Flying Dutchman (dinghy)
The Flying Dutchman (FD) is a 20-foot one-design high-performance two-person monohull racing dinghy. Developed in the early 1950s in the Netherlands, its large sail area per unit weight allow it to plane easily when sailing upwind. The boat utilizes a trapeze harness for the crew and hiking straps for the skipper to counterbalance the wind force on its sails. It made its Olympic debut at the 1960 Olympic Games.
 Class symbol | |
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| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Uus Van Essen Conrad Gülcher |
| Location | Netherlands |
| Year | 1951 |
| Design | One-Design |
| Role | International class |
| Boat | |
| Crew | 2 |
| Draft | 0.15 m (5.9 in) 1.07 m (3 ft 6 in) |
| Trapeze | Single trapeze |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | GRP Cold moulded plywood Composite (Wood/GRP) |
| Hull weight | 130 kg (290 lb) |
| LOA | 6.06 m (19.9 ft) |
| LWL | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Beam | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | Centerboard |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 10.2 m2 (110 sq ft) |
| Jib/genoa area | 8.4 m2 (90 sq ft) |
| Spinnaker area | 21 m2 (230 sq ft) |
| Upwind sail area | 18.6 m2 (200 sq ft) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 80.1[1] |
| RYA PN | 879[2] |
| PHRF | 150.6 |
| Former Olympic class | |
The FD is still one of the fastest racing dinghies in the world.[3] She carries a mainsail, a very large foresail genoa, and a large spinnaker for running and reaching. The FD has been the basis for many important innovations in sailing over the past half century:
- First one-design dinghy to make use of a trapeze gear, a feature commonly found today on high performance dinghies and catamarans
- Roller furling genoa
- Windward sheeting traveler
- Spinnaker chute
- Spinnaker pole launchers
- Composite construction
These innovations were possible because the FD was left as an "open" one-design class, where innovation and development in the boat is allowed and encouraged. Parameters that influence the speed of the boat directly, including hull shape, weight, and sail area are strictly controlled, but other areas can be adapted to suit.
The FD was sailed in Olympic competitions from 1960 Olympic Games through the 1992 Olympic Games. Since 2008 the FD is one of the Vintage Yachting Classes at the Vintage Yachting Games.
History
It was in the late 1940s that the IYRU instigated a new modern two man international dinghy, the Tornado. She was not a success, as there was no leap forward compared to the existing pre-war classes. The Royal Loosdrecht Yacht Club of Conrad Gülcher obtained half a dozen Tornados and found them very uninspiring. Conrad imagined that with modern construction methods and the use of moulded ply, a better dinghy could be constructed. Conrad with the help of Uus Van Essen, a naval architect and measurer for the Dutch Yachting Federation made a preliminary design early in September 1951. The design was sent to 30 top class helmsmen in Europe, including Bossom (SUI), John Cahmier (GBR), Charles Curry (GBR), Manfred Curry (GER), Ferry Laagwater (NED), Stewart Morris (GBR), Morits Skaugen (NOR) and Shorty Trimingham (BER), with the request to comment within two weeks. By the end of September 23 responses had been returned with suggestions for modifications to the design of the boat.
Mr. Loeff, chairman of the Dutch Yachting Federation, agreed to discuss the boat at the November meeting of the IYRU, but required he see her sail first. As no prototype yet existed, this was hardly feasible to accomplish, but Conrad had the mould and hull built in one week, and the mast cut, stepped and the boat rigged in another. The boat was designed to be very simple, and consequently inexpensive to produce. The easily repeatable measurement system defined by Uss van Essen aided to that end. It took to the water against the 12m2 Sharpie and the Tornado dinghy at Loosdrecht one week before the IYRU meetings. Mr. Loeff was impressed, and took the plans to the IYRU for discussion. It was decided to hold trials for the new boat class in the summer of 1952 in the Netherlands, and the name of the design, Flying Dutchman, was born. The trials were held on the Loosdrecht lakes and on the open water of the IJsselmeer at Muiden. Seventeen boats participated, some one-designs like the Osprey and Typhoon, and others were from existing classes, including Hornet, Thistle, Sharpie, and Rennjolle. The results clearly showed the new boat to be a success, and the FD was adopted. However, the boat was initially set with the limitation "for continental lakes only".
Paul Henderson in FD KC 41
(Early 1960s FD)
Fred Imhoff (Helm) and Simon Korver
Late 1960s FD
Flying Dutchman with spinnaker chute
(21st century FD)
Another set of trials were set up for 1953 at La Baule on the open sea. Meanwhile, the small jib in the initial design was replaced with the Genoa, and a trapeze was added. At La Baule there were again one-designs such as the Coronet, a smaller version of which later became the 505. Off the wind the Coronet with her bigger spinnaker and mainsail was faster, but upwind the FD won. Afterwards it was clear that the FD did very well on the open sea, and the "lakes" limitation was lifted. The Class started to blossom, thanks largely to the promotional activities of Conrad and a well structured Class Organisation.
In 1957 the FD was selected to replace the Sharpie at the 1960 Olympic Games in Naples. By the 1960s there were "FD" fleets throughout the world, including Lebanon, Morocco, Portuguese East Africa, Argentina, Venezuela, Thailand, along with fleets forming in Europe, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Many well known yachtsmen have spent time competing in the FD, including Paul Elvstrom, Hans Fogh, Ben Lexcen, Peder Lunde, Stewart Morris, Keith Musto, André Nelis, Yves and Marc Pajot, Rodney Pattisson, Ted Turner, Jon Turner, David Wilkins, the deKleer brothers, and Buddy Melges.
Events
Olympic Games
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 |  | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 |  | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 6 |  | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 |  | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (12 nations) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
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.svg.png){kind=small}
Asian Games
Source:[5]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 |  | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (3 nations) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 Bangkok |
Akira Yamamura Takashi Yamamura |
Dawee Chullasapya Suthep Indrakosoom |
John Gunawan David Udjulawa |
Pan American Games
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | .svg.png){kind=small} | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Totals (3 nations) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 Chicago |
|
|
|
| 1963 São Paulo |
|
|
|
| 1967 Winnipeg |
|
|
|
1971 Mexico City |
|
|
|
World Championship
Source:[6]
European Championship
Source:[10]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 10 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 | | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 5 | | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 |  | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 |  | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 |  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 |  | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | .svg.png){kind=small} | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (18 nations) | 33 | 27 | 26 | 86 | |
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Vintage Yachting Games
Source:[12]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (4 nations) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Medemblik |
Szabolcs Majthenyi Andras Domokos |
Kilian Koenig Johannes Brack |
Kai Schäfers Markus Landgrebe |
| 2012 Lake Como |
Christoph Aichholzer Philipp Zingerle |
Silvia Aichholzer Christoph Zingerle |
Ginés Romero Bernabeu Alvaro Moreno Egea |
| 2018 Copenhagen |
not held in FD class | not held in FD class | not held in FD class |
References
- "Centerboard Classes". US Sailing. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "RYA Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme 2007" (PDF). Royal Yachting Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- Portsmouth tables Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Olympics
- Asian Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- Worlds Archived 20 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.fdworlds2017.com/2017/09/29/day-6-final-results/
- "Flying Dutchman - World Championship 2018 - Medemblik NED - Final results - Gold for Bojsen-Möller/Bojsen-Möller DEN". sailing-news.com. 30 July 2018.
- "2019 FD World Championships - Final Results".
- European Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "Zbigniew Szpetulski". Polski Związek Żeglarski (in Polish). Polski Związek Żeglarski. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- Vintage
External links
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