Many different boat classes are sailed at Burwain and due to the lakes size certain classes and size of boat are preferred. If you are new to sailing the BIG QUESTION is ‘What type of boat should I sail”. Below are some of the more popular classes sailed at the club. There is no single fleet ownership policy so you can sail and race most types of dinghy you want. Members can participate in the racing under our Portsmouth Yardstick Handicap System which allows for different classes of boat to sail competitively against each other.
Popular Boat Classes
There are certain boat classes which are popular with club members creating a number of ‘mini fleets’ which are growing steadily The benefits of these mini fleets is that when racing you can pitt your skills against boats of the equal performance.
Below is a list of the popular dinghy classes sailed at Burwain:
Laser
Single hander
A popular choice due to the simple rigging system. It’s fast and in the right conditions it can be very demanding.The ability to change the sail size between the standard, radial and even the small 4.7 rigs makes it great for a mixed sizes of sailors and different wind conditions.
Topper
Junior single hander
Toppers are a very popular class of boat for young children and teenagers. With different size sails it can be rigged to suit the size of its helm and the weather conditions. Its popularity means there are always other ‘Topper class’ events that you can attend and compete. Its plastic hull design can also take the knocks and bumps that occurs with juniors learning to sail.