The Bombardier 7.6 is a Canadian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by

Ron Holland Ronald John Holland (born 1947 in Auckland, New Zealand)Ron Holland:Desi ...

as a racer and first built in 1980.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 378. International Marine/

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...

, 2010.

Production

The design was built by Bombardier Limited in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

between 1980 and 1983, with about 163 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Bombardier 7.6 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. It has a fractional sloop rig, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a slightly

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The design is normally fitted with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

of for docking and maneuvering. Several different port configurations were used during production, including a single and double side portlight. The design has sleeping accommodation for five people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, an dinette table in the main cabin that converts to a double berth and an aft starboard quarter berth. Cabin headroom is . The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 165, with a low of 159 and a high of 171.

Operational history

In 2009 a Bombardier 7.6, named ''Gizmo'', sailed by Marc Doedens and his father, Ric Doedens, won the overall Lake Ontario 300 competition. In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: She is quick and agile, and with her Ron Holland pedigree, she is apt to make the average around-the-buoys racer happy, while still serving the typical young sailing family as an overnight cruiser. Worst features: Her iron keel and thin hull may need more than the usual amount of maintenance to keep in first-class condition."

References

External links

* {{Bombardier sailboats Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Ron Holland Sailboat types built by Bombardier Limited

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links