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The archive for the International Six Metre Class

Celebrating the history of the international six metres.

The first Six Metres were built over 100 years ago and the class has a rich heritage. This website brings together archive material spanning their full history, made publicly accessible for the first time in one place.

Launched in 2019, this is a growing resource for anyone with an interest in the history of the International Six Metre Class. You can find source material relating to all aspects of the class and the community around it, ranging from regattas and racing to designers and photographs. The material on this site has been sourced from many different collections worldwide, reflecting the international nature of the class.

We welcome and encourage submissions of new material and information from our visitors. Please get in touch if you have anything to add. Feel free to browse our site and enjoy the resources on offer.

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Bibis sailing in 1967. Archive record BPLK.1.2.

Six Metres racing out of Harbor Springs, Michigan, in the 1930s. Archive record GRSW.1.2

A class steeped in history

From the Olympics to the World Championships, the International Six Metre Class has played a significant role in the development of competitive sailing. Since the Six Metres first appeared in 1907 following the development of the International Rule, it has been one of the most popular of the Metre classes. More than 1200 boats have been built over the course of more than a century, and over 300 still sail and compete today.

The class is organised by the International Six Metre Association, which is governed by a committee of elected officers from around the world.

Latest additions to the Archive

ISMA Winter Meeting Minutes, 2024

The Whim and Correnzia racing downwind, 1911

Marga sailing in Baia de Guanabara

Ylliam VIII sailing

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Canadian International 6 Metre Association

Welcome to our site!

This is the home of the Canadian 6 Metre Association.

“The International Rule is the most important development class rule in yachting history. It has been the backbone of yacht racing for 100 years.”  – Pekka Barck.

Introduction to the The Six Metre – 100 Years of Racing, written by Olin Stephens.

As a retired yacht designer I hope readers will find me justified in outlining technical developments as they affected the Six Metre class throughout its acceptance and growth, as those were the considerations that seemed important to me at the time.

In early days, such developments in naval architecture and yacht design seemed to occur in spurts and have resulted from the individual vision of one man, such as Isaac Newton in the last half of the 17th century, who offered the reach of calculus. This was followed by studies of the dynamics of ships in motion, of which the most comprehensive were carried out by a French scientist, Pierre Bouguer in association with the University of Basle, Switzerland, with his detailed studies of elements, in fields like hydrodynamics and rigging design. I introduce Bouguer because his work led the way to predicted performance which, after a gap of 200 years, Kenneth Davidson’s concentration on the performance in the Six Metre class led the way to its exceptional growth.

Davidson, as an engineer and a sailor, was the first person to envisage the use of very small models for tank tests, in place of the large ones then required by current practice. These were roughly 18 to 20 feet long and weighed in the neighbourhood of a ton. It happened that in searching for a known model to test he came to my office on City Island, New York City, where I had a model of the Six Metre Natka, which had been made by my brother Rod and which he had used in experiments on rigs. Using this model, Davidson continued towing experiments on which his valuable 1936 paper was based.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries design activity was associated internationally with increased in classification and rating rules. The fastest boats, both large and small on both sides of the Atlantic were poor sea boats with light displacement and very long ends. In the US Herreshoff’s “Universal Rule” came into being as a corrective and in Europe in 1906, international conferences met in the UK under the auspices of the Prince of Wales, which produced the First Interational Racing Classes Rule, initially for European use. Subsequently, in 1921 after international discussion and with only partial agreement within the US, Boston and Marblehead holding out, this rule was adopted by the new NAYRU and the NVYC for classes smaller than the 12 Metre class. It became the prototype rule for the Six Metre class and developed into a modified rule known as the Third International Metre Rule.

Back in the 1930s yachts were considered old after 20 years or less. That age would be doubled today without any surprise, while even older and badly deteriorated hulls are now picked up by delightful owners who spend freely to restore them and it is interesting to speculate just why. Certainly the best materials were available before the Second World War and the best yards then had skilled shipwrights. Perhaps in this age of mass production, there is reassurance of craftmanship and value in the older and simpler hulls.

Appreciation of individually created art is as old as man himself, but the high status of other useful objects such as yachts has come about in only very recent times and with Six Metres only within the last 15 years or so. Am I right that this is new? To be unique contributes value and is surely part of the charm that the Six Metres most certainly have.

(Extract from The Six Metre – 100 Years of Racing, edited by Pekka Barck and Tim Street.)

Vancouver International 6 Metre Fleet

Welcome to our site!

This is the home of the Vancouver 6 Metre Fleet.

What is a 6 Metre

In 1906 the International Six Meter Class came into being with the introduction of the first “International Rule”. Over the last century hundreds of Six Meter yachts have been designed, built and raced under the restrictions of the International Rule formula. The Six Meter Class is still actively raced throughout the world. 2013 saw 34 yachts competing in Flensburg, Germany where Vancouver’s St. Francis IX won the championship in a closely fought series. Subsequently the 2017 Six Meter World Championship was held in Vancouver.

A Six Meter gets its name from the fact that it is roughly six meters on the waterline. Overall is normally just under 40 feet and beam slightly over 6 feet. The weight about 9500 pounds with almost 75% (7100 pounds) of that being concentrated in the deep lead keel. The formula of the International Rule allows significant variations between yachts as designers strive for elusive speed producing combinations by trading off length for sail area and many other dizzying permutations of draft, beam, waterline length and mainsail vs genoa size.

The Six Meter Rule

The International 6 Meter Rile is a formula designed to create racing sailboats of similar yet different proportions. This means that designers around the world can challenge one another with their own design philosophies, while at the same time creating yachts that can be raced against each other.

International Six Meter Formula Rating in meters = (L + 2d – F + √S)2.37 = 6.0 meters where L = Length in Meters           D = Girth difference I meters           F = Freeboard in meters           S = Sail are in square meters

Full Circle        Mathew Henley

The early ‘60s were dark time for the Class. The glory days of Olymic and International competition was but a memory, new builds were now a rarity. It seemed as if the yachting community no longer wanted these expensive anachronisms. There were still a few embers in this gloom. The brightest shone in Seattle, USA, some 250 km south of Vancouver or Victoria. In fact, these happy days that directly led to the formation, with the cooperation of the remaining European fleets, of ISMA.

As the Sixties ended, a meeting of Australia and Puget Sound enthusiasts culminated in a Mach Race series held at the neutral ground of San Francisco’s St Francis Yacht Club. This event marked the first event of a Modern (aka Open) Six in competition. Building on this success, the Puget Sound fleet went on to organize the Class’s first World Championship in 1973. Twenty boats sailed for a trophy donated by the Port of Seattle, for the biennial competition.

This and subsequent World Championships led to a bust of new interest in builds in the class. Soon a wide variety of hull shapes, rudders, and keels – some with wings – could be seen on the start line. While new boats still conform to the rule, it soon became apparent in all conditions, they were faster than the traditional designs. This, in addition to increasing fleet size, led organizers – beginning at the 1988 European Championships – to score “Moderns” and “Classics” separately. Finally, in the 1995 Worlds, separate starts were introduced. As an interesting aside, this separation of the 6 Meter fleets could well be said to be the beginning of the Classic Yacht renaissance.

Fast forward to 2000 – a small group of passionate yachtsmen and women in Vancouver and Puget Sound began looking for, and restoring, long-forgotten local Sixes in an effort to rejuvenate interest in racing them again. Within a few years, these boats began showing the Pacific Northwest “Flag” at international events, and winning too! In 2013, at Flensburg, it was proposed and accepted that the 2017 event be hosted in Vancouver, Canada.

The Six Meter World Championship has come home.

Since 2017, many of the Pacific Northwest boats, including boats from Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, have competed in the 2018 European Championship in France and the 2019 World Championship in Hank Finland. In 2020 the European Championship will be held in Spain, with the subsequent 2021 Worlds also being held in Spain.

The Vancouver Fleet primarily sails out of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club! 3811 Point Grey Road, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Fleet Captain, Richard James, [email protected]

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Status of Class: Adopted Administrative Body: MYA

This MYA national class is a scaled down version of the full sized International Six Metre class rule. The overhangs make the boats elegant and graceful on the water. Being displacement boats they rely on the hull shape, as well as the ballast, for their stability. It therefore provides a somewhat different, distinctly ‘yacht like’ sailing experience. It is particularly suited to lakes with restricted depth.

It is a class that lends itself for those who enjoy home building with a number of designs available. This, together with the need for only one mast, a main boom and a jib boom together with just two suits of sails, helps make this an ideal class of boat for the more cost conscious sailor.

• Six Metre Class Events here
• Contact the Six Metre Class Captain here
• Six Metre Class GBR website here
• Six Metre Class Rules attached below
• Six Metre Class Measurement Procedure here
• Six Metre Class Measurement Forms attached below
• Six Metre Boats For Sale or Wanted here
• Please visit our  Knowledgebase  or  Q&A  for more help

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• previous post: Ten Rater Class (10R)
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More From Forbes

Is the 262-foot-long xplorer 80 the ultimate crossover superyacht.

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Damen Yachting's Xplorer 80 is uniquely qualified to cruise in the tropics

Full disclosure. I love all of Damen Yachting ’s newly rebranded Xplorer line of crossover superyachts that combine all the capabilities of an expedition yacht with all the over-the-top luxury of a more conventional yacht. I love the way they dare to be just a bit different too.

And now that the new, 262-foot-long (80 meter) Xplorer 80 has been introduced to the Xplorer range which already includes the 196-foot-long Xplorer 60 (meter), and the massive 344-foot-long Xplorer 105 (meter), it’s great to see the Damen Yachting team continue to innovate.

Ahhhhh. The Xplore 80 combines luxury with capability

“By introducing the Xplorer 80, we have further established our ability to create a perfect crossover superyacht. She combines luxury, expedition, capability, high-spec shipbuilding and everything in- between.” Rose Damen, Managing Director Damen Yachting.

According to advance reports the concept was conceived with customization in mind while offering a number of configuration options to suit any lifestyle. Xplorer Design Manager Enrique Tintore explains, “The way the Xplorer has been designed allows for a high level of flexibility to suit any extreme environment or refined landscape. If a helicopter isn’t essential for you, we’ve got many other options for that space. Need a conference room or a seventh guest cabin? Or a separate gym and a high-spec laboratory? We can make that happen.”

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The configuration options include everything from a below deck helicopter hangar, and large gym and wellness center, to a massive twin tender garage setup with a fully-equipped dive center. And for many who don’t require such serious heli-ops storage capability, the large aft area can be configured into wall-to-wall lounge and beach club too.

The main lounge aboard the Xplore 80 from Damen Yachting.

The flexibility in the design does not stop at configuration options. For the exterior design, Damen Yachting has once again partnered with Azure Yacht Design & Naval Architecture to further develop the Xplorer 80’s exterior lines. But the Dutch builder has also partnered up with a number of additional exterior and interior designers to provide a unique set of alternatives centered around the same base platform. For the exterior, alternative designs have been created by Espen Øino, Harrison Eidsgaard and Azure Yacht Design.

For the interior design concepts, Damen Yachting has partnered with London-based design studio Harrison Eidsgaard. The result is a custom designed for long-term and luxurious living. Known for their quality and personal attention to detail, the Harrison Eidsgaard team has developed a Manhattan loft-inspired space that encompasses how you like to explore and experience your passions. With refined details, smart storage and a warm ambience throughout, every step you take around this yacht has been considered. "This interior can cover every journey and any lifestyle - all you need to do is immerse yourself." Ben Harrison, co-founder of Harrison Eidsgaard. Alternative interior design concepts have also been provided by Winch Design and Reymond Langton Design.

The owners suite aboard the Xplore 80 from Damen Yachting

Coinciding with the introduction of the Xplorer 80, Damen Yachting have also introduced their updated and modernized branding for their range of luxury explorers. Damen Yachting’s Marketing Manager Sarah Flavell explains. “We wanted to make the original SeaXplorer branding more relevant for today’s and tomorrow’s luxurious yet adventurous yachting needs. While the DNA within the Xplorer 80 proudly carries all of the original SeaXplorer key attributes, we wanted to update the way the brand was presented to better reflect the forward-thinking nature of this new 80-metre Xplorer. The result is that the Xplorer 80 absolutely embodies the brand values associated with the Xplorer range bringing extensive capability, unrivalled autonomy and above all luxury space and lifestyle to the most extreme corners of the globe.”

An alternative exterior layout from Harrison Eidsgaard is also available

It's cool to see Damen Yachting focus on a world of infinite adventures where superyachts and expedition yachts combine. In fact, the new Xplorer 80 may just be the ultimate crossover superyacht that combines luxury and expedition capability in a whole new way.

Watch this space.

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