Top 3 Boats For Young Sailors!
We understand that navigating through all the different types of sailboats and classes is tricky, especially for parents new to the sailing world! At The WaterFront Center, we’ve carefully hand-picked 3 sailboat classes for our youth sailors, the Optimist, the c420, and the J/105.
We’ve chosen to build our sailing program around these sailboats for their approachability for novice sailors as well as their longevity in a young sailors’ career. Each of these sailboats has different boat handling characteristics that make for a great time on the water and provide a great experience whether your child wants to pursue a competitive career or master the winds for their own leisure.
Optimist (aka “Opti”)
The Optimist (Opti) is one of the first boats for any new and young sailor, not only at the WFC, but around the world, sailed in over 120 countries with over 150,000 boats registered by the International Sailing Federation.
The Opti is a small, single-handed, dinghy, about 7.5 ft long, that looks like a "bathtub." An Opti is one of the simplest sailboats comprising the mainsail, sprit pole, boom, rudder, tiller, daggerboard, and airbags for buoyancy.
Due to its inherent stability, simple rig, robust construction, and relatively small sail, Optis lessen the difficulty curve and allow your child to focus on learning the fundamentals of sailing. This design makes for a good beginner boat as it teaches children independence as they must be self-sufficient on the water while controlling the boat.
As your child builds confidence sailing the Opti, they can join our Opti Race Team, competing in Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound (JSA of LIS) and New York State sanctioned Regattas! New sailors up to age 15, who are not taller than 5’5 ft or exceed 115 pounds can join our Opti Beginner classes. Experience and approval from coaches are needed to progress into Opti: Intro to Race and Opti Race Team.
The skills your child builds in the Opti can translate to other sailboats at the WFC and in the competitive world. However, if your child takes a liking to single-handed sailing, their career could progress on to the Laser often seen on the collegiate and Olympic competitive circuits or on to the Sunfish for recreational sailing (which has it’s own competitive scene).
Club 420 (aka “c420”)
If you watch some of the sailing events during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, you may recognize, the 470, an Olympic sailing class since 1976. That is because the International 420 (i420) dinghy is a popular training vessel with a large sail-area-to-weight ratio and was specifically designed to be easier to handle than its larger, higher performance counterpart, the 470.
At the WFC we sail a variant called the Club 420 (c420). This boat is often seen as a high school and collegiate stepping stone for sailors to build up to 470 racing with over 5,000 registered boats in the US through The Club420 Association.
The Club 420 (c420) is a 4.2meter (around 14ft) long dingy for double-handed sailing. Designed to be even simpler than its international racing versions, the c420 has a heavier reinforced hull and untapered mast. Rigging also varies comprised of the mainsail, jib, rudder, tiller, boom, vang, outhaul, spinnaker, trapeze, and cunningham lines (extra sail controls to change the shape of the sail).
Through the experience of our well-trained coaches and more experienced peers, new sailors (ages 12 to 18) will learn to sail as a team as skippers and crew to adequately control their boat around the racecourse. The skipper sits in the back of the boat and is responsible for steering with the tiller. The crew is in the front of the boat and balances the boat's weight while controlling the jib.
In the summer we’re able to split up classes and give more attention to beginners with our c420 Beginner and c420 Intermediate classes while our c420 Race Team travels along the eastern seaboard to compete in local and regional circuits. In the Spring and Fall our c420 classes consolidate into our after-school High School Sailing program. Our c420 Teams race throughout the year against other high schools and teams in the area, which can get them ready for high-level college sailing and even help them be scouted into the college sailing team of their choice.
J/105
The J/105 is the most prolific one-design keelboat class over 30' in the USA, with over 680 boats sailing worldwide. J/105s are a gateway for high school-age sailors to enter keelboat and offshore racing.
The International J/105 is a 35ft fixed keel, one-design, racing sailboat with a fast design and clean deck layout. The stability, rig, and sail controls of the J105 allow it to handle in 15-20 knots without the need to reef the sails. It is this seaworthiness, along with its large cockpit and strict one-design class rules that make the J/105 an attractive choice for a variety of racing classes from single/double-handed offshore sailing to high school sailing programs seen around the country.
“#63” is on loan from the Young American Sailing Academy, allowing our Big Boat Race Team to race in J/105 events this fall. This boat takes racing as a team one step further than the c420, as 8 to 10 young sailors can be on board working together. Youth sailors must be responsible, comfortable on sailboats, and committed to improving their skills. Onboard positions may be helm, main trimmer, two jib and spinnaker trimmers, pit, mast, bow, and navigator/tactician. Our J105 race team is a great platform for teenage sailors who want to build on the skills required to enjoy a lifetime of big boat sailing.
