Y Flyer Explained

Y Flyer
Insignia:File:Y-FlyerLogo.png
Insignia Size:100px
Line Drawing:File:Y-Flyer Sailboat.png
Designer:Alvin Youngquist
Location:United States
Year:1938
No Built:2,770
Builder:Jack A. Helms Co.
Jibetech
Turner Marine
Hinterhoeller Limited
Crew:two
Draft:4feet with centerboard down
Displacement:5000NaN0
Hull Type:monohull scow
Construction:wood or fiberglass
Loa:18.17feet
Lwl:14.5feet
Beam:5.67feet
Keel Type:centerboard
Rudder Type:transom-mounted rudder
Rig Type:Bermuda rig
Sailplan:fractional rigged sloop
Sailarea Main:110square feet
Sailarea Headsail:51square feet
Sailarea Total:161square feet
D-Pn:88.1

The Y Flyer is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Alvin Youngquist in 1938 as a one-design racer and first built in 1941.[1] [2] [3]

Production

The boat design was first shown in The Rudder magazine in 1938, as plans for amateur construction. Homebuilding of the boat from spruce and plywood continued after fiberglass boats were commercially available.[1] [3]

The design was built by Jack A. Helms Co., Jibetech and more recently, by Turner Marine in the United States, but it is now out of production.[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]

George Hinterhoeller was establishing his boat building enterprise Hinterhoeller Limited in 1956, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He built 40 Y-Flyers as his first production boat, "before the market dried up".[7]

Design

The Y Flyer is a recreational sailboat, initially built predominantly of wood, later versions were constructed of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a flexible fractional sloop rig with wooden or aluminum spars and a rotating mast. The hull is a scow design, with a flat bottom, a reverse sheer and a hard hull chine. The hull features a vertical transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable steel or aluminum centerboard. It displaces 5000NaN0.[1] [3]

The boat has a draft of 4feet with the centerboard extended and 6inches with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.[1]

For sailing the boat has a mainsheet traveler. It may also be optionally equipped with built-in suction bailers, barber haulers, transom flaps and hiking straps. The class rules in the United States prohibit spinnakers, but these are used for racing in Canada.[3]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 88.1 and is normally raced with a crew of two sailors.[3]

Operational history

The design is a supported by an active class club, the Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association, that organizes races and regulates the boat design.[8]

By 1994 there were Canadian fleets in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. American fleets were located in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina. There were also fleets in the US northeast and on the Pacific coast.[3]

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "The Y Flyer has a hard chine and flat bottom and is unusually stable. A slight heel reduces wetted surface dramatically, however, as may be seen from the [Portsmouth] rating."[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Y Flyer sailboat . 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201018210604/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/y-flyer. 18 October 2020 . live.
  2. Web site: Alvin Youngquist. 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20200909195958/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/youngquist-alvin. 9 September 2020 . live.
  3. Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 96-97. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.
  4. Web site: Helms - Jack A. Helms Co. 1974 - 1984 . 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201018210649/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/helms-jack-a-helms-co. 18 October 2020 . live.
  5. Web site: Jibetech (USA). 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201018210708/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/jibetech-usa. 18 October 2020 . live.
  6. Web site: Turner Marine (USA). 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201018210748/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/turner-marine-usa. 18 October 2020 . live.
  7. Web site: George Hinterhoeller. 6 January 2020. Spurr. Dan . Practical Sailor Magazine. 1 January 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20190402155245/https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/26_1/editorial/3992-1.html. 2 April 2019.
  8. Web site: Y-Flyer Yacht Racing Association. 18 October 2020. McArthur. Bruce . sailboatdata.com. 2020. https://archive.today/20201018210750/https://sailboatdata.com/association/y-flyer-yacht-racing-association. 18 October 2020 . live.