| Comet | |
| Designer: | C. Lowndes Johnson |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1932 |
| No Built: | 4,100 |
| Builder: | Lippincott Boat Works Customflex David Beaton & Sons Skaneateles Boat & Canoe Co. Siddons & Sindle Whitecap Composites |
| Role: | One-design racer |
| Draft: | 1.75feet with the centerboard down |
| Displacement: | 2600NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | Monohull |
| Construction: | wood or Fiberglass |
| Loa: | 16feet |
| Lwl: | 15feet |
| Beam: | 5.5feet |
| Keel Type: | centerboard |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| Sailplan: | Fractional rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 110square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 25square feet |
| Sailarea Total: | 135square feet |
| D-Pn: | 92.0 |
The Comet, sometimes called the Comet OD or Comet One-Design, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by C. Lowndes Johnson as a one-design racer and first built in 1932. The design has evolved over time via modifications.[1] [2]
The design was intended as a smaller version of the Star keelboat, making it easier to transport.[3]
The design was first shown in an article in Yachting in 1932 and was initially built from wood by the Skaneateles Boat & Canoe Co. Later builders included the Lippincott Boat Works, Customflex and Siddons & Sindle. The current builder is Whitecap Composites of Peabody, Massachusetts, United States. It remains in production, with more than 4,100 boats completed in total.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Plans for the design remain available for amateur construction.[9]
The Comet is a recreational planing sailboat, built predominantly of wood or fiberglass. It has a fractional sloop rig with aluminum spars, running backstays and an optional headstay. The hull features hard chines, a spooned raked stem, an angled transom, a rounded, transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable, drum-controlled, metal centerboard. The boat displaces 2600NaN0.[1] [2] [3]
The Comet has a draft of 1.75feet with the centerboard extended and 6inches with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]
To keep it up to date, the class association has allowed modifications to the design over the years, including the addition of self-bailers, a full width mainsheet traveler, windows in the mainsail and jib for visibility and buoyancy tanks to make the boat unsinkable.[2]
The boat has a boom vang and adjustable backstays. It has two different rigging options, one with three stays supporting the mast and an alternate rig with a jumper and seven stays. Current factory options include a ball-bearing mainsheet traveler, mast rake controls and leading of all lines to the cockpit for control while hiking.[2] [3]
The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 92.0 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors.[2]
The design is supported by an active class club, the Comet Class Association. The association has 14 fleets in the eastern US, plus one in Bermuda.[10] [11]
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "an older design, the Comet has many modern features. The bottom is flat and the afterbody is broad. She planes. The Comet is a one-design with rigid controls on size, shape, and materials. Minor modifications through the years have kept her up-to-date."[2]
Related development