The Dabchick is a South African youth sailing
dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...
that is raced two up or single-handed. A
Bermuda rigged boat, it has a mainsail and jib. Its hull is very shallow and its skipper sits on its flat deck. This
hard chined scow was designed by Jack Köper in 1955.
Since they were published in 1956, nearly 3,500
plans have been issued to builders, and over 4,000 boats have been built.
It is usually sailed by young crew with teenager skipper instead of the
Optimist, before moving into higher performance classes.
Design and construction
For decades, Dabchicks all were built of marine plywood. Though fiberglass boats are now being built, dozens of wooden boats are still being sailed competitively.
At the 2007 AGM, the class rules were modified to allow Mylar sails with a full length top
batten
A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.
In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...
.
References
External links
Dabchick Association of South Africa website
{{Sailing Dinghies and Skiffs
Dinghies