The Flying Dutchman is a Dutch planing

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats - usually for fun, learning necessary sailing skills (often also within family), and competition. RYA lists Five essentials of sailing dinghies as: * The sails * The hydrofoil, foils (i.e. t ...

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 high performance,

one design One-design racing is a racing method which may be adopted in sports using complex equipment, whereby all vehicles have identical or very similar designs or models, avoiding the need for a handicap system. Motorsport One-make racing series (also ...

racer and first built in 1951. The boat was an Olympic sailing class from 1960 until 1992.

Production

The boat was built in the past by Sunbeam Yachts, Alpa Yachts, Mader Bootswerft, MacKay Boats, Plastrend/Composite Technologies, Lanaverre, Lockley Newport Boats, Advance Sailboat Corp., Binks Yacht Constructions, Chantier Naval Costantini and Mobjack Manufacturing, starting in 1951. More than 10,000 have been built. In 2022 Mader Bootswerft were still producing the design.

Design

2008 Cannonball Regatta - Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman is a racing

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 ...

, initially built of wood, with many modern boats made from

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 ...

sandwich construction with a plastic deck. Cold-molded

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

is still used and some sailers prefer that material. The boat has a fractional sloop rig, a spooned

raked 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 ...

, 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 a 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 ...

. Modern boats may have plastic rudders and centerboards. It displaces . The boat has many adjustable settings available while sailing, including the

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halyard In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term "halyard" derives from the Middle English ''halier'' ("rope to haul with"), with the last syllable altered by association with the E ...

shroud Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the Jewish '' ...

tension and the mast rake. The crew can use a

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

to balance the boat. 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 and in fact was the first design equipped with a spinnaker bow chute. The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick D-PN of 82.6 and a RYA PN of 879.

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club that organizes racing events, the ''International Flying Dutchman Class Organization''. The Flying Dutchman was an Olympic sailing class in double-handed dinghies from 1960 until 1992. Due to its complexity, the design's cost has been a barrier to its wider acceptance. A ''Classic Sailboats'' review noted that "the 'fastest double-handed dinghy in the world' made its Olympic debut in Naples in 1960. It was based on the new go-fast concept of a trapezing crew and a large spinnaker. The ideal crewman should be tall, heavy, nimble and smart – not a simple recipe to follow. The FD has a long waterline and normally planes on the beat. But the large genoa jib makes tacking slow. Pure boatspeed is thus the key ingredient for success." The United States Sailing Association describes the boat as "one of the most exhilarating dinghies you will ever be in."

Racing

Boats on display

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, England

References

External links