[Joe Hutchinson]

I came to SailboatData to look up some more info on dingies I found in the 1974 first ed. of “Sailing Boats of the World” by Rhonda Budd (1235 pages). So far, I’ve discovered many good results, but I’ve also hit several boats of some following that aren’t listed and 1 that doesn’t appear right. As I’ve got 40+ boats marked with post-its, bound to be more. Hope I can add to your data base.

My 1st search was for an “Arrow” (my book page 26) designed by John C. Thorpe, Canada 1972. She’s a 125 lb., 12’4″ LOA, 4’9″ Beam, centerboard, Una rig. “Single hander. Small but popular class world-wide.” There are several Arrows here but none match this description.

“Caravelle” which you show as a pram hull but has a sharp bow in the book. The dimensions are similar, varying about 5%. Pram displacement differs more. Book says “Takes up to 6 adults. A roomy daysailer of conventional design.” That doesn’t sound like a pram. Made in USA, France, Holland.

Not found here: “Chipmunk” 65 lb., 11’ LOA, 4’ Beam, centerboard, Una rig. Only $300 at debut. Designed by Ian Proctor and George O’Day in 1970 and 3000 built in USA alone in the 4 years before my book was printed.

“Dart”, a 14 foot dingy, 5’ beam, 200 lb., Una rig, self draining cockpit. Variable centerboard and mast positions. Single-hander, “fast, easy to handle.” Designed by Trevor Kirby and made in England at his company. You show only Dart cats and all longer.

Not found: “Deluxe Sail” (gee, what a great name), 8’2″ LOA, 4’2″ beam, 82 lb., cat rig. $395 clams. Made by American Fiberglass Corp, USA. American class boat.

Not found: “Cub Scow”, 12’3″ LOA, 4’6″ beam, 150 lb., dagger board, Una rig, self bailing. $750 omrp. Races in 12 foot scow class. Designed by Robert Holmgren, USA, 1967. Made by Seago and Cub Scow associations.

“Interdane 404”, 13’4″ LOA, 4’4″ beam, 154 lb., centerboard, sloop rig, $990. Designed by Peer Bruun, 1968. She’s quick and looks similar in profile to his later pedestrian Flipper Export but is not a scow. “2 crew. Straps and trapeze used. Easy for novice to handle yet sensitive to the touch of experienced sailors.”

This last boat appears to be related to your “Javelin Skiff” by same designer, some details and location are different. Your other Javelins in 14 LOA are from 1960, dimensions a bit different and designer too.

“Javelin”, 14 footer, 5’6″ beam, 145 lb., wood hull, centerboard, sloop rig. Designed by John Spencer, USA 1965. Supplier: John Kennedy, USA. Quick boat. “2 crew. Straps and trapeze used. 4000 in circulation throughout the world” (1974)

I’ve got ~1200 boats in this old book and 30 more post-its to go!

Topic

[PaulK]

Chapelle lists hundreds of vessels in his book “The American Sailing Navy”. Not sure if any of them appear on Sailboatdata’s site. Perhaps because they’re not really pertinent? There are very likely Russian books about dinghies made in Russia too, and those boats may not show up on Sailboat data either. Until Google gets done with digitizing everything – which may take a while – don’t expect to find everything online. Boats that the editors of your book felt compelled to include in their tome may not have been the big hits that their builders hoped, back 40 years ago.

Taking a different tack, please note that there is also no copyright on boat names. Six different designers could each have different designs all called “Rocket”. They could be built by twenty different builders in a dozen different countries. Some could be trimarans, others foilers. Some could be powerboats. For fun, look up how many “Spray” designs there are- several by just one naval architect. If it is any consolation, many of the dinghies whose prices you mention could probably be purchased now for less, if you can find one.

[Bruce_Sailboatdata]

Wow. Thanks for reaching out and sending the information. We have a number of books and brochures in our library but not Sailing Boats of the World by Rhonda Budd. That will be resolved soon as we have ordered a copy.

So you know, adding a record is not as straight forward as you might think. Numbers can vary book to book, year to year, even one builder’s brochure to the next. And as “psk” mentions, there is no copy right on names.

Also, we only include production boats, no one-offs (unless there is a very significant historical reason). We like to know that a minimum of 3-4 hulls were produced before we add a model.

We have been working on our database for the past 17 years, and counting, and believe we have one of the world’s largest at this point but we also know there are hundreds, maybe thousands, we have not included yet. But we’re trying !

[Bruce_Sailboatdata]

OMG, I do have Sailing Boats of the World! If you want to give us a heads-up on a boat not in our database, just send us the name and page number. We’ll take it from there.

[Author]

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