Sail1Design Editor

The International Lightning Get The Best Of Both Worlds

Without Compromising Either One The Lightning, a 19 foot trailerable centerboard sloop, was originally designed by Sparkman & Stephens as an affordable family day-sailor and racing boat. She has evolved into one of the most popular and competitive one-design racing classes in the world. Awarded ISAF International Class status, the Lightning is sailed in more than 13 countries and in the Pan American Games, and the class provides a professionally-managed association that is among the largest in all of one-design sailing. The Lightning’s rig is simple, but offers sophisticated sail shape controls. The hull features a unique hard chine design that combines the stability that provides sail-carrying power, with flat bottom sections that promote planing. The International Lightning Class Association protects the boat’s design and licenses custom and private builders to build boats under its administration. A list of Lightning builders is available from the ILCA upon request.

Dinghy Responsiveness, Sportboat Performance

The Best Of Both Worlds Whether racing or daysailing, the Lightning offers a combination of performance and stability that eludes most one-designs. The Lightning’s hard chine and 130 lb centerboard give her the stability and power of a small keel boat going to weather in strong winds and allow her to carry a very large spinnaker for breathtaking offwind rides. There’s room in the cockpit for two couples or a family to daysail, but the Lightning is easy to ramp launch and light enough to trailer with ease. In the event of a capsize, she can be righted and sailed dry by her crew.

Refined Design, Toda

y’s Technology

The Best Of Both Worlds Whether you’re more interested in how a boat looks or how it behaves, it’s hard to beat the Lightning. The Class maintains an attitude that promotes conservative innovation, making the boat faster, safer and more maintenance free, while keeping prices affordable. Most Lightnings built in the last 25 years can be made competitive and it’s not uncommon to see them winning races right along with new ones. In fact the 1995 World Champion sailed a boat built in 1969! Modern Lightnings are built in foam-cored fiberglass with stainless steel centerboards and black anodized aluminum spars. The world’s top sailmakers give the class their best efforts. In short, there are enough controls to keep the most technically inclined happy, but it’s good tactics, boat-handling and hiking that win races.

The Best Competition In The World Or A Way To Get Away From It

The Best Of Both Worlds

Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Ken Read, Dave Dellenbaugh, Dave Curtis, Bruce Goldsmith, Tom Allen, Neal Fowler, Steve Benjamin, Ched Proctor, Bill Shore, Greg Fisher, Andy Horton are just a few of the rock stars who have competed in the Lightning. After more than 60 years and more than 15,000 boats it’s easy to find a regatta when you want to. But whether you’re interested in serious racing or you just want to go for a joyride with the family, you’ll find what you’re looking for in the Lightning. Club Racer Or International Icon

The Best Of Both Worlds

The Lightning truly excels as a racing boat. It requires a wide range of different skills, both tactical and technical. At 700 pounds all up, the boat is tough enough to avoid frequent breakdowns, but light enough to plane wildly on the reaches. A World Championship is held every two years. North American, South American and European Championships are held each year as are innumerable regional and District championships. Major regattas attract some of the finest sailors in the world, but you find class members friendly and the sailmakers’ complete tuning guides helpful at getting you up to speed in a hurry.

The International Lightning Class Association

Welcome To Our World

The ILCA is one of the oldest and best organized class associations in sailboat racing. Its primary purpose is to serve its membership, preserve the integrity of the Lightning and provide high-quality competitive events. In addition, the ILCA publishes a monthly newsletter Lightning Flashes with up-to-date regatta news, boat brokerage and ideas on how to get the most out of your Lightning. An annual Yearbook, containing many illustrated articles, reports on major championships, fleet reports and a complete association mailing list, is also published. The professional ILCA staff is always on hand to assist both current and potential members. If you’re looking for a boat you can be proud to sail, one that offers dinghy handling with the performance of a sportboat, a refined design that’s free of fads, complete with the technology of today for both racing and daysailing

Get The Best Of Both Worlds. Get into a Lightning. See you on the water. David Dellenbaugh, former Lightning World Champion and starting helmsman for 1992

America’s Cup defender America3

The Top 10 Things I Like About The Lightning:
1. There’s Lightning racing almost everywhere.
2. Some of the best sailors in the world sail the Lightning.
3. Lightnings are available from more than one high-quality builder.
4. Lightnings even 20 years old are still competitive.
5. The boat is one of the best crew trainers on the water today.
6. The class is not so strict as to discourage experimentation which makes the boat faster and easier to sail.
7. The Lightning has interested the finest sailmakers in the world so the sails and the tuning guides look great and are easy to use.
8. The Lightning is a very roomy boat for daysailing.
9. Lightning sailors sail hard, but they’re not too cutthroat – someone’s always ready to answer questions.
10. The class management is as good as you’ll find in one-design sailing. For more information about the International Lightning or to arrange a test sail in your area, call or write to the address listed below.

Design: Sparkman & Stephens, 1938
Over 15000 built
More than 500 fleets worldwide
Length: 19’0″ (5.8m)
Beam: 6’6″ (2m)
Displacement: 700 lb (318 kg)
Draft (board down): 4’11” (151.3cm)
(board up): 5″ (12.8cm)
Mast height: 26’2″ (7.9m)
Sail area (main & jib): 177 sq.ft.
(spinnaker): 300 sq.ft.
Crew (racing): 3

Class website:
http://www.lightningclass.org/index.asp

The 49er is a very fast double-handed twin trapeze skiff. Designed by Julian Bethwaite, this is an exhilarating ride, and requires a fair amount of technical skill to sail. The boat is experiencing an increase in popularity due to its selection as an Olympic class starting with the Sydney Olympics of 2000. It features a very large asymmetric spinnaker.

loa 16’
beam 5’9”
sail area 215 ft²
spinnaker 400(!) ft²
hull weight 210
crew 2
# of boats built not known
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI…

Class website:
http://www.49er.org/49er2/index.php

 Check out Sail1Design’s 49er class profile article here to learn more! 

https://www.sail1design.com/airwaves-sailing-news/one-design-classes/1179-49er

With over 500,000 boats built the Sunfish is a very popular one-design class sailboat designed in the 1950s. As a singlehanded boat, the Sunfish is easy to car-top or trailer. The Sunfish is used as a day sailer or a racing boat, with over 1000 racing events every year worldwide. Key to the Sunfish’s success are simplicity and low cost. A Sunfish can be sailed using only two lines, the halyard and the Sheet. The only other necessary control is the tiller. A Sunfish setup for racing will typically add outhaul, cunningham, a gooseneck quick-release adjuster, and vang lines.
The lateen sail is fixed to the spars and is stored by simply wrapping the sail around the spars, or by rolling the sail up parallel to the spars.
Check out Sail1Design’s Class Profile of the Sunfish!
loa 13’9”
beam 4’1”
sail area 75 ft²
spinnaker n/a
hull weight 130 lbs.
crew 1
# of boats built 500,000+!
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI…
Class website:
http://www.sunfishclass.org/

The venerable, elegant Star. This boat for years has attracted the world’s best one-design sailors. The Star is one of the most prolific keelboats in the world for a reason: it is an incredible boat to sail. Designed in 1911 by Francis Sweisguth, it has proven to be a classic in every sense. It is the oldest Olympic class, having first been used in competition in 1932, and still at the heart of that competition today. Supported by a worldwide association the Star as a class is one of the best organized in sailing, with over 7,500 yachts built over its 80 year history, and 2000-plus actively racing today.

The Star has evolved into the consummate craft for all ranges of competition and performance sailing: its equipment and rig is simple enough for the novice, yet versatile enough for those on the forefront of sailing. It’s large, powerful sailplan, combined with a sleek hull and light weight, propel the boat in the faintest of airs, while the flexible spar can be tuned to “de-power” when the breeze kicks up. The large main is infinitely adjustable, allowing the sailor to completely control the driving surface of the sail.

Starts today are generally constructed of fiberglass, with positive flotation and an integrated keel. The design, sails, and equipment of the Star are governed by stringent class rules, created to improve competition on the basis of skill and control cost . This has also served to help the longevity of the design, keeping older boats competitive through careful evolution.

Please visit Sail1Design’s Class profile on the Star: https://www.sail1design.com/airwaves-sailing-news/one-design-classes/1095-one-design-profile-star-class

loa 22’7”
beam 5’7”
sail area 285 ft²
spinnaker area n/a
hull weight 1479 lbs.
crew 2
# of boats built
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY

Class website:
http://starclass.org/

It started when Bruce Kirby’s home club (Noroton Yacht Club, Darien, CT USA) couldn’t find the right boat to get their members involved in club racing; fewer and fewer of its members were participating.

They studied a great many existing classes of boats but all were considered too expensive, too slow, too demanding to sail, or just plain uncomfortable. So Bruce was asked to design a new boat specifically to meet the requirements of a club racing one-design keelboat fleet.

It had to be exciting to race, but easy to handle by sailors of all ages, strengths and skill levels. It had to be a really good day sailor, spacious and comfortable to sit in all day long. It had to be trailerable, plus easy to launch for wet or dry sailing. Plus a safe, well behaved training boat to help teach new sailors how to sail and have fun doing it. Finally, it had to have a good but uncomplicated set of class rules.

The prototype Sonar sailing off Noroton, March, 1980.

The result was the Sonar. The Noroton Yacht Club got every thing they wanted and more. And the Sonar has been greeted with enthusiasm by individuals and clubs all over the world.

When the Sonar was designed and orders taken for the first fleet of boats at Noroton Yacht Club, in Darien, Connecticut, the original fleet members recognized a need to create an organization with a Constitution, By-laws and Class Rules that control the growth of the class. Early membership was just a few key people, but these people had a passion for this new and very special boat and their passion spread as new fleets sprang up around North America. Early membership grew at a rapid pace as boats were built. Sonars worldwide now number over 700 with fleets in over six countries.

loa 23’    
beam 7’1”
sail area 250 ft²
spinnaker area 245 ft²
hull weight 2100 lbs.
crew 3-4
# of boats built not known
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY

Class website:
http://www.sonar.org/

One touch of the helm and you’ll understand the loving loyalty of Yngling owners worldwide. The boat simply sails beautifully.

Those familiar with the Soling will instantly recognize the Yngling as a “mini-Soling,” a description which is quite apt. In the Yngling (pronounced “ING-ling”), designer Jan Linge basically duplicated his Soling, making it smaller, more suitable for average-sized people, easier to trail (behind even a four-cylinder car), and less expensive to own. The Yngling shares the Soling’s sleek hull form, well-balanced rig, and responsive helm. While the Yngling is not as fast as the Soling, it is quicker, and more nimble. It turns more quickly and in less distance, and responds better to crew weight trim adjustments.

The Yngling is designed to sail with three crew (although two can handle it easily). Optimal crew weight is 400 to 500 lbs., so the Yngling accommodates both juniors and normally sized adults, and it is the ideal women’s racing boat (in fact, IYRU selected the Yngling for its first International Women’s Championship in 1994, and ISAF chose it as the boat for the 2004 Olympic women’s keelboat event). Sail controls on the Yngling are easy to manage, and the effects of small adjustments are felt by the crew. The Yngling sails in a delicate and fast upwind groove.

loa 20.8’
beam 5.6’
sail area 150 ft²
spinnaker area __ ft²
hull weight 1422 lbs.
crew 3
# of boats built not known
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY

Class website:
http://www.yngling.org/

The International J/22 is a popular fixed keel one design racing sailboat normally raced with a crew of three or four people (total crew weight is restricted to 275 kg/605 lb).

Because of its strict one design rule, older boats are equally competitive with new boats. It races with the “class jib,” a non-overlapping jib, a mainsail, and a large spinnaker. The boat is capable of planing on reaches and runs.

According to its builder, “Since its introduction in 1983, the J/22 has blossomed into an International class now with 1,600+ boats sailing in 65 fleets in 18 countries. Over 130 boats sailed in the 2004 World Championship. On the merits of its sailing characteristics, widespread popularity and small crew number (3-4), J/22 continues to be the boat of choice and is selected again for the 2005 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship in Annapolis, MD.”

loa 22’    
beam 8’
sail area ft²
spinnaker area 480 ft²
hull weight 1790 lbs.
crew 3-4
# of boats built 1600
active US fleets NJ, PA, MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY, TX, LA

Class website:
http://www.j22.org/