The Heron Dinghy is a

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as the Yachting World Cartopper (YW Cartopper). The Heron dinghy was designed to be built by a home handyman out of marine ply over a timber frame, but can now also be constructed from marine ply using a stitch and glue technique or from Fibreglass. Modern dinghies will usually have built in buoyancy tanks, older craft will have bags or retrofitted tanks. Since about 1980 boats have been increasingly made of Fibreglass, although the Australian association has approved

stitch and glue Stitch and glue is a simple boat building method which uses plywood panels temporarily stitched together, typically with wire or zip-ties, and glued together permanently with epoxy resin. This type of construction can eliminate much of the need f ...

construction . The Heron is sailed in the UK and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and New Zealand, with a few others spread around the world. UK class rules vary slightly from the Australian Rules. In the UK a spinnaker is permitted and a larger genoa can be used. The UK also permits the use of different rudder shapes and a Bermudan Mast. Other more minor differences exist between the rules.UK Heron Association
The Heron cartop dinghy was popular in Ireland from the late 1950s until the arrival of the Mirror which was lighter, easier to build, and had built in buoyancy.I sailed in the Dublin Bay fleet and at regional events in Skerries, Howth, and Cork Harbour during that period They are mainly used as adult/child racing dinghies. For state and national titles the Olympic triangle course is often used. The Heron has 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 1346 when sailed single handed. In the

US Sailing The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers t ...

scheme it has a D-PN of 120.0. The Heron has been a popular entry-level sailing dinghy, due largely to its high level of stability. The craft design features hard chines. These are sharp angles between the sides and bottom of the hull, giving it great stability even in rough weather conditions. This makes it easier for a relative novice to avoid capsizing. A round-hulled craft requires a lot more skill to keep upright. Over 10,200 Heron sail numbers have been issued since the design first appeared in the late 1950s. The first Heron, No 1 ''Flook'' still exists and is now owned by the

National Maritime Museum Cornwall The National Maritime Museum, Cornwall is located in a harbourside building at Falmouth in Cornwall, England. The building was designed by architect M. J. Long, following an architectural design competition managed by RIBA Competitions. The ...

.Heron #1 "Flook" – BC08
''www.nmmc.co.uk'', accessed 11 November 2020

References

External links

UK heron Dinghy Class Association:
Official Site of the UK Heron Dinghy Class Association
National Heron Sailing Association of Australia:
Official Site of the National Heron Sailing Association of Australia
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron (Dinghy) Dinghies Boats designed by Jack Holt