricably linked to the flow of new sailors who walk through the doors of community sailing centers and yacht clubs. These establishments do the yeoman’s work to attract and retain sailors young and old, and often the biggest challenge is securing boats that deliver a positive sailing experience but can take the abuse. For many such establishments, the saving grace has been the roto-molded trainer, of which RS Sailboats is the dominant builder. It does plastic—and does it extremely well—and the versatile Toura is its best yet.  

“This is a fantastic learn-to-sail boat because it checks so many boxes,” Mike Ingham says. “It sails amazingly well, can bounce off a dock or be dragged up a beach, and can fit a lot of people. What really strikes me is how stable and spacious it is, but somehow it performs so much better than I expected. When it comes to innovation, this boat moves the needle for me, no question about it.”

The Toura is the result of a decade’s worth of feedback from sailing programs using RS Sailing’s Quest, its most popular roto-molded trainer, of which there are more than 3,000 in use around the world. “The Quest is an excellent boat,” says RS Sailing’s Todd Riccardi, “but people kept asking for a bigger boat with a little more room.”

That’s a big ask of even the most advanced roto-molding technology because the bigger the boat, the more complex the structure must be in order to keep it stiff and durable yet as light as possible. The Toura might just be at the edge of what’s possible. RS uses what it describes as a three-layer laminate to get a durable shell—an inner layer, a foam core and an outer layer that are applied in stages. But the real structure is from skeletal-like spines that bisect the cockpit and give the boat its rigidity.

At 15 feet, and with a few inches over 6 feet of beam, the Toura is a substantial dinghy that Riccardi says can comfortably fit as many as six to eight adults and double that amount of kids. Inboard bench seating running the entire length of the boat is how it can fit so many passengers. While that might push the limits of its buoyancy, the judges agreed four large adults would have the right amount of room to casually race and learn the ropes.

RS Sailing has a well-earned reputation for developing and vetting its new boats before bringing them to market, and the Toura is no exception. The boat has many smart features that simplify the learning experience, from launching to capsizing to boathandling and sail trimming. To get the kick-up rudder on and off is a one-button operation. There’s a temporary forestay for safely raising the rig, an adjustable jib-stay purchase at the mast, a single-line mainsail reefing system, and a continuous spinnaker halyard. Riccardi says the boat’s considerable stability is capsize-prevention enough, but should it end up on its side, the square-top main and buoyancy in the bench seating keep it from turtling quickly. In the event of a capsize, however, aluminum grab handles are built into strakes that run along the bottom of the hull.

The judges, sailing two-up and three-up, never got anywhere near the point of capsize in the 10 knots of breeze for the test. With Greg Stewart and Chuck Allen first into the boat, they promptly set the spinnaker and took off. “It sails great, both upwind and downwind,” Stewart says. “It has a great feel to the helm, and I pressed it hard a few times and it never spun out. All the rigging was really nice, and the sail controls all worked. My one comment is that the 4-to-1 mainsheet gets pretty loaded because the main is pretty powerful and the cloth is good, so I’d be inclined to add a becket block to the mainsheet to get a bit more purchase.”

Allen put high scores in his notebook and says he was able to sit comfortably on the seat and use the spine as a foot brace. “We had it going pretty quick and found that with a little heel angle, the chine bites and the boat suddenly feels really stable. Great all-around performance, and with the high boom, the low centerboard trunk, and the vang on top of the boom, it was easy to get across the boat. Downwind with the spinnaker, it was awesome. Every control was easy to pull, and the nonskid had excellent grip.”

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10 Best Small Sailboats (Under 20 Feet)

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

December 28, 2023

Compact, easy to trailer, simple to rig, easy to maintain and manage, and affordable, the best small boats all have one thing in common: they offer loads of fun while out there on the water.

So whether you're on a budget or just looking for something that can offer ultimate daytime rides without compromising on safety, aesthetic sensibilities, alternate propulsion, and speed, the best small sailboats under 20 feet should be the only way to go.

Let's be brutally honest here; not everyone needs a 30-foot sailboat to go sailing. They come with lots of features such as electronics, entertainment, refrigeration, bunks, a galley, and even a head. But do you really need all these features to go sailing? We don't think so.

All you need to go sailing is a hull, a mast, rudder, and, of course, a sail. And whether you refer to them as daysailers, trailerable sailboats , a weekender sailboat, or pocket cruisers, there's no better way to enjoy the thrills of coastal sailing than on small sailboats.

There are a wide range of small boats measuring less than 20 feet available in the market. These are hot products in the market given that they offer immense thrills out on the sea without the commitment required to cruise on a 30-footer. A small sailboat will not only give you the feel of every breeze but will also give you the chance to instantly sense every change in trim.

In this article, we'll highlight 10 best small sailboats under 20 feet . Most models in this list are time-tested, easy to rig, simple to sail, extremely fun, and perfect either for solo sailing or for sailing with friends and family. So if you've been looking for a list of some of the best small sailboats , you've come to the right place.

So without further ado, let's roll on.

Table of contents

{{boat-info="/boats/hunter-15"}}

The Marlow-Hunter 15 is not only easy to own since it's one of the most affordable small sailboats but also lots of fun to sail. This is a safe and versatile sailboat for everyone. Whether you're sailing with your family or as a greenhorn, you'll love the Hunter 15 thanks to its raised boom, high freeboard, and sturdy FRP construction.

With high sides, a comfortable wide beam, a contoured self-bailing cockpit, and fiberglass construction, the Hunter 15 is certainly designed with the novice sailor in mind. This is why you can do a lot with this boat without falling out, breaking it, or capsizing. Its contoured self-baiting cockpit will enable you to find a fast exit while its wide beam will keep it steady and stable no matter what jibes or weight shifts happen along the way.

This is a small sailboat that can hold up to four people. It's designed to give you a confident feeling and peace of mind even when sailing with kids. It's easy to trailer, easy to rig, and easy to launch. With a price tag of about $10k, the Hunter 15 is a fun, affordable, and versatile boat that is perfect for both seasoned sailors and novices. It's a low-maintenance sailboat that can be great for teaching kids a thing or two about sailing.

Catalina 16.5

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Catalina Yachts are synonymous with bigger boats but they have some great and smaller boats too such as Catalina 16.5. This is one of the best small sailboats that are ideal for family outings given that it has a big and roomy cockpit, as well as a large storage locker. Designed with a hand-laminated fiberglass sloop, the Catalina 16.5 is versatile and is available in two designs: the centerboard model and the keel model.

The centerboard model is designed with a powerful sailplane that remains balanced as a result of the fiberglass centerboard, the stable hull form, and the rudder. It also comes with a tiller extension, adjustable hiking straps, and adjustable overhaul. It's important to note that these are standard equipment in the two models.

As far as the keel model is concerned, this is designed with a high aspect keel as the cast lead and is attached with stainless steel keel bolts, which makes this model perfect for mooring or docking whenever it's not in use. In essence, the centerboard model is perfect if you'll store it in a trailer while the keel model can remain at the dock.

All in all, the Catalina 16.5 is one of the best small sailboats that you can get your hands on for as low as $10,000. This is certainly a great example of exactly what a daysailer should be.

{{boat-info="/boats/hobie-16"}}

There's no list of small, trailerable, and fun sailboats that can be complete without the inclusion of the classic Hobie 16. This is a durable design that has been around and diligently graced various waters across the globe since its debut way back in 1969 in Southern California. In addition to being durable, the Hobie 16 is trailerable, great for speed, weighs only 320 pounds, great for four people, and more importantly, offers absolute fun.

With a remarkable figure of over 100,000 launched since its debut, it's easy to see that the Hobie 16 is highly popular. Part of this popularity comes from its asymmetric fiberglass-and-foam sandwiched hulls that include kick-up rudders. This is a great feature that allows it to sail up to the beach.

For about $12,000, the Hobie 16 will provide you with endless fun throughout the summer. It's equipped with a spinnaker, trailer, and douse kit. This is a high-speed sailboat that has a large trampoline to offer lots of space not just for your feet but also to hand off the double trapezes.

Montgomery 17

{{boat-info="/boats/montgomery-17"}}

Popularly known as the M-17, The Montgomery 17 was designed by Lyle C. Hess in conjunction with Jerry Montgomery in Ontario, California for Montgomery Boats. Designed either with keel or centerboard models, the M-17 is more stable than most boats of her size. This boat is small enough to be trailered but also capable of doing moderate offshore passages.

This small sailboat is designed with a masthead and toe rail that can fit most foresails. It also has enough space for two thanks to its cuddly cabin, which offers a sitting headroom, a portable toilet, a pair of bunks, a DC power, and optional shore, and a proper amount of storage. That's not all; you can easily raise the deck-stepped mast using a four-part tackle.

In terms of performance, the M-17 is one of the giant-killers out there. This is a small sailboat that will excel in the extremes and make its way past larger boats such as the Catalina 22. It glides along beautifully and is a dog in light air, though it won't sail against a 25-knot wind, which can be frustrating. Other than that, the Montgomery 17 is a great small sailboat that can be yours for about $14,000.

Norseboat 17.5

{{boat-info="/boats/norseboat-17-5"}}

As a versatile daysailer, Norseboat 17.5 follows a simple concept of seaworthiness and high-performance. This small sailboat perfectly combines both contemporary construction and traditional aesthetics. Imagine a sailboat that calls itself the "Swiss Army Knife of Boats!" Well, this is a boat that can sail and row equally well.

Whether you're stepping down from a larger cruiser or stepping up from a sea kayak, the unique Norseboat 17.5 is balanced, attractive, and salty. It has curvaceous wishbone gaff, it is saucy, and has a stubby bow-sprit that makes it attractive to the eyes. In addition to her beauty, the Norseboat 17.5 offers an energy-pinching challenge, is self-sufficient, and offers more than what you're used to.

This is a small, lightweight, low-maintenance sailboat that offers a ticket to both sailing and rowing adventures all at the same time. At about 400 pounds, it's very portable and highly convenient. Its mainsails may look small but you'll be surprised at how the boat is responsive to it. With a $12,500 price tag, this is a good small sailboat that offers you the versatility to either row or sail.

{{boat-info="/boats/sage-marine-sage-17"}}

If you've been looking for a pocket cruiser that inspires confidence, especially in shoal water, look no further than the Sage 17. Designed by Jerry Montgomery in 2009, the Sage 17 is stable and should heel to 10 degrees while stiffening up. And because you want to feel secure while sailing, stability is an integral feature of the Sage 17.

This is a sailboat that will remain solid and stable no matter which part of the boat you stand on. Its cabin roof and the balsa-cored carbon-fiber deck are so strong that the mast doesn't require any form of compression post. The self-draining cockpit is long enough and capable of sleeping at 6 feet 6 inches.

The Sage 17 may be expensive at $25k but is a true sea warrior that's worth look at. This is a boat that will not only serve you right but will also turn heads at the marina.    

{{boat-info="/boats/laserperformance-laser-sb3"}}

Having been chosen as the overall boat of the year for 2008 by the Sailing World Magazine, the Laser SB3 is one of the coolest boats you'll ever encounter. When sailing upwind, this boat will lock into the groove while its absolute simplicity is legendary. In terms of downwind sailing, having this boat will be a dream come true while it remains incredibly stable even at extraordinary speed.

Since its debut in 2004, the Laser SB3 has surged in terms of popularity thanks to the fact that it's designed to put all the controls at your fingertips. In addition to a lightweight mast, its T- bulb keel can be hauled and launched painlessly. For about $18,000, the Laser SB3 ushers you into the world of sports sailing and what it feels to own and use a sports boat.

{{boat-info="/boats/fareast-18"}}

As a manufacturer, Fareast is a Chinese boat manufacturer that has been around for less than two decades. But even with that, the Fareast 18 remains a very capable cruiser-racer that will take your sailing to the next level. In addition to its good looks, this boat comes with a retractable keel with ballast bulb, a powerful rig, and an enclosed cabin.

Its narrow design with a closed stern may be rare in sailboats of this size, but that's not a problem for the Fareast 18. This design not only emphasizes speed but also makes it a lot easier to maintain this boat. Perfect for about 6 people, this boat punches above its weight. It's, however, designed to be rigged and launched by one person.

This is a relatively affordable boat. It's agile, safe, well-thought-out, well built, and very sporty.

{{boat-info="/boats/chuck-paine-paine-14"}}

If you're in the market looking for a small sailboat that offers contemporary performance with classic beauty, the Paine 14 should be your ideal option. Named after its famous designer, Chuck Paine, this boat is intentionally designed after the classic Herreshoff 12.5 both in terms of dimensions and features.

This is a lightweight design that brings forth modern fin keel and spade rudder, which makes it agile, stable, and faster. The Paine 14 is built using cold-molded wood or west epoxy. It has varnished gunnels and transoms to give it an old-time charm. To make it somehow modern, this boat is designed with a carbon mast and a modern way to attach sails so that it's ready to sail in minutes.

You can rest easy knowing that the Paine 14 will not only serve you well but will turn heads while out there.

{{boat-info="/boats/wd-schock-lido-14"}}

Many sailors will attest that their first sailing outing was in a Lido 14. This is a classic sailboat that has been around for over four decades and still proves to be a perfect match to modern small boats, especially for those still learning the ropes of sailing.

With seating for six people, the Lido 14 can be perfect for solo sailing , single-handed sailing, or if you're planning for shorthanded sailing. While new Lido 14 boats are no longer available, go for a functional used Lido 14 and you'll never regret this decision. It will serve you well and your kids will probably fall in love with sailing if Lido 14 becomes their main vessel during weekends or long summer holidays.

Bottom Line

There you have it; these are some of the best small sailboats you can go for. While there are endless small sailboats in the market, the above-described sailboat will serve you right and make you enjoy the wind.

Choose the perfect sailboat, invest in it, and go out there and have some good fun!

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I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Fastest sailboats: The teams aiming to break 80 knots

• April 6, 2022

It's been nearly a decade since Sailrocket set a new record to become the world's fastest sailboat. Now two teams are hoping to set a new record with their radical designs, Mark Chisnell reports

On 24 November 2012, Paul Larsen and his Sailrocket team rewrote our understanding of the physics of sailboats, stamping their names indelibly in the record books as they set a new record for the world’s fastest sailboat.

A little over a week earlier, at a spot called Walvis Bay on the coast of Namibia, Sailrocket 2 had pushed the outright sailing speed record up by the biggest-ever margin – from 55.65 to 59.23 knots. The performance on the 24th smashed it beyond all expectations though, a gloriously windy day that saw Sailrocket 2 deliver a 65.45 knot average officially becoming the world’s fastest sailboat.

It was a remarkable human achievement, piloting a boat down a 500m course at speeds that had previously been thought impossible. “Your job is to go 100% down that course, there’s no halfway about it,” Paul Larsen told me, almost a decade later. “By the time you’ve got a big team and all the momentum of that project going, your biggest fear is not going fast.”

The risks are inescapable though, as Larsen had revealed in a blog; “As I lay awake in bed that morning I considered writing a little note that I hoped would never be read and stashing it somewhere. Too morbid. Just get it right, Larsen.”

Growth of the world’s fastest sailboat

To put Sailrocket’s performance into context you need to consider the trajectory and history of the sailing speed record . It started back in 1972 with Tim Colman and Crossbow setting an opening mark of 26.30 knots.

Yellow Pages in 1993. Photo: Frederick Clement/DPPI Media/Alamy

By 1993, Yellow Pages had upped that all the way to 46.52 knots – an average improvement of almost a knot every year. But then something changes, progress halts for over a decade. The windsurfers and kiteboarders eventually start nudging it back up, but it’s 16 years before another yacht – Alain Thebault’s foil-borne L’Hydroptère – sets a new record, not even five knots quicker than Yellow Pages .

It was thought that the speed of sailing machines was reaching a ceiling, a physical limit defined by the cavitation point. If you have ever made a cup of tea at altitude then you will know that the boiling point (the transformation point where water changes from a liquid into a vapour), varies with pressure. The lower the pressure, the lower the temperature required for water to boil. So, at the top of Everest, water will boil at about 68°C.

There’s also low pressure on the leeward side of an aero- or hydrofoil . Foils provide a lifting force because of the pressure difference between one side and the other. This difference creates the force as the foil tries to equalise the pressure.

L’Hydroptère claimed the record in 2009. Photo: Christophe Launay

If a hydrofoil goes fast enough then the pressure to leeward will drop sufficiently that the water starts to ‘boil’ or vaporise. This creates a loss of lift, and instability as smooth flow turns chaotic, with vapour bubbles flowing down the foil to an area of higher pressure where they collapse.

It’s this speed limit that we see America’s Cup and SailGP foilers hit on a reach. Once the speed gets much above 50 knots the foils – which are designed to suppress cavitation for as long as possible – finally start to cavitate and the boats just can’t go any faster.

To get past this point a completely different type of foil is required, one that does not try to eliminate cavitation but instead tries to stabilise it, and this is the secret to the 65-knot speed of Sailrocket 2 . “That’s the brilliant [foil] design that we settled on, with a lot of help from guys like Aerotrope and Chris Hornzee-Jones. Chris did amazing work behind the scenes on that project, including designing the final foils,” said Larsen.

Article continues below…

Syroco: Radical design aiming to set a new speed record

If having a top-flight speed sailor as a part of your team taking on the challenge of creating the world’s…

SP80: Swiss team hoping to build the fastest sailboat

SP80 was conceived by three graduates of Swiss engineering school, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Benoît Gaudiot, Xavier Lepercq and…

Sailrocket obliterates world record….again

Matthew Sheahan talks to Paul Larsen shortly after he exceeds 65 knots, shattering his own world record

The team realised the foil didn’t need to be impossibly thin to suppress and avoid cavitation. Instead, they could encourage it and push past the cavitation point with a foil that would cavitate in a stable fashion.

“To make a dinghy or a powerboat analogy, it’s like when you get over that hump and the boat gets up on the plane. We all know when the water separates off the back of the boat, you don’t want your transom gurgling around at the back there with all that drag,” Larsen explains.

Current speed record holders Paul Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket 2. Photo: Vestas SailRocket

In a similar fashion, Sailrocket 2 ’s foil is able to shed the turbulent, draggy flow of early cavitation and replace it with a single smooth pocket of vapour around the foil as air sucks down from the surface. Larsen calls this a base ventilated foil, it’s also sometimes termed a super-ventilating foil.

“So you end up with these very shallow camber, base ventilated foils, and they’re not overly efficient but they don’t have a limit,” he explained. “They keep working. It’s like a jet fighter’s wings. They’re not efficient, but if you put a big jet engine behind them, they keep going where the others stop and hit the ceiling.”

Force alignment

The jet engine was the other part of the problem. How do you generate enough power from the aerofoil to push a horribly inefficient hydrofoil up to the speeds required to start cavitation, and then blow through that barrier?

The answer lay in a decades-old idea – force alignment. In conventional sailboats, be they dinghies, multihulls or yachts, the aerodynamic force created by the sails is both pushing the boat forward and pushing it over.

The force is resisted by a combination of a hydrodynamic force from a foil in the water, and weight – either the crew’s bodyweight or the weight of a keel. These two forces act at a distance from the centre of effort of the sail – creating opposing levers, with the forces of mass and hydrodynamic lift opposing the aerodynamic force generated by the sail (or wingsail).

The use of these forces to create a propulsive forward force demands a structure of a commensurate size and strength. So to go faster required more force and/or lighter overall weight, but also stronger structures. It was big improvements in the strength and weight characteristics of materials that allowed much of the jumps in speeds set through the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

Vestas Sailrocket 2 used force alignment to achieve her remarkable speeds

But there was another way: by offsetting the forces and aligning them. “So [you] have the centre of effort of the aerodynamic forces, the sail or the wing, directly aligned with the opposing force of the foil,” explains Larsen. In other words, remove the levers by having the force from the sail directly oppose the force from the hydrofoil.

“We didn’t come up with that concept, that was written about in the 1960s by Bernard Smith in the book The 40-Knot Sailboat ,” Larsen adds. Smith’s insights were so far ahead of his time that it took almost five decades for them to be fully realised in Sailrocket 2’s record.

Sailrocket 2 achieved the force alignment with a wing mounted on the leeward hull that was canted over the windward hull by 30°. The force it generated was driving the boat forward and trying to lift the windward hull out of the water.

This force was resisted by a foil under the windward hull. And so that foil was pulling down rather than pushing up. It’s a crucial distinction between Sailrocket 2 and the type of foiling craft used in the America’s Cup or SailGP. In those boats, it’s the leeward hydrofoil that pushes back against the sail force. It also lifts the whole boat up and out of the water.

These two breakthrough ideas – force alignment and super-ventilated foils – along with a ‘no guts, no glory’ attitude, took Larsen and his Sailrocket 2 team over 65 knots, a mark that has been held for almost a decade. But might the time have come for that record to be broken?

“I think we’ve sat on it for long enough and it’s definitely time for it to be challenged,” Larsen says. “There was a time I was quite protective and proud of it, and wanted to sit on that throne for a while. But right now I want to see what other people can do with it and see what their solutions might be. I’ll see if it motivates me enough to get back out there myself!”

New fastest sailboat challengers

There are two major challenges shaping up to take on the Sailrocket team’s record and both should take to the water later this year or early in 2023. One of them, Syroco , has been set up by Alex Caizergues, the first man to travel sail-powered at over 100km/h on water, and twice holder of the outright sailing speed record on his kiteboard. The other, SP80 , has come out of the Swiss engineering school École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Kite-powered SP80 challenge uses a super-ventilating surface piercing foil. Photo: SP80

Both are using the principles that Larsen established, and both teams think they won’t just break the record but will smash it. Syroco ’s stated target is 150km/h, a breathtaking 80.99 knots. SP80 is also chasing the 80-knot barrier.

“I actually like where both projects are aiming,” said Larsen. “They’re definitely using the force alignment concept.” Both the SP80 and Syroco teams will use a kite, aligning its aerodynamic force with the hydrodynamic force from a foil. This should allow the generation of an immense drive force on a relatively light structure. They will need all the power they can get to push through the cavitation point.

The SP80 project is also using a super-ventilating, surface piercing foil like Sailrocket’s. “Vestas Sailrocket and the work done by Paul Larsen and his team was the main source of inspiration that we used to develop the boat,” said Benoît Gaudiot, one of the three founders of SP80 .

They started throwing around ideas in 2017, building super-ventilated fins for a kiteboard. Gaudiot, an experience kitespeed sailor quickly got it to 41 knots. They were going to need a different approach to beat the record though.

“The body cannot handle the power that is required to reach more than 60 knots,” said Gaudiot.

SP80 co-founders Xavier Lepercq, Mayeul van den Broek and Benoît Gaudiot. Photo: SP80

Another of the founders, Xavier Lepercq, built a simulation tool, and they started developing designs. What they came up with was a trimaran powered by a kite, whose aligned force was balanced by a surface-piercing foil.

Once this was formulated the team quickly grew, with EPFL pledging its support and sponsors coming on board. “In the team, we have six full-time employees and almost 40 students from EPFL,” explained Mayeul van den Broek, the team’s project manager. They tested a prototype on Lake Geneva in 2020 and in June 2021 began construction of the full-size craft at Persico Marine.

The transition to a kite means that the biggest challenge to both teams is control – accurately balancing the aero and hydrodynamic forces. SP80 has tackled it with what they call the ‘power module’. “The idea behind this is to balance the force. The way we designed the boat, the main thing to achieve was stability,” said Gaudiot.

The exact mechanism of the power module is confidential, but it’s visible at the back of the boat in their visualisations and animations. It provides a direct link between the kite and the hydrofoil and appears to ‘trim’ the hydrofoil depending on the force vector coming from the kite. The shape of the foil and the linkage to the power module are key to the flight stability of the craft.

Swiss SP80 team has been testing its prototype on Lake Geneva. Photo: SP80

“It’s fully mechanical and it’s fully adjusting the balance by itself,” said Gaudiot. “The controls will be quite simple for the pilot. There will be no need for me to control the height, the elevation of the boat, just the direction. And the power of the kite.” The kite lines will run to the cockpit and be controlled with the hands, while the direction of the boat will be controlled with the feet.

The SP80 team plan to challenge the record from a base in the south of France early in 2023, and Paul Larsen is looking forward to it. “I think the SP80 is a more practical solution that has made compromises for practicality. And I think I can get my head around that one a bit more. I think SP80 is probably closer to getting results. And I want to see how a kite’s going to go against the [Sailrocket] wing, because historically wings are faster.”

Flight on water

Looking to spoil the Swiss party is Syroco , a French company that comes to the world sailing speed record with gold-plated credentials. Co-founder and CEO Alex Caizergues has already held the record on his kiteboard.

“Since Paul broke the sailing speed record, I knew that we had to change the software and the way to go fast on water. I knew that I had to assemble around me a team of people able to build this kind of craft,” Caizergues recalls.

Caizergues isn’t just an athlete, he’s a business school graduate with an entrepreneurial track record. Syroco was set up in 2019 with four co-founders and support from technology entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Artist’s rendering of how the Syroco craft will look in action. Photo: Syroco

They want to do more than just break the record, building a technology business around the attempt. The team has about 15 people working in Marseille with specialists in fluid mechanics, structures, software and data analytics.

“Our l’aile d’eau concept… it’s a little bit like Sailrocket,” said Caizergues. The concept is very simple; a hydrofoil will ‘fly’ underwater, pulled along by a cable that’s connected to a kite flying in the air above it.

Suspended between the two is a capsule containing the pilot Alex Caizergues, and a co-pilot. The aero and hydrodynamic forces oppose each other in an almost perfect representation of the aligned forces concept that powered Sailrocket 2 .

It should have the greatest speed potential because there is nothing extraneous. The capsule is only there because both the aero and hydrodynamic wings must be controlled, and the forces balanced by the pilots (not automated).

The Syroco prototype under test being towed by a RIB. Photo: Syroco

And that’s the tough part, controlling it, particularly keeping the foil in the water. “Nope,” responds Alex, quickly, when I mention this possibility. “The foil never goes out of the water.” The Syroco foil isn’t surface piercing, it runs below the surface, only connected to the capsule and the kite by a cable.

It doesn’t rely on dragging air from the surface to stabilise the cavitation around the foil. Instead, it will rely on the cavitation creating its own stable pocket of water vapour around the foil – this is called super-cavitation. When it occurs the water flows around the bubble of vapour as though it were a solid, significantly enhancing the performance of the foil – as long as the bubble remains stable.

The problem is keeping the bubble intact. Paul Larsen pointed out that the cable gives the air a pathway down to the super-cavitating foil. “How they’re going to stop air sucking down from the surface and rupturing the bubble, that’s the real trick. It’s a very dynamic problem to solve. It’ll be interesting to see how well their simulations live up to the reality of what they’re about to strap themselves into…”

The control mechanisms for the final craft are still being worked on, but they have flown a prototype, towed by a RIB rigged with a 5m-high mast that simulated the force from the kite. The team hopes to commit to a final design with construction starting in the spring.

Human element

And then of course, there will be the matter of executing the plan on the day. “If you’ve done your maths, you’ve done your engineering, you’ve been thorough, that gives you confidence when you stand up on top of that course on one of those big days and you’re not exactly sure what’s about to happen,” recalls Larsen.

Kiteboarder and businessman Alex Caizergues leads the Syroco project. Photo: Syroco

“You know it’s probably just slightly above your top wind range but all the cameras are rolling and the drones are in the air and everyone’s waiting with their stopwatches. That gives you the confidence to say: ‘Yeah, I’m going to go and wring its neck.’”

“Any crashes I had [and there were several] usually all the systems I had in place [for safety] were still completely locked on among all the wreckage. You’d go and flick off that lever you were going to use to control something – because by the time you’ve realised what’s happening, it’s happened.”

“If we go again with Sailrocket, then safety will feature bigger. I wouldn’t get in that boat and go that speed again. We got away with it because we had to.”

“Safety is really important for us,” agrees Benoît Gaudiot. They have built a kevlar cockpit for protection, installed a six-point harness and an F1-inspired seat. Gaudiot will wear a helmet with oxygen that will switch on if the helmet detects water in contact with its mask. “I would be able to stay in the water for a few minutes to have a diver come and open it.”

“The critical point on the boat is the hydrofoil. If the hydrofoil breaks, the boat…” Van den Broek interjects. “…will take off,” Gaudiot finishes the sentence for him.

Their enthusiasm for the project is infectious, the words tumbling out. And no one wants the boat to take off. One big advantage that they have that Larsen did not, is that they can release the power source. “With a kite it’s a few lines and you can just cut it super-fast,” says Gaudiot. “You can do it by yourself. You can do it from a distance, from the chase boat. You can do it automatically.”

“I think both those guys [Caizergues and Gaudiot], they’ve got the mentality,” said Larsen. “They’re not going to get up there and be scared of what they’re doing or intimidated too much by the craft.”

And what if they do break the record that Paul Larsen and his team have owned for almost a decade?

“We opened the door on a whole new world full of potential. And so there is a part of me that’s curious as to what lies further down that path. We validated the concepts that could get above what people thought were the cavitation limits and the ceilings of speed sailing. We proved you could get beyond that. They can take you to new levels of physics.

“The boat [ Sailrocket 2 ] is sitting there in perfect shape. It was made to last forever… we could rig that thing up and do 65 knots in a week or two.” And if his record goes, I wouldn’t put it past him to dust her off and do just that.

If you enjoyed this….

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Become the Confident Skipper of Your Own Sailboat

The best dinghy sailboats for all your sailing activities..

• Post author: Anns
• Post published: October 12, 2022
• Post category: Uncategorized
• Post comments: 0 Comments

Introduction

If you’re looking to go sailing, it’s important to know what type of boat you should use. Here are some of the best dinghy sailboats that can help you get started:

The Sunfish is a small, easy-to-sail dinghy that’s perfect for beginners. With its large sail area relative to its size, the Sunfish can be sailed with a single person (though it’s typically raced in pairs).

The Sunfish is incredibly popular and has been around since 1957; it’s estimated that more than 1 million have been built worldwide. In fact, many people start their sailing careers on this very boat! You can find them throughout the world: from Florida to Australia and everywhere in between.

Racing dinghies are often called “cruising” boats because they’re so much fun to sail on open water—even if you don’t plan on racing. They’re easy enough to tow behind your car or truck when you need transportation, but still fast enough for some serious action once you get out there!

The Laser is a single-handed dinghy that can reach speeds of over 20 mph. This is because it’s lightweight, making it easy to move with one hand and accelerate quickly. The Laser is also very responsive, which means you’ll feel like you’re in complete control of your boat while sailing. This makes the Laser great for racing because it will let you get ahead of your competition easily.

The best part about this boat is its versatility—you can take out family members or friends if they have never sailed before, or if they aren’t very experienced sailors!

Hobie Bravo

If you’re looking for a dinghy sailboat that is great for racing, the Hobie Bravo is your best bet. It’s easy to sail and can be handled by anyone. This boat can also be enjoyed by kids, teens, and adults alike—making it a fun option for your whole family.

If you’re looking for a dinghy sailboat, the Optimist is the smallest but most popular of all. It’s a single-handed boat that is ideal for kids to learn to sail in. The stability of this boat makes it safe even for young kids to use.

The Optimist can be used as an introductory experience or as a stepping stone towards bigger boats like the Laser, which we’ll discuss later.

The 470 is the largest of our dinghy sailboats, designed for three people. It’s just as much fun to sail with two or even one person though! The 470 also comes in a super light version that you can use with a spinnaker.

The 420 is a small, two-person racing dinghy that’s ideal for beginners. It’s also a great boat for experienced sailors looking to get into competitive sailing. With its fast hull design and lightweight rig, the 420 can travel faster than most other dinghies.

The 420 is simple enough that you’ll be able to learn how to sail it in just a few hours—but it still offers plenty of challenge as your skills improve. A well-built boat will be easy to balance on the water and responsive when handled correctly by both crew members at once.

The Snipe is a small, fast boat that is known for its maneuverability. It can be sailed by one person and is popular with beginners because it’s so easily handled. The boat will also accommodate two people for short periods of time, but because it was designed to be single-handed, having two crew on board does make things more difficult.

The Snipe is a good choice for lakes and ponds because its shallow draft allows it to skim over shallow waters (which often have rocks or other obstacles in them). This makes the Snipe especially useful as a dinghy sailing boat for racing around buoys or around markers in open water races that use buoys as markers instead of land-based marks like lighthouses or buoys tethered near shorelines.

If you want to go out sailing, here are the boats you can use.

If you’re looking to go out sailing, here is a list of the boats you can use:

Sunfish: A great boat to start on. It’s inexpensive and easy to sail.

Laser: The Laser is a one-design class dinghy that is used for racing around the world. It’s fast and stable, so it’s perfect for racing or just having fun in smooth water conditions.

Hobie Bravo: This boat has been designed by Hobie Cat Company specifically for beginners who want more freedom when sailing their boats on lakes, rivers or calm waters. They are compact enough that they can fit into most vehicles easily, making them very portable! The Hobie Bravo has an adjustable centerboard that lets you adjust the draft of your sailboat depending on how much wind there will be during your trip (or if there isn’t any). This makes it easier than ever before!

We hope you enjoyed reading about the best dinghy sailboats for all your sailing activities. We know there are a lot of options out there and we tried to give a variety of different boats so you can find what works best for where you live (or want to sail).

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Boat Test: Jeanneau Sun Fast 30

Designing an environmentally friendly offshore one design class is a big ask – but Jeanneau’s Sun Fast 30 OD may have it cracked as Sam Jefferson discovers .

Jeanneau yachts.

Jeanneau Yachts has a proud history of racing going back to 1976 when a Jeanneau Melody battled against the Atlantic greybeards to complete the OSTAR . Since then the company has been one of the leading forces in making racing more accessible by mass producing genuinely rapid mass produced racing yachts. Models such as the Rush Royale, Selection 37 and the JOD 35 when they came out in the 80s and 90s, while the latest iterations of the SunFast range have been at the forefront of the offshore racing scene. 

The Jeanneau Sun Fast 30

It was therefore welcome news when the French manufacturer announced that it as going to bolster its Sun Fast range – already represented by the excellent and successful Sun Fast 3300 – with a smaller 30’ offshore racer. Just to add a bit of extra spice into the mix, they also stated it would be the first recyclable composite production yacht. This is big news because Jeanneau, being part of the Beneteau Group, is the biggest yacht manufacturer in the world and when they lead, others follow. If they can demonstrate that a production yacht can be made cost effectively using recyclable materiels, it opens the doors to other smaller manufacturers. By the same token, by mass producing an affordable, fun offshore racer they can also do much to broaden the appeal of the sport. Because be in no doubt, that is the aim of the boat which was born out of the desire of RORC, the Trysail Club in the US and the Yacht Club de France to produce an affordable small offshore racer that wasn’t too complicated or technical to sail. VPLP won the commission for this project with Multiplast but it soon became clear that in order to produce the yacht in big numbers, they needed the muscle of a big yard – this was where Jeanneau stepped in and the Sun Fast 30 OD was born. 

There’s therefore a lot to like about the Sun Fast 30 OD even before you step on the boat and eyeing her from the dockside she certainly looks the part. She’s clearly a fairly serious racer and VPLP has drawn up a purposeful looking boat that features a moderate scow bow, twin rudders, a single shine that runs from the stern almost to the bow, a big cockpit that extends a long way forward and a rig that carries almost as much sail area as the Sun Fast 3300 OD. Weight is modest at 2,500kg making this a light though not ultra light displacement boat. Despite the radical look of the boat the design is sensible with beam aft being kept modest – not least to ensure the boat is trailerable. The scow bow is defined but not nearly as extreme as many modern Mini Transats or Class 40s while the hull features plenty of rocker and also flares out considerably above the waterline. The rockered hull makes for a sea kindly motion but also hints towards the fact that VPLP clearly wanted a boat the performed well in light airs and this distinct rocker keeps the ends of the boat out of the water in light winds, thus reducing wetted surface area and drag. When the breeze kicks in, the fuller bow and flat upper aft sections point to much fun to be had off the wind, while the twin rudders and chine should give her good grip. 

The Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 is a strict one design and the hull is constructed using 100% recycled materiels and is of foam cored sandwich construction with recycled PET foam used on the deck. Both deck and hull vacuum infused using Elium resin. This is a biodegradable epoxy resin which means that at the end of the boat’s working life, the boat can be broken down and the raw materials recycled – this is a big advance away from standard GRP construction which must go to landfill. 

In terms of rig, the boat is fitted with a deck stepped carbon fibre mast from Sparcraft. The rig carries a pair of heavily aft swept spreaders and the shrouds set outboard. There is no backstay – a  surprising configuration for this size of boat and one which requires a very strong and stiff mast profile. There are running backstays but these are for tweaking sail shape and are not vital to keep the rig up. A powerful mainsail with square top and a relatively wide overlapping genoa can be set and, as noted, the upwind sail area is only marginally less than the larger Sun Fast 3300 and downwind she sets a big masthead gennaker which means offwind sail area is only 5% smaller than her big sister. Shrouds made of Dyform with little stretch. There is a retractable sprit which slides back into a moulded recess in the deck which is far better than having a hole in the hull. When extended, it protrudes some 4’ from the stem when extended. The boat comes with a suit of seven sails and membrane fabrics have been banned to keep costs down.

The keel is a relatively narrow chord width L Shaped cast iron and lead bulbed affair and the twin rudders are transom hung and connected by tye bars which can be fine tued to perfect the rudder angle. The rudders are steered by a single tiller with an extension. The hull shape and sail plan point to a yacht that will perform well in light airs – somewhat surprising given that this is clearly a purpose built offshore racer – but it does ad another string to the yacht’s bow and also sticks to the tradition of light wind fliers like the iconic Selection 37. The boat has not been designed for IRC but the projected rating is 1.040 so it sounds like this will be a contender in mixed fleet racing too.

On Deck 

Step onboard the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 and, although the hull lines feature modest beam, the Cockpit feels broad and spacious with a moulded groove down the middle that works as a foot brace. The traveller is situated right aft and thus within easy reach of the helm. There is space enough for a crew of four – even five at a push but by that point you are starting to penalise yourself in terms of weight onboard. 

The deck has been thoughtfully put together with mouldings for a bottle holder forward and a liferaft valise aft. The companionway is offset to port with all the lines for the running rigging set to starboard and run through a bank of ten jammers. Thre are two winches just forward of the helm for the genoa or gennaker and a third on the coachroof for the halyards. The chart plotter is well placed, being set into aft the end of the coachroof. Aside from that there are some nice foot braces to keep you secure when sitting out on the coamings. 

In terms of sail controls, the main sheet is on the centreline within easy reach of the helm or a dedicated trimmer just in front of the helm and the fine adjustment is just aft of this with both lines on cleat jammers. The headsails use Jeanneau’s tried and tested 3D car system using thimbles as opposed to fixed cars which allows for lateral adjustment in addition to longitudinal movement. This system is becoming the norm on most racing boats of a certain size in the Beneteau Group fleet and it works very well.  

In terms of electrical equipment, this is standardised to conform with one design rules and consists of B&G’s H5000 autopilot, the very popular Raymarine Type 1 ram in a watertight compartment accessible from both the deck and inside. The motor is a Nanni 10hp two cylinder inboard affair which has plenty enough power to push along such a small yacht.

The foredeck is understandably nice and wide which is great for working on deck and the non skid is excellent plus there are nice foot chocks moulded into the deck which is great. There is no anchor locker, just a pair of deck cleats and an open pulpit.

As mentioned, the companionway is offset to port and there is a shallow descent down below into a surprisingly roomy interior with full standing headroom aft. The boat has been kept incredibly spartan though and contrasts with the Dehler 30OD where there has been a bit more of a concession to creature comforts. This is truly stripped out and spartan with the bare minimum of wood finish and only the smallest concession to comfort. This is fair enough because this is after all a racing yacht and it speaks of the manufacturer’s recognition that they do not want to even try to be all things to all people which is fair enough. 

Despite this, there is quite a bit of space down below as the full bow sections forward create a fair amount of space. Back aft tucked underneath the cockpit are twin cot berths then bench seats. Ultimately you can sleep four without any great fuss. There is a big chart table to starboard with the instrument panel set on the bulkhead forward of this. There is also a small sink aft of this with a manual pump and water tank just below. You could add a small stove for longer passages. Forward there is a huge sail storage area with the bare stringers exposed and access to a watertight crash bulkhead forward of this. The heads to is just aft of this to starboard which is just a sea toilet with a canvas ‘door’ and slightly aft of this. It does feature a holding tank. The interior is all in white and feels surprisingly light but – let’s be honest here – it’s a very stripped out racing machine. 

I sailed the Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 on a moderate in the Bay of Cannes with a modest 10-12kn breeze blowing. There was a bit of chop as we plugged upwind and the trial was made more interesting in that we were following in the wake of the larger and heavier new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350 . I rather assumed that we would leave this cruidsing yacht for dust but things didn’t completely pan out this way. First things first, as previously mentioned, Jeanneau has designed this boat to perform strongly in light airs and inmorning I was able to observe from the dockside as the little racer sailed in 4-5kn of wind and she did notably well in conditions where other heavier yachts were simply not moving. By the time I got on the water the breeze had filled in somewhat. We had five onboard and that probably tipped the balance against the boat as acceleration was good but not blistering as we headed upwind. As mentioned, we followed in the wake of a brand new Sun Odyssey 350 and hard on the wind with the J3 set we very, very slowly gained on her, making about 5.5kn at a true wind angle of of 40-42°. The steering was light, sensitive, well balanced and felt perhaps a touch too neutral. This is in part because Jeanneau wanted to have a helm that consumed the minimum amount of power when under autopilot. Anyway, the boat sat comfortably in her chine and was quick without being blistering – although I suspect if we’d have had one less crewmember onboard that would have made a big difference given how light the boat is. 

Easing off the wind and unfurling the gennaker, the difference was immediate and we stormed past the Sun Odyssey 350 with the greatest of ease. With 12kn of breeze, there wasn’t quite enough wind to get the boat planing, although with some friendly waves, it probably would have been possible to get the boat to lift off. As it was, I suspect that breezes of 15-20kn would see the 30 lift up her skirts and take flight. As it was, the full bow sections and twin rudders made the boat feel incredibly stable and balanced with masses of grip, allowing us to sail very high in the moderate conditions without even a hint of a broach. All of this pointed to much fun to be had with just a touch more wind. Sail handling was all very simple and the running rigging set up seemed to be very well thought out although the need to use the same set of winches for the running backstays and the headsails was a minor inconvenience although, of course, you use the lee winch for the jib sheets and the windward for the running backstay so perhaps the weight saving makes it worth not bothering with a second pair. On the other hand, in the even of gear failure, it’s good to have more than three winches.

Sam’s Verdict

The Jeanneau Sun Fast 30 is a fun, forward thinking boat that promises to broaden the appeal of offshore racing. It’s a versatile yacht that can be put on a trailer and sails fast in a range of conditions. It’s not some carbon fibre ultra light displacement flier but it is still light and very fast and also affordable. The design also strikes a balance between upwind and offwind with that moderate scow bow while the big sail area and low wetted surface area in light airs makes for a versatile boat. 

Specifications

LOA (sprit extended): 10.4m (34’1”)

Hull length: 8.99m (29’6”)

LWL: 8.4m (27’6”)

Beam: 2.99m (9’10”)

Draught: 2.0m (6’7”)

Displacement: 2,700kg (5,952lb)

Ballast: 1,000kg (2,205lb)

Mainsail: 32m2 (344ft2)

Headsail: 27m2 (290ft2)

A2 spinnaker: 105m2 (1130ft2)

Ready to race price: €200,000 inc VAT

Builder: jeanneau.com

Alternative Boats

Dehler 30 OD

This is a boat that shares most with the Jeanneau in terms of concept and is of similar dimensions and weight. Conceived as a double handed offshore racer, this Judel/Vrolijk design has been a slow burn but has built up a loyal following.

dehler.co.uk

Beneteau Figaro 3

A more sophisticated – and expensive – alternative to the Jeanneau. This is a foiling pocket rocket that, after a relatively slow start, has become a big hit. This is a more technical boat to sail and the foils put it in a different price bracket.

beneteau.com

Constructed in Portugal, this Bruce Farr designed offshore racer is a bit lighter than the Sun Fast and features water ballasting and bigger beam carried aft. She is optimised for single and double handed racing. 

sea-ventures.co.uk

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Fastest boat: The current holder and contenders for the world water-speed record

Attempting the world water-speed record takes years of preparation, massive amounts of horsepower, a huge budget, some astonishing engineering, the aerodynamics of a fighter jet and cojones the size of Milford Haven. Despite all this there are currently four active contenders for the title of the world’s fastest boat...

What is the world’s fastest boat?

The current title of world’s fastest boat belongs to Spirit of Australia , which recorded a two-way average top speed of 317.6mph (551.1 km/h) on Blowering Dam, NSW in 1978.

Piloted by the late great Ken Warby, this homebuilt wooden speed machine was the first boat to break the 300mph and 500km/h barriers.

Warby, who passed away in early 2023, was the first Australian to hold a world speed record and the first person to design, build and pilot a water speed record boat.

Who is trying to break the fastest boat record?

Quicksilver.

Nigel Macknight is both the driving force and the driver of Quicksilver , Britain’s long-standing-challenger for the title of world’s fastest boat.

But despite having worked on the project for the best part of 30 years and surrounding himself with experts from previous land and water-speed record attempts, the team is still some way off staging an attempt on the record itself.

Working with Ken Norris (chief designer of Donald Campbell’s Bluebird K7 , which set the water-speed record in 1964) construction of the craft’s steel spaceframe chassis was completed in 2002 and the team installed and fired up a 25,000hp Rolls-Royce Spey jet engine.

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However, neither the bodywork nor the complex control systems were finalised and the first iteration of the design was shelved following wind tunnel testing that suggested major stability issues.

Since then the team has gone through two further designs before landing on the current twin-cockpit version (pictured above). Concept 4, as it is currently known, sees the engine mounted towards the front of the central hull.

The 25,000hp Rolls-Royce Spey jet engine has since been replaced by a 10,000hp Mk 101 version from a Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer bomber.

This will be mounted into an all-new hull that is being built from kevlar and Baltek, a highly-engineered balsawood material produced by 3A Composites SA of Switzerland.

Once complete, this will be coated in a thin layer of fibreglass before being mounted to the pre-existing steel spaceframe.

Ken Norris is no longer chief designer, but his ideas are being taken forward by Ron Ayers, Lorne Campbell, Mike Green and Roland Snell.

The Quicksilver team say that they will reuse almost all of the hardware acquired for previous iterations of the design, thus speeding up the construction process, but no launch date has yet been set.

Find out more on the official Quicksilver water-speed record website .

Spirit of Australia II

Of the four teams currently challenging for the title of world’s fastest boat, team Warby is the only one to have a working boat.

Spirit of Australia II is an updated version of the hydroplane design Ken used to set the original record in 1978, with better aerodynamics and a 9,000hp Westinghouse J-34 jet engine.

It hit the water in December 2004 and in 2007 Ken handed over the reins to his son David, who hit 314kmh (218mph) on a testing run on Blowering Lake in 2018. However, floating debris caused damage to one of the fins and in the subsequent years, the tailplane has also been replaced as well as the engines, which are now Bristol Siddeley Orpheus units.

“The old boat was never flat out even when I broke the record last time, so the new one will go a whole lot faster,” Warby Sr claims. “The driving is the easy bit. You just sit in it and put your foot down. The trouble is that you’ve only got a 50/50 chance of still being alive at the other end.”

Spirit of Australia II’s most recent test run in November 2022 was hampered by crosswinds. Further speed runs were due to take place in February 2023, before the news of Ken’s passing. It’s not yet clear how this will affect the project, but further delays seem likely.

Find out more on the official Warby Motorsport website .

Photo: facebook.com/jethydroplaneuk

Another British challenger, Jet Hydroplane UK is headed up by David Aldred, who supplied the Orpheus engines for K777 , an experimental Bluebird K7 replica that was launched in 2011 and was retired in 2014.

His new project, Longbow is powered by twin Rolls Royce Viper turbojet engines and will be piloted by David-John Gibbs, a Formula 4 powerboat racer and flight examiner at RAF Cranwell.

Far from being threatened by this challenge, David Warby offered his technical support to the Longbow project.

In the latest update on the Jet Hydroplane UK website, Aldred revealed that the jet engine cradle is currently being fitted.

Find out more on the official Jet Hydroplane UK website .

Construction of Dartagnan SP600 was completed in October 2016 Photo: Facebook.com/DartagnanSp600

Dartagnan SP600

As if this wasn’t enough, there is a fourth project vying to become the world’s fastest boat. Dartagnan SP600 was built by Belgian offshore racer Daniel Dehaemers, who passed away in June 2018.

The project is reportedly due to be revived by his former teammates, so watch this space…

Find out more on Dartagnan SP600’s official Facebook page .

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Here's where to get your Boat Week merch this week

Whether you’re participating in Saturday’s historic Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race or visiting downtown to join in on the Boat Week fun, there are plenty of places to pick up a T-shirt or nautical souvenir to commemorate the occasion.

This year marks the second that MI Passion, 229 Huron Ave., has carried T-shirts with the Bayview logo for the Mackinac race — now with the emblem for its 100th anniversary.

But they’re going fast.

Boutique owner Anita Varty said she bought over 600 shirts, and by midday Thursday, had fewer than 200 left. Those include a women’s V-neck and a unisex shirt in white and gray colors. The race logo is shown enlarged on the back with a smaller version on the front chest of the shirts.

The shirts ranged in cost from $29.99 to $34.99. MI Passion was slated to be open until 8 p.m. Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Although they had plenty of other Michigan-made and nautical items, particularly themed for the lake and river, Varty said she was excited to be part of celebrating its 100th anniversary.

“The most exciting thing for me is seeing everybody out,” Varty said. “Like the energy downtown, I so looked forward to this week.”

Official Mackinac shirts can otherwise be purchased on Mackinac Island and through the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit.

Port Huron Yacht club carrying 'Mac 2024' merch

The Port Huron Yacht Club’s women’s auxiliary is selling a variety of merchandise for both the club and specific items with a Mac 2024 logo, celebrating Port Huron’s spot as a start to the race but unaffiliated with the Bayview’s race merchandise.

Missy Smith, the auxiliary’s commodore, said the display of apparel would be out from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning with whatever items were left unsold. Typically, she said they only acquire enough to sell out, having first started selling items five weeks ago and on Wednesday for Boat Week.

“And it’s looking like this year we will probably sell out," she said. "… That’s what I’ve been telling everybody on their boats. ‘Oh, I like that shirt.’ If you want to get one, I would go now.”

As of midday Thursday, the merch included women’s V-neck T-shirts, regular unisex cotton T-shirts, and men’s long-sleeve sport tech shirts all in several colors, as well as hooded zip-up sweatshirts and tank tops. There were also yacht club sweatpants that didn’t have the Mac 2024 logo and sandals.

“And then, this year, we bought a new item, and it’s a T-shirt hoodie,” Smith said. “So, it’s T-shirt material, but it’s long-sleeved, and it has a hood. They’re really comfortable. And we have those in three colors.”

Prices for the local club’s merchandise, Smith said, ranged from $20 for tank tops to $60 for the zip-up sweatshirts with T-shirts falling in between.

Plenty of other stops with nautical-themed items to celebrate

Outside the official race shirt and local yacht club merch, a few other spots downtown had displays with boat-themed or items with anchors and other nautical symbols.

The Huron Lady II, for example, docked on the East Quay Street side of the Black River, had hats and T-shirts — the latter prompting you “take a ride” — on display for sale with small icons of the iconic cruise.

Elsewhere, the downtown shoe store District 43 also carried plenty of other items, such as through the Michigan Boat Company label.

“That’s our company,” said store owner Jorja Baldwin. “So, we have Michigan Boat Company. We have Motor City sun shirts, Michigan Boat Company tank tops, and an unofficial Michigan Boat Company Mackinac shirt.”

Baldwin said District 43 would be open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and closed on Saturday.

When asked about their apparel, she said, “I like them all. It’s tank tops, T-shirts, sweatshirts because it’s Michigan. I feel like we have a little something for everyone. We have women’s tanks, and then, unisex things. The river mermaid because I like we can tie in the Black River and Lake Huron experiences.”

Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or [email protected].

Electric boats

Electric boat.

• Flux Marine
• Scout Boats

Flux Marine unveils 100% electric center console boat with a hull from Scout and DC fast charging

Outboard motor and battery specialist Flux Marine has introduced a new center console boat package to its lineup to help further electrify the industry. The package combines Flux’s 100% electric propulsion system with a hull from Scout boats to deliver a vessel that can travel 30 mph and replenish on a DC fast charger.

Flux Marine is a company based in Bristol, Rhode Island that specializes in all-electric outboard motors and marine-grade batteries to power them. Additionally, Flux offers customers boat packages that implement its propulsion technology onto existing vessels.

To date, the company has unveiled an all-electric dual console boat option that includes a Scout Dorado 215 hull and a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) package with the help of Highfield. Today, Flux Marine has announced a third entry in its new electric boat lineup, which once again includes a hull from Scout Boats.

Check out the Electric Scout 215 XSF.

Flux to sell Scout 215 XSF electric boat later this year

Flux shared details of its new electric boat package today, which consists of a 21′ 6″ center console hull from Scout that is powered by its own electric outboard motor and a 84 kWh marine-grade lithium-ion battery pack.

The result is a 100% electric day boat with room for nine passengers designed for cruising and coastal fishing at sea. The Scout 215 XSF offers a top power output of 150 hp (112 kW) and 100 hp (72 kW) of continuous power. It can cruise at 25 mph, reach a top speed of 30 mph, and offer a top range of up to 30 miles (26 knots) at cruising speeds. Per Flux Marine CEO Ben Sorkin:

The idea behind Flux Marine is to provide a better, more efficient method of boat propulsion. Our 100 hp outboard hits the sweet spot, capable of propelling a 22 ft boat like the Scout XSF for almost any activity on the water. Our goal is to evoke excitement and innovation while ensuring users feel comfortable with what’s powering their boat.

A huge bonus in the all-electric Scout XSF center console boat is its ability to charge via AC or DC plugs when docked. Flux says the vessel can recharge from 20-80% in 7.5 hours on an AC plug (110-, 220-, or 240-volt) or as quickly as 1.5 hours using a DC fast charger.

In addition to the powertrain and battery pack, Flux has integrated the Scout boat with its own designed throttle, UI, and mobile companion app. Flux’s software will help future boat owners monitor and manage their speed and range from the helm, complete with live updates on an integrated Garmin chartplotter.

The all-electric Scout XSF center console boat starts at $120,000 and joins the Scout Dorado 215 and Highfield RIBs in the lineup. All are set to go on sale directly to consumers later this year.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Scooter Doll is a writer, designer and tech enthusiast born in Chicago and based on the West Coast. When he’s not offering the latest tech how tos or insights, he’s probably watching Chicago sports. Please send any tips or suggestions, or dog photos to him at [email protected]

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19 Jul 2024

• Paris 2024 Olympic Games Preview: The Quadruple Sculls
• Print to PDF

Eight oars, four people. Rowing’s quadruple sculls boat is complex. The teamwork needed to get down the rowing course in perfect synchronicity is a thing of beauty and when it all comes together the boats move fast, very fast, almost as fast as a rowing eight. For a time, Germany dominated this boat class in both the women’s and men’s race. But there have been many other nations up at the top of the ranks. Poland’s men with Adam Korol, China’s women at the 2008 and 2020 Olympic Games, Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers as part of their country’s quad, Italy at the 2000 Olympics to name a few. And through a chunk of these times has been Tonu Endrekson. The 45-year-old Estonian is back for Olympics number six.

Olympic quota places: 9 each for men’s and women’s quad Total number of athletes: 72 Qualification pathways for men and women: 7 quota places each at the 2023 World Rowing Championships: Men: NED, ITA, POL, GBR, GER, SUI, ROU. Women: GBR, NED, CHN, SUI, AUS, ROU, GER. 2 quota places each at the 2024 Final Olympic qualification regatta: Men: NOR, EST. Women: USA, UKR.

Reigning Olympic Champions: Netherlands Reigning World Champions: Netherlands Overall World Rowing Cup winner: Netherlands

When the Netherlands won at the Tokyo Olympics it was their first Olympic medal in this boat class since silver in Sydney 2000. Remaining in the boat is Tone Wieten and Koen Metsemakers making up the stern pair. They go to the Olympics unbeaten since last year’s World Championships. This bodes extremely well for the Dutch as medal contenders.

But the Dutch are not the only ones in fine form. Both Italy and Poland have been regularly medalling and with winning margins being tight these three countries will be keeping a close eye on each other. The British too will be ones to watch out for. At the Tokyo Olympics their quad produced the best result for their nation – a silver medal. Since then the quad has remained a high priority boat.

A special mention must go to Estonia. They are the very last qualifying boat having finished second at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. The great Tonu Endrekson sits in bow as he takes on his sixth Olympic Games. At the other end of the boat is 41-year-old Allar Raja at his fourth Olympic Games. If you count the years of rowing experience in this boat, it’s phenomenal.

Women’s quad

Reigning Olympic Champions: China Reigning World Champions: Great Britain Overall World Rowing Cup winner: Germany

As the reigning Olympic Champions China has something to prove. The women’s quad has been China’s most successful Olympic rowing event with gold at both Tokyo and Beijing. Their crew, however, hasn’t always been on the medals podium in this last Olympiad. Great Britain has been sitting consistently near the top winning at last year’s World Rowing Championships and then winning their final race before the Olympics at World Cup II in May the British, however, can not be complacent as China have been known to pull it out when the stakes are high.

Also looking good is the Netherlands with Laila Youssifou the mainstay in the boat. Youssifou raced in the quad at Tokyo and since then, as part of the quad, the crew has regularly medalled.

Keep an eye on Switzerland as they continue to keep themselves in an A-final position and although rarely in the medals, they may feel like their time has come.

The 2024 World Rowing Awards ceremony – join the celebration!

Related news.