The International FJ is a Dutch

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Uus Van Essen Tennessine is a synthetic element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Ts and atomic number 117. It has the second-highest atomic number and joint-highest atomic mass of all known elements and is the penultimate element of the Period 7 element, 7th ...

and Conrad Gülcher as a trainer and one design racer, first built in 1956. The boat was initially called the Flying Dutchman Junior (after the

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

one design racer), as it was designed as a trainer for that Olympic sailing class boat. It was later called the Flying Junior. In 1980 the name was again officially changed to the International FJ. The design became a

World Sailing World Sailing is the international sports governing body for sailing (sport), sailing; it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yac ...

accepted International class in 1972-73.

Production

The design has been built by a large number of companies including Grampian Marine and Paceship Yachts in Canada, Chantier Naval Costantini in France, Alpa Yachts, Centro Nautico Adriatico, Comar Yachts, Galetti and Nautivela in Italy, Van Doesburg, Dusseldorp, Van Wettum and Perry Lengton in The Nederlands, Advance Sailboat Corp, W. D. Schock Corp, Whitecap Composites and Zim Sailing in the United States. The first Flying Junior was built by Pim van den Brink (Kolibri) in the Dutch village Stompwijk. 4,600 + boats have been built. W. D. Schock Corp records indicate that they built 70 boats between 1968 and 1972. It remains in production by Centro Nautico Adriatico, Zim Sailing and Whitecap Composites.

Design

The International FJ is a racing sailing dinghy, with early versions built from wood.

Fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

was class-authorized in 1960. The boat has a fractional sloop rig, a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

and retractable

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. It displaces . The boat has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water, beaching, ground transportation on a trailer or car roof. For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a Point of sail#Reaching, reach (wind at 90° to the course) to Point of sail#Running downwind, downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinna ...

of . The boat is sailed with a crew of two

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s. A single trapeze is available for use by the crew. The Club FJ is a version with heavier construction but similar dimensions produced by Zim Sailing. It displaces and has a spinnaker of . Whitecap Composites produces a lightened version of the design with improved ergonomics, marketed as the "Turbo FJ".

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club that organizes racing events, the ''International FJ Class''.

References

External links

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links