The Firefly is a British
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
Uffa Fox
Uffa Fox, CBE (15 January 1898 – 26 October 1972) was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast, responsible for a number of innovations in boat design. Not afraid of courting controversy or causing offense, he is remembered for his e ...
as a
one design racer and first built in 1946. The boat was originally named the Sea Swallow. It was an
Olympic class and raced at the
1948 Olympics.
Production
The design was initially built by
Fairey Marine in the United Kingdom, starting in 1946. Today it is built by
Rondar Raceboats in the UK and
Whitecap Composites in the United States and remains in production.
Design
The Firefly is a recreational
sailing dinghy, initially built predominantly of hot-moulded
plywood,
glassfibre construction was authorized by the class starting in 1965. A rotating mast was introduced in 1970.
The design has a
fractional sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...
rig, a
plumb stem
The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively.
Description
The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...
and
transom, a transom-hung