Y Flyer
{{short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name = Y Flyer
|insignia = File:Y-FlyerLogo.png
|insignia size = 100px
|insignia alt =
|insignia caption =
|line drawing = File:Y-Flyer Sailboat.png
|line size =
|line alt =
|line caption =
|image boat =
|image size =
|image alt =
|image caption =
|designer = Alvin Youngquist
|architect =
|location = United States
|year = 1938
|no built = 2,770
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = Jack A. Helms Co.
Jibetech
Turner Marine
Hinterhoeller Limited
|role =
|boats =
|crew = two
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|4.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with centerboard down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|500|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|construction = wood or fiberglass
|loa = {{convert|18.17|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl = {{convert|14.50|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|beam = {{convert|5.67|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
|hull weight =
|engine =
|appendages =
|keel type = centerboard
|ballast =
|rudder type = transom-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = Bermuda rig
|I =
|J =
|P =
|E =
|mast length =
|rig other =
|sails =
|sailplan = fractional rigged sloop
|sailarea main = {{convert|110|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea headsail = {{convert|51|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea spin =
|sailarea gen =
|sails other =
|sailarea upwind =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total = {{convert|161|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|rating =
|d-pn = 88.1
|rya-pn =
|phrf =
|status =
|previous =
|successor =
}}
The Y Flyer is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Alvin Youngquist in 1938 as a one-design racer and first built in 1941.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/y-flyer|title= Y Flyer sailboat |access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201018210604/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/y-flyer|archive-date= 18 October 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/designer/youngquist-alvin|title= Alvin Youngquist|access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200909195958/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/youngquist-alvin|archive-date= 9 September 2020 |url-status= live}}Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 96-97. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. {{ISBN|0-395-65239-1}}
Production
The boat design was first shown in The Rudder magazine in 1938, as plans for amateur construction. Homebuilding of the boat from spruce and plywood continued after fiberglass boats were commercially available.
The design was built by Jack A. Helms Co., Jibetech and more recently, by Turner Marine in the United States, but it is now out of production.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/helms-jack-a-helms-co|title= Helms - Jack A. Helms Co. 1974 - 1984 |access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201018210649/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/helms-jack-a-helms-co|archive-date= 18 October 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/jibetech-usa|title= Jibetech (USA)|access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201018210708/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/jibetech-usa|archive-date= 18 October 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/turner-marine-usa|title= Turner Marine (USA)|access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201018210748/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/turner-marine-usa|archive-date= 18 October 2020 |url-status= live}}
George Hinterhoeller was establishing his boat building enterprise Hinterhoeller Limited in 1956, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He built 40 Y-Flyers as his first production boat, "before the market dried up".{{cite web|url = https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/26_1/editorial/3992-1.html|title = George Hinterhoeller|access-date = 6 January 2020|last = Spurr|first =Dan |work = Practical Sailor Magazine|date = 1 January 2000|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190402155245/https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/26_1/editorial/3992-1.html|archive-date = 2 April 2019}}
Design
The Y Flyer is a recreational sailboat, initially built predominantly of wood, later versions were constructed of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a flexible fractional sloop rig with wooden or aluminum spars and a rotating mast. The hull is a scow design, with a flat bottom, a reverse sheer and a hard hull chine. The hull features a vertical transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable steel or aluminum centerboard. It displaces {{convert|500|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|4.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the centerboard extended and {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.
For sailing the boat has a mainsheet traveler. It may also be optionally equipped with built-in suction bailers, barber haulers, transom flaps and hiking straps. The class rules in the United States prohibit spinnakers, but these are used for racing in Canada.
The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 88.1 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors.
Operational history
The design is a supported by an active class club, the Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association, that organizes races and regulates the boat design.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/association/y-flyer-yacht-racing-association|title= Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association|access-date= 18 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201018210750/https://sailboatdata.com/association/y-flyer-yacht-racing-association|archive-date= 18 October 2020 |url-status= live}}
By 1994 there were Canadian fleets in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. American fleets were located in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina. There were also fleets in the US
northeast and on the Pacific coast.
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "The Y Flyer has a hard chine and flat bottom and is unusually stable. A slight heel reduces wetted surface dramatically, however, as may be seen from the [Portsmouth] rating."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Hinterhoeller Yachts}}
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs}}
Category:1930s sailboat type designs
Category:Sailboat type designs by Alvin Youngquist
Category:Sailboat types built by Hinterhoeller Yachts
Category:Sailboat types built by Jack A. Helms Co.