Dinghy sailing
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Dinghy sailing is the activity of
- the sails
- the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth)
- the trim (forward/rear angle of the boat in the water)
- side-to-side balance of the dinghy by hiking or movement of the crew, particularly in windy weather ("move fast or swim")
- the choice of route (in terms of existing and anticipated wind shifts, possible obstacles, other water traffic, currents, tides etc.)
When
The
Development of the dinghy
Early beginnings
There has always been a need for small tender boats for transporting goods and personnel to and from anchored sailing ships. Together with other smaller work craft such as fishing and light cargo, small inshore craft have always been in evidence. Charles II of England had a private sailing boat presented to him[2] when he returned from exile to England in the 17th century, and he sailed for recreation and competition.
In 1887 Thomas Middleton, a Dublin solicitor, considered that yacht racing was becoming an excessively expensive activity, with boats becoming eclipsed by better designs each year. He proposed the 'One Model' principle. He wanted yacht racing to be an exercise of skill with all boats being built to the same design.[3] He assembled a group of potential owners who agreed to call the boat 'The Water Wag'. The Water Wag Club still prospers in Dún Laoghaire harbour, with racing each Wednesday evening during the Summer season.
Towards the end of the 19th century people began to use these small boats for sport and recreational sailing, utilising the opportunities for leisure afforded by the Industrial Revolution. Larger privately used sailing boats had developed separately, and have resulted in the yachts of today. There has been some crossover, in that the sloop sail plan was adopted as standard and most convenient by early dinghy designers.
Planing and trapezing
The development of the sailing dinghy was helped in the early 20th century by Uffa Fox (1898–1972), an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast. He developed and contributed to many dinghy classes that are still with us nearly a century later: the Albacore, International 14, National 12, Jet 14, Firefly and Flying Fifteen. The Scorpion was designed in 1959 by Taprell Dorling.
He also introduced the major advance of hull shapes that can
In 1928 Uffa Fox introduced planing to the English dinghy racing world in his International 14 boat, the Avenger.[4] He achieved 52 first places, two second places and three third places out of 57 race starts that year. Note: Graham Anderson in his 1999 book Fast Light Boats, a Century of Kiwi Innovation[5] argues that planing centreboard sailing boats were introduced into New Zealand in the early 20th century – well before Uffa Fox popularised the concept.
Another advance in dinghy sailing was introduced in the 1930s, when the technique of trapezing was introduced. This involves using the crew to provide more leverage (than possible by hiking out) to keep the sails vertical and the boat balanced; doing this can prevent the boat from capsizing, by hanging outside the boat on a harness and rope attached to the 'hounds' or upper mast. As a result, the boat is easier to keep upright, and the sails can deliver maximum power most of the time. While trapezing can be helpful and increase speed, it can also be very dangerous if the crew is not wearing a quick-release harness or is inexperienced. The quick-release harness allows the crew to unstrap themselves quickly so as to not get forced under the boat if it were to capsize.
Trapezing during a race first appeared in 1934, on the
Uffa Fox started building 14s in 1923, and was designing them by 1925. He was to transform the class with the introduction of his first planing hull design, Avenger, in 1927. The construction and finish of his 14s was considered by many to be the ultimate in quality and craftsmanship, and Thunder and Lightning built in 1938 was no exception.
The hull was built of two thin veneers; diagonal internally and fore and aft externally, and stiffened by tiny rock elm frames, all fastened with thousands of copper nails. His aim was to achieve as light a construction as possible using the materials of the day – there was no carbon fibre or Kevlar then.
Within a week of being launched, Thunder & Lightning won one of yachting's premier racing trophies, the Prince of Wales Cup, held that year at Falmouth. It was during this series that the boat's owners, Peter Scott (son of the famous Scott of the Antarctic), and John Winter, used a device now commonly known as the trapeze. At that time, it was known as King George's Jubilee Truss. The device was immediately banned by the Yacht Racing Committee on the grounds that it was unsporting and gave an unfair advantage to its users. Thunder & Lightning is now in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
The innovative technique was immediately banned, and received little development until it was reintroduced on the Osprey and Fiveohfive Class (505) in 1954 by John Westell and the Flying Dutchman class in the early 1960s.
Post WWII developments
During the
Modern developments
At the beginning of the 21st century, dinghy sailing is still a rapidly developing sport. It is losing its image of being expensive, time-consuming, and exclusive. This is because of the earlier work of pioneers such as Uffa Fox, and through the use of modern designs and techniques such as lighter hull materials (e.g.,
In
Types of dinghies
Some dinghies come into more than one category, either because boundaries overlap or because different categories are measuring different things; e.g. both "one design" boats and boats of much freer design can be found in each of the main categories below.
Dinghy designs are often referred to as "classes"; these classes are usually categorised as one design, open, or restricted. A more formal term for open is "Development Class". One design dinghies are supposed to be identical, though in reality this is not always the case. Only the most restrictive one design classes will restrict individual fittings. Then there becomes a sliding scale of allowable modification or design differences; restricted classes would typically allow the movement of fittings or even parts of the boat around, but are unlikely to allow major changes to hull shape or sails. Truly open development classes are also almost unknown, the famous line about the 18 ft skiff "the boat shall be 18ft long and the race starts at 2 o'clock" is a myth but open classes will usually allow pretty radical changes within usually some kind of box rule which specifies depth, length, width of hull height of mast and sometimes a minimum weight and sail area.
Classes which are not development classes are usually referred to as "One design". The idea is that One Designs provide a fair and level playing field for even competition, whereas Development Classes drive boat speed and technology forwards. The first one design was the Water Wag[6] designed by Thomas Middleton, which first sailed in Dublin Bay in 1887. The class is still sailed today, well over a hundred years later. The first International one-design class was the B.R.A. 12 foot dinghy which was designed by George Cockshott in 1914 for West Kirby marine lake. This design expanded to Holland, Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland etc. and further afield.
All of the following classes can be used for recreational as well as racing purposes. Some function better for recreation use because they require less maintenance and can be left on a mooring, while other (usually racing) boats can't be left on mooring because they will capsize, which can cause certain parts like the mast and hull to be damaged.
Safety dinghies were designed to be used as yacht tenders with the added function of proactive self-rescue boat that can be sailed to safety. These boats are also used as recreational sailboats. Some of them can be fitted out with exposure canopies, sea anchors, and other survival gear. Examples of safety dinghies are the Portland Pudgy dinghy[7] and the Clam dinghy.
Multihulls are fast twin or three hulled boats that fall under the definition of dinghy. Unlike dinghies, multihulls have high aspect ratio rigs with fully battened mainsails and sometimes, a rotating mast. This allows the rig to be highly aerodynamic and the reduced drag from the thin hulls, gives a multihull its great speed advantage over traditional monohulls. Dinghy-sized multihulls are sometimes referred to as "Beach Catamarans or Beach Trimarans".
The
Sports boats: These classes are larger off-shore racing dinghies which shade off into classes of yachts with fixed keels. Usually they have several crew members as well as the helm. Melges 24 and Laser SB3 are current examples of this type.
. The International Moth is worth noting because of its use of lifting foils on the rudder and daggerboard. These generate enough lift to push the hull above the water, significantly reducing friction and allowing speeds in excess of 25 knots (46 km/h).Learning to sail
Many people learn to sail at accredited sailing schools, or through their local sailing club. Many books and training DVDs are also available, allowing the novice sailor to reinforce the learning in their own time. Boats that many children learn to sail in are the Optimist, Topper,the Laser Funboat and Laser Picos, and the Portland Pudgy. The Optimist is primarily used in supervised racing situations because it is easily capsized and very difficult to right from the water. In the US, the Portland Pudgy safety dinghy has become a popular beginners' sailing dinghy for non-racing, recreational use because it is unsinkable and very stable.
It is easier for children to learn on small boats and work their way up to larger boats as they grow. Children learn better in a protected harbor or cove because there is less wind than the wide open ocean. The Wayfarer was the standard teaching boats for adult schemes; however, many centres have moved onto more modern 'Centre-Main' boats such as the
Dinghy racing
Racing is one of the most popular forms of dinghy sailing, and it contributes to the development of sailing skills as well as to improvements in dinghy and sail construction and design. Sometimes the Olympic triangle is used as a course for dinghy races where space permits, particularly for events where there ought to be little local advantage such as State and National titles and for classes which are mainly displacement sailing such as the Heron (dinghy). The olympic triangle is the most popular choice for dinghy racing, but a windward leeward course is another popular option.
See also
References
- RYA. Archived from the originalon 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ "Model of Royal Yacht Mary". Liverpool Museums. Archived from the original on 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ "History of the Water Wags". Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ Appelberg, Olle (2010-07-20). "Vixen Sets Sail to Retrace Uffa Fox's Historic Scandinavian Adventure". Sail World.com. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ "Nautical, Maritime and Boating History and Tradition page two". Boat Books. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
- ^ "Waterwag.org". www.waterwag.org. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-929214-33-4.
Bibliography
Bob Bond "The Handbook of Sailing" DK & Pelham Books revised 1996
Further reading
- Kattmergan, Jon; Schönborn, Al; Hughes, Derwyn; McNamara, Mike. Wayfarer Racing: rig for racing; racing techniques; strategy and tactics (PDF). UKWA Wayfarer; Wayfarer Institute of Technology. Retrieved 8 November 2013.