sailing: Racing Classes

There is no single “yacht type” of boat, rather many types that include sloops, yawls, catamarans, and ketches. The hundreds of different racing classes fall into three broad groups: one-design classes where very similar boats compete; handicap classes where dissimilar boats race, some with an advantageous time allowance; and rating classes where a variety of formulas take into account boat length, sail size, type of rig, and other factors. Sailboats originally had wooden hulls with sails made of sailcloth, a canvas commonly called duck. Today, however, fiberglass or carbon-fiber composite hulls, sometimes equipped with hydrofoils, and synthetic fabrics predominate; rigid wing sails, which resemble aircraft wings, are used in place of a fabric sail when a high speed is desired (as in windsurfing or boats used to set speed-sailing records).

Especially popular are the 16–23 ft (4.88–7.01 m) one-design boats; these are mass-produced craft made from a single blueprint and intended for the sailor of modest means. Races between one-design boats are thought to be a particularly good test of a crew's ability, to which, rather than to design, any variation in speed must, at least in theory, be attributable.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• History of Sport Sailing
• Racing Classes
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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