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Ensign

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The Ensign sailboat is the largest class of full keel boats in North America. It was designed by Carl Alberg and built by Pearson Yachts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island who manufactured nearly 1800 boats from 1962 through 1983. Its popularity, rather than declining with the advent of very high performance boats, has been on a major upswing. We have one of the strongest national organizations and support fleets from the East Coast through the Rocky Mountains.

Four Regional Championships, a Midwinter Championship and a National Championship Regatta are held each year.

The Ensign is 22 and 1/2 feet long, weighs about 3,000 pounds, has a draft of 3 feet and is best raced with a crew of four. It is favored by former dinghy sailors and cruisers alike. It has no life lines and therefore can be sailed with many dingy tactics such as hiking and roll tacking. It is a comfortable day sailer with a large cockpit. Besides a main and working jib it can have an inventory of a #1 and # 2 Genoa, a blade and spinnaker. For cruisers it can be equipped with a roller furling genoa.

The Objective of the Ensign Class Association is to promote and develop Ensign Class racing under uniform rules and to rigidly maintain the One-Design features of the Ensign.   It also promotes the Ensign as a family boat for recreational sailing.

Class website:
http://www.ensignclass.com/

Interlake

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From the class association:
The Interlake is one of those “best kept secrets.”  Many sailors are not familiar with the design.  It has to do with approach.  The class has been strong since day one.  There simply has never been a huge marketing blitz.  The class just never wanted to be part of the international scene.  The goal has always been to be a Midwest regional class and to promote high level competition in a friendly atmosphere.  Members not only value the feel and performance of the boat, as well as the competition, but also enjoy the festivities which surround the events.  This philosophy has served the class well for over seventy years.  Not only has the class remained active and healthy, but members have competed well in the prestigious U.S.S.A. Champion of Champions Regatta, and served on U.S. Sailing’s Executive Committee.

The Interlake was commissioned by the Sandusky Sailing Club in 1933.  Francis Sweisguth, who had already designed the Star, was hired to develop a boat for the waters of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay.  The craft was to be tactical with a good turn of speed, raced by two to three people and also accommodate four or more adults for a comfortable day sail.  It needed to be easily trailerable and easy to sail.  The result was the Interlake.  (It also singlehands very well).

When examining the Interlake the graceful similarities with the Star’s lines are immediately noticeable.  This accounts for the incredible feel.  Further investigation reveals a sail plan that is simple to rig, simple to sail, and full of performance.  In fact, today’s hottest new designs (the expensive sport boats) have rigs remarkably similar to the Interlake’s.  Details such as:  a large roachy main, smaller 110% jib, fractional rigging, and no backstay are similarities to both designs.  This simple rigging not only produces turnkey speed, but also makes trailering a breeze.  The Interlake is also built to last.  Twenty plus year old boats still win the Nationals.  They just keep going and going . . .

Generations and Genders    When sailing an Interlake you can expect a dry ride (in most conditions), good upwind ability, smooth planing off the wind, and good speed at deep sailing angles.  Acceleration is good, better than with most similar dingy classes (such as the Lightning or Flying Scot), and maneuverability is exceptional.  The helm is light and responsive, immediately telling the skipper what to do.  If the skipper doesn’t listen, the boat simply goes a little slower . . . it won’t break anything or throw the crew in the drink (like a Laser might!).  All the basic controls are there to adjust the sails to the conditions.  Then just trim and go.  The straight ahead nature allows performance at peak level without a lot of tweaking.  Not only is it fun to go fast, but this makes the Interlake an extremely tactical boat.

The only way to truly understand that this is just part of the story is to take a ride.  Yet the best part of the class is not the boat, but the sailors.  Sailors who cheerfully share their knowledge because they enjoy close competition.  Sailors who keep the good times going off the water as well.  The Interlake and the company it keeps are, well, . . . irresistible.

INTERLAKE SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 18′ 0″
Beam: 6′ 3″

DRAFT:
Board Up: 8″
Board Down: 4′ 7″

Displacement: 650 lbs.

Racing Crew: 2 or 3

SAIL AREA
Main: 125 sq. ft.
Jib: 50 sq. ft.
Spinnaker: 200 sq. ft.

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

Schock 35

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The Schock 35 Class Association was founded in 1985 as a voluntary corinthian association. Its purpose is to promote the continued enjoyment of Schock 35 Class sailing yachts in fair, corinthian, one-design yacht racing, and in cruising activity, and to promote friendship among their owners and crews.

The Schock 35 is a light displacement, performance sail boat. It is 35 feet in length at the deck level with a 12 foot beam. The boat has 827 feet of sail area, a masthead rig and displaces 10,000 lbs. with 4500 lbs. ballast. The interior has accommodations for six with a galley and enclosed head. The boat is speed rated the same as a J-35.  The Schock 35 is manufactured by W.D. Schock Company, Corona, California, USA. A new boat race equipped costs roughly $130,000 US. Used boats range in price from USD $45,000 to $70,000.

The boat is raced with a crew of 9 or 10. Windward-leeward courses with leeward gates are preferred. To control the costs of competing, the Class Rules limit the number sails aboard and regulate sail purchases. Exotic fabrics and technology, Marine Industry Racers, Racing Specialists are also controlled by Schock 35 Class Rules.

Although raced in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan, the largest and most active Schock 35 fleets are along the Southern California coastline from San Diego to Santa Barbara. There are approximately fifty yachts in Southern California.  The class enjoys six (6) high-point regattas a year with as many as twenty-nine (29) boats on the start line. The Schock 35 Class is the largest active one-design fleet over 30 feet LOA on the west coast of the United States. Because of the yacht’s popularity and availability in California, the Schock 35 was been selected for the Lipton Cup Challenge Regatta every year from 1991 through 2001.

Class website:
http://www.schock35.org/

Beneteau/ Platu 25

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With over 200 boats sold in North America, the Farr designed First 36.7 has become the fastest growing One-Design Class in North America. A graceful balance between quality, performance and value it is no wonder so many sailors proudly sail her and smile. Whether you race One-Design events, beer can races or just enjoy cruising fast the First 36.7 is the boat for you.

Class website:
http://www.platu25.com/Platu 25

 

Viper 640

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viper640The Viper 640 is a high-performance one-design sport boat. At 21 feet long and only 735 lbs, it combines the stiffness of a keelboat with the acceleration and planning abilities of a dinghy.
viper_640_drawingThe design mandate was “Simple, Clean and Effective”.  The Viper has a precise and exhilarating feel on the helm, a spacious cockpit for 3 people, strict one-design class rules and ease of launching by ramp or hoist.
Check out Sail1Design’s One-Design Class Profile on the Viper 640!
Class website:
http://www.viper640.org/

Flying Junior

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The “Flying Dutchman Junior” was originally designed, in Holland, by Van Essen, a well-­known Dutch boat designer. Listed as co­designer was Conrad Gulcher, Dutch Olympic sailor. (Gulcher and Van Essen also collaborated on the Flying Dutchman Conrad Gulcher served as International Class Secretary for both classes for many years, and was a main driving force behind both the International Flying Dutchman, and International (FJ) Flying Junior classes until his death in 1989.
The first FJ was built of cold­molded wood, and was tested on the water in December, 1995.
The original purpose of the “Flying Dutchman Junior” was to serve as a junior trainer for the then new Olympic Flying Dutchman (FD). The FD is a much larger( 19’10”), faster, and more physical class than its younger sister. The FJ rules also allowed (and still allow) many of the same technical innovations as the FD, and the boat was (and still is) ideal to teach newer sailors the intricacies of tuning, mast rake and bend, etc. so important to top-level competitive sailing.
The Class’ name was quickly changed to “Flying Junior” as the class developed on its own, and the Flying Junior Class Organisation was free and independent of the Flying Dutchman organisation by about 1960.
FJ Gets IYRU International Class Status
By the early 1970’s, the Flying Junior was accorded the status of an International Class by the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU)- pre-cursor to the ISAF.
This prestigious status is applied only to sailing classes with strict one-design rules, that are sailed the world over, and that regularly have international competition- such as World and Continental Championships. The International Sailing Association (ISAF) (replacement organisation for the IYRU) currently governs the Class Rules of the International FJ Class. As an International Class, rights and control of the boat design rest with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).
Today (2000), the International FJ is sailed in Japan, Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, and the USA.
The Class Rules of the FJ allow any deck design; Dusseldorp FJs utilised a doublebottom design, especially suited to open-water sailing. Note the open transom, allowing large amounts of water to escape almost as fast as it can enter the hull. These hulls were the fastest FJs for at least the first 15 years of the Class’ existence. They are still competitive today.
From the beginning, the Class Rules of the FJ allowed any individual, or company to build the boat.
Class Rules Evolution- a summary of major revisions made to the Class Rules

  • Early 1960’s, the Class Rules were modified to lengthen the mast, providing more speed, and clearance under the boom.
  • Early 1970’s, the Flying Junior became the International Flying Junior. Accordingly, FJs built since 1972 must carry the IYRU “Builder Fee Paid” metal plaque permanently affixed in the cockpit, signifying that the IYRU royalty has been paid. These fees are the only source of income for the International Class.
  • In 1980, recognizing that the name “Junior” did not accurately describe the current usage of the boat, the International Class changed the name to “International FJ”. 1980’s included a larger spinnaker (from 80 sq. ft. to about 88) and allowed shape cut into the sail (the original spinnaker rules required it to be two flat planes of cloth). Under the new rules, the bigger size, plus spherical cutting of spinnakers give a much faster sail.
  • In 1990, the International Class added the trapeze for the crew, (added for the U.S. class in 1994). Officially, the crew must be at least 12 years of age to use the trapeze.

Under consideration, as of 1/1/00:a larger spinnaker, slightly larger main.
Class website:
http://www.cfjclass.org/

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