The Dart 16 is a one-design 4.80 m long sailing

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

. It is designed to be sailed by two people. It races off a

Portsmouth Yardstick The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the han ...

of 863.

History

Design

The Dart 16 is a modern beach catamaran that is fast, affordable, and seaworthy. Like most Dart catamarans except for the Dart 20 EXP it lacks the main

boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

, as well as

daggerboard A daggerboard is a retractable centreboard used by various sailing craft. While other types of centreboard may pivot to retract, a daggerboard slides in a casing. The shape of the daggerboard converts the forward motion into a windward lift, cou ...

s, spreaders, and complicated trimming mechanisms. The lower part of the hulls have skegs typical for a beach catamaran. The most noticeable difference to the popular

Dart 18 The Dart 18 is a one-design long glassfibre sailing catamaran. It is designed to be sailed by two people and can achieve speeds of up to 20 knots. This is reflected in its Portsmouth Yardstick of 805 and D-PN of 76.3 History The Dart 18 was de ...

and Sprint 15 catamarans is that the hulls are made out of Tecrothene, a thermo plastic. This material is very impact- and scratch-resistant, but somewhat heavier and harder to repair than

fiberglass 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 cloth ...

. The kick-up rudders are similar to the

Hobie 16 The ISAF International Class Hobie 16 (H16) is a popular catamaran manufactured by the Hobie Cat Company for racing and day sailing. The craft was the driving force behind the popularization of beachcats and was recently inducted into the Sail ...

. The

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...

consists of a rotating aero-dynamically shaped aluminum mast held by a forestay and two shroud wires. There is a

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

for the crew. The mainsail does not have a boom is fully battened and is controlled by a main sheet with a 6:1 mechanical advantage. The main sheet system has ball-bearing block system with a ratchet and jamming cleat. The option of a

gennaker A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the for ...

sail is available.

References

External links

Dart 16
at Performance Sailcraft Europe Ltd
UKIDA Dart 16 Association
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Catamarans Dinghies Sailboat types built by LaserPerformance

History

Design

See also

References

External links