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Sailing

Buy the fleet,
not the boat.

A sailing dinghy should almost never be chosen on construction material. The local class fleet, club support, spares availability and the training pathway decide whether the boat gets sailed. Everything else is a detail.

How to buy a sailing dinghy

Suppliers

Who supplies these boats in Australia

Four supplier and builder profiles cover most Australian club purchases.

United Kingdom

RS Sailing

One supplier, the whole pathway

19 listedView →

Australia

Performance Sailcraft Australia

The home of the ILCA in Australia

11 listedView →

Australia

NB Sailsports

One call, many classes

11 listedView →

International

Optimist Builders

Australia's junior development standard

4 listedView →

International

O'pen Skiff

Junior sailing that actually looks fun

1 listedView →

Australia

Pacer

The club and school workhorse

1 listedView →

Class group

Junior

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Sabot	1–2	~2.4 m	Australia	A long-standing Australian junior trainer, sailed single-handed and double-handed depending on the club program.
Minnow	1	~2.4 m	Australia	An Australian junior single-hander used as a first racing boat in many club programs.
Manly Junior	2	~2.6 m	Australia	A two-person Australian junior class that teaches crew work early, including spinnaker handling.
Flying 11	2	~3.4 m	Australia	A quick two-person Australian junior class, traditionally the step up from Manly Junior and Sabot.
Optimist	1	~2.3 m	International	The world's most widely sailed junior development dinghy, with Green Fleet programs at clubs nationwide.
RS Tera	1	2.87 m	United Kingdom	Approximately 39 kg hull with Tera Sport and Tera Pro rigs and an optional smaller Minisail.

Class group

Junior / Youth

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
O'pen Skiff	1	~2.9 m	International	Modern planing junior boat with an open, self-draining transom. Roughly 30–65 kg ideal sailor range per the Australian class.

Class group

Training

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
RS Zest	1–2	—	United Kingdom	A stable, forgiving training dinghy designed for sailing schools and family use.
RS Quest	2–4	—	United Kingdom	A versatile training and adventure dinghy used widely by schools and scouting programs.

Class group

Youth

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
RS Feva	2	—	United Kingdom	The most widely sailed youth double-hander in the RS pathway, with an international class.
ILCA 4	1	~4.2 m	International	The smallest rig on the ILCA platform, for lighter and developing sailors.

Class group

Training / Inclusive

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
RS Venture	2–4	—	United Kingdom	An adult trainer, with the Venture Connect configuration used for accessible and inclusive sailing.

Class group

Performance

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
RS Aero	1	—	United Kingdom	A very light performance single-hander with multiple rig sizes.

Class group

Training / Family

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Mirror	2	~3.3 m	United Kingdom	A classic family and training double-hander with a distinctive gunter rig, still sailed at Australian clubs.
Heron	2	~3.4 m	Australia	A long-established Australian family and training class with strong club heritage.

Class group

Training / Club

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Pacer	2	3.8 m	Australia	3.8 m, 1.5 m beam, approximately 59 kg minimum hull weight, with main, jib and spinnaker.

Class group

Adult single-handed

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Sabre	1	~3.8 m	Australia	A popular Australian single-handed class with a wide sailor weight range and strong club fleets.
Impulse	1	~3.6 m	Australia	An Australian single-handed class with established fleets in several states.
OK Dinghy	1	~4.0 m	International	A classic unstayed single-hander with an international class and a serious racing culture.
Finn	1	~4.5 m	International	The heavyweight single-handed classic, long an Olympic class and still strongly raced by masters fleets.

Class group

Youth / Adult

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
ILCA 6	1	~4.2 m	International	The intermediate rig, widely used by youth, women and lighter adults.

Class group

Adult

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
ILCA 7	1	~4.2 m	International	The full rig. PSA describes it as suited approximately to sailors in the 75–90 kg range.

Class group

Adult double-handed

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Tasar	2	~4.5 m	Australia	An Australian-designed two-person class with no spinnaker and no trapeze, sailed hard by couples and masters fleets.

Class group

Development

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
NS14	2	~4.3 m	Australia	An Australian development class where hull design evolves within a restricted rule.
MG14	2	~4.3 m	Australia	A fast Australian two-person development class with a spinnaker.

Class group

Development skiff

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
Cherub	2	~3.7 m	Australia / NZ	A high-performance two-person development skiff with trapeze and asymmetric kite.

Class group

Youth double-handed

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
420	2	~4.2 m	International	An international youth double-hander with trapeze and spinnaker, used widely in training squads.

Class group

Adult / Olympic

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
470	2	~4.7 m	International	The long-standing Olympic two-person class, technical and physically demanding.

Class group

Youth skiff

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
29er	2	~4.4 m	International	The youth skiff standard: asymmetric spinnaker, single trapeze, very quick.

Class group

Olympic skiff

Class	Crew	Length	Origin	Character
49er	2	~4.9 m	International	The Olympic high-performance double-trapeze skiff.