The Lightning is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens, as a one-design racer and first built in 1938.[1][2][3]
An accepted World Sailing class, the boat is one of the most popular one-design sailing classes in the United States and is also raced in several other countries.[1][3]
The design was developed into a smaller boat, as a trainer for the Lightning, the Blue Jay in 1947.[4]
Production
The design has been built by a large number of manufacturers in the United States and also in Canada. There have been 15,550 boats completed and it remains in production by the Allen Boat Company.[1][5][6]
In the past it has been built in the US by the Clark Boat Company, Lippincott Boat Works, Nickels Boat Works, Jack A. Helms Co., Lockley Newport Boats, Skaneateles Boat & Canoe, Mobjack Manufacturing, Siddons & Sindle, Lofland Sail-craft, the Eichenlaub Boat Co and WindRider LLC. It was also built in Canada by J.J. Taylor and Sons Ltd.[1]
Boats have been delivered complete, sold as kits for amateur construction and also amateur-built from plans.[3]
Design
The Lightning is a recreational sailboat, initially built with wooden plank construction and, since the early 1960s, of fiberglass with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig with wooden or aluminum spars. The rig employs a backstay, anchored off center, so as to not impede the tiller. If equipped with a wooden mast it has a jumper stay from the mast head to the spreaders. The hull has a foredeck, with a V-shaped coaming, a raked stem, an angled transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centerboard. It displaces 700 lb (318 kg) and carries a class-prescribed maximum of 130 lb (59 kg) in centerboard weight.[1][3]
The boat has a draft of 4.95 ft (1.51 m) with the centerboard extended and 5 in (13 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]
For sailing the design is equipped with a 300 sq ft (28 m2) spinnaker. Mainsail and jib windows are optional for improved visibility and safety.[3]
The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 88.4[3] and is normally raced with a crew of three sailors, although it can accommodate six adults.[7][8]
Operational history
The boat has an active class club that regulates the design and organizes races, the International Lightning Class Association.[9] By 1994 there were more than 460 racing fleets in Canada, Europe, South America and the United States.[3]
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood noted that the design has good freeboard and stability.[3]
Racing
See also
Related development
References
- ^ a b c d e f McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Lightning sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Sparkman & Stephens". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 102-103. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-65239-1
- ^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Blue Jay sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ WindRider LLC. "Lightning". windrider.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Allen Boat Company. "Allen Boat Company". allenboatco.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Lightning Class Association, Yearbook 1941
- ^ "About Lightning - International Lightning Class Association". www.lightningclass.org.
- ^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Lightning Class (Int)". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
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