“I distributed the drawings myself” – Paul Elvstrom

“One of my all time favorite dinghies” – Jeremy Evans (Y&Y test)

..”an excellent boat” – Paul Elvstrom

“The boat is simply awesome to sail…..streets ahead of a Laser.”  - Karl Purdie (NZL – OK World Champ 2008)

There’s a nice online review from Yachts & Yachting here.

{Don’t forget to look on the photo and video pages too!}

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Overview & History

The OK Dinghy is a lightweight single-handed planing dinghy with an unstayed mast and a moderately big rig.

Originally designed as a trainer for the Olympic Finn dinghy, it has followed developments in the Finn class over the years.  It’s in France, Belgium, Germany, all the Nordic countries, Poland, Australia and NZ, and is starting up again in the Netherlands. There’s a thriving fleet in the UK.

The class grew quickly in the 1960′s and 1970′s until the arrival of the Laser dinghy slowed its growth.  After slower times in the 1980s and 1990s the class has been undergoing a revival.  Its combination of handling, low cost, tune-ability, durability, international class racing and a reputation for fun sailing makes it an attractive combination for all kinds of sailors.

It’s more comfortable than a Laser, a lot lighter than a Finn, comparable in speed to both, and nicer to sail than either.. (although the Finn is a magnificent boat it’s much heavier and much more work.)

Design & Characteristics

OK Dinghies have a flat deck and deep cockpit.  This layout makes the hull very rigid and long-lasting and gives the helm a secure working area.  The chined hull makes the OK dinghy a very stable planing platform.  Moderate rocker makes the boat a delight to handle in light airs.

Hulls in wood, GRP or epoxy are all competitive.  The current winning hull shapes are mostly designs in use since the 1970s and hulls 20+ years old have shown to be fully on the pace.

Apart from the carbon rig, one of the main drivers of resurgence in the OK Dinghy class is the Olympic status of the Laser. This makes it a very serious fleet.  The OK Dinghy is now the best non-Olympic singlehanded fleet available around the world.  Sail because you enjoy it!

Ideal racing weight for the OK Dinghy is anywhere in the 80-100+kg range.  Cut-down rigs have been developed and used very successfully for lighter sailors, particularly youths and women, even in open competition.

	OK Dinghy	Finn	Laser	RS100
ISAF Status	International	International	International	Manuf one design
Designer	Knud Olsen	Rickard Sarby	Bruce Kirby	Paul Handly
National Origins	USA/Denmark	Sweden	Canada	UK
Year Designed	1957	1949	1971	2009
Hull Length	4.00 m	4.50 m	4.20 m	4.3 m
Beam	1.42 m	1.47 m	1.39 m	1.83 m
Mainsail Area	8.95 m2	10.6 m2	7.06 m2	7.4/8.4/10.4 m2
Boat Weight	72 kg	145 kg	59 kg	80 kg
PY Number	1109	1060	1085	996

The rules for the class can be seen at the International Sailing Federation website’s OK Dinghy page here.

It’s interesting to compare a few dinghy handicap systems.

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