Lightning (dinghy)

Lightning
Development
DesignerOlin Stephens
LocationUnited States
Year1938
No. built15,550
Builder(s)Clark Boat Company
Lippincott Boat Works
Nickels Boat Works
Allen Boat Company
Jack A. Helms Co.
J.J. Taylor and Sons
Lockley Newport Boats
Skaneateles Boat & Canoe
Mobjack Manufacturing
Siddons & Sindle
Lofland Sail-craft
Eichenlaub Boat
WindRider LLC
RoleOne-design racer
NameLightning
Boat
Displacement700 lb (318 kg)
Draft4.95 ft (1.51 m) with centerboard down
Hull
Typemonohull
Constructionwood or fiberglass
LOA19.00 ft (5.79 m)
LWL15.25 ft (4.65 m)
Beam6.50 ft (1.98 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board typecenterboard
Rudder(s)transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig typeBermuda rig
I foretriangle height20.00 ft (6.10 m)
J foretriangle base6.91 ft (2.11 m)
P mainsail luff24.00 ft (7.32 m)
E mainsail foot10.00 ft (3.05 m)
Sails
Sailplanfractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area120.00 sq ft (11.148 m2)
Jib/genoa area69.10 sq ft (6.420 m2)
Spinnaker area300 sq ft (28 m2)
Total sail area189.10 sq ft (17.568 m2)
Racing
D-PN88.4

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]

  1. ^ a b McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Lightning sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. ^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Sparkman & Stephens". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b 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
  4. ^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Blue Jay sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.