| Lightning | |
| Insignia: | File:LightningSailboat.JPG |
| Insignia Size: | 72px |
| Line Drawing: | File:Sailingboat-lightningclass.png |
| Designer: | Olin Stephens |
| Location: | United States |
| Year: | 1938 |
| No Built: | 15,550 |
| Builder: | Clark Boat Company Lippincott Boat Works Nickels Boat Works Allen Boat Company Jack A. Helms Co. J.J. Taylor and Sons Lockley Newport Boats Skaneateles Boat & Canoe Mobjack Manufacturing Siddons & Sindle Lofland Sail-craft Eichenlaub Boat WindRider LLC |
| Role: | One-design racer |
| Draft: | 4.95feet with centerboard down |
| Displacement: | 7000NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | wood or fiberglass |
| Loa: | 19feet |
| Lwl: | 15.25feet |
| Beam: | 6.5feet |
| Keel Type: | centerboard |
| Rudder Type: | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| I: | 20feet |
| J: | 6.91feet |
| P: | 24feet |
| E: | 10feet |
| Sailplan: | fractional rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 120square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 69.1square feet |
| Sailarea Spin: | 300square feet |
| Sailarea Total: | 189.1square feet |
| D-Pn: | 88.4 |
The Lightning is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens, as a one-design racer and first built in 1938.[1] [2] [3]
An accepted World Sailing class, the boat is one of the most popular one-design sailing classes in the United States and is also raced in several other countries.[1] [3]
The design was developed into a smaller boat, as a trainer for the Lightning, the Blue Jay in 1947.[4]
The design has been built by a large number of manufacturers in the United States and also in Canada. There have been 15,550 boats completed and it remains in production by the Allen Boat Company.[1] [5] [6]
In the past it has been built in the US by the Clark Boat Company, Lippincott Boat Works, Nickels Boat Works, Jack A. Helms Co., Lockley Newport Boats, Skaneateles Boat & Canoe, Mobjack Manufacturing, Siddons & Sindle, Lofland Sail-craft, the Eichenlaub Boat Co and WindRider LLC. It was also built in Canada by J.J. Taylor and Sons Ltd.[1]
Boats have been delivered complete, sold as kits for amateur construction and also amateur-built from plans.[3]
The Lightning is a recreational sailboat, initially built with wooden plank construction and, since the early 1960s, of fiberglass with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig with wooden or aluminum spars. The rig employs a backstay, anchored off center, so as to not impede the tiller. If equipped with a wooden mast it has a jumper stay from the mast head to the spreaders. The hull has a foredeck, with a V-shaped coaming, a raked stem, an angled transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centerboard. It displaces 7000NaN0 and carries a class-prescribed maximum of 1300NaN0 in centerboard weight.[1] [3]
The boat has a draft of 4.95feet with the centerboard extended and 5inches with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]
For sailing the design is equipped with a 300square feet spinnaker. Mainsail and jib windows are optional for improved visibility and safety.[3]
The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 88.4[3] and is normally raced with a crew of three sailors, although it can accommodate six adults.[7] [8]
The boat has an active class club that regulates the design and organizes races, the International Lightning Class Association.[9] By 1994 there were more than 460 racing fleets in Canada, Europe, South America and the United States.[3]
In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood noted that the design has good freeboard and stability.[3]
See main article: Lightning World Championship, Youth Lightning World Championship and Masters Lightning World Championship.
Related development