The Heron Dinghy is a dinghy designed by Jack Holt of the United Kingdom 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.
 Learning to sail in a Heron, West Lakes, South Australia | |
| Boat | |
|---|---|
| Crew | 2 (max) |
| Hull | |
| Hull weight | 63.7 kg (140 lb) |
| LOA | 3.429 m (11.25 ft) |
| Beam | 1.372 m (4 ft 6.0 in) |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 4.78 m2 (51.5 sq ft) |
| Jib/genoa area | Jib: 1.72 m2 (18.5 sq ft) Genoa: 2.83 m2 (30.5 sq ft) |
| Spinnaker area | 6.36 m2 (68.5 sq ft) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 120.0 |
| RYA PN | 1346 |
Since about 1980 boats have been increasingly made of Fibreglass, although the Australian association has approved stitch and glue construction .
The Heron is sailed in the UK and Australia and New Zealand, with a few others spread around the world. UK class rules vary slightly from the Australian Rules.[how?] 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.[1] 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.[2]
They are mainly used as adult/child racing dinghies.[citation needed] For state and national titles the Olympic triangle course is often used.[citation needed]
The Heron has a Portsmouth Yardstick of 1346 when sailed single handed.[3] In the US Sailing scheme it has a D-PN of 120.0.[4]
Over 10,500 Heron sail numbers have been issued since the design first appeared in the late 1950s.[5]
The first Heron, No 1 Flook still exists and is now owned by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.[6]
References
edit- ^ UK Heron Association Archived 9 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ I sailed in the Dublin Bay fleet and at regional events in Skerries, Howth, and Cork Harbour during that period
- ^ "Portsmouth Number List 2012". Royal Yachting Association. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Centerboard Classes-Inactive". US Sailing. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "National Heron Sailing Association of Australia". Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
- ^ Heron #1 "Flook" – BC08 www.nmmc.co.uk, accessed 11 November 2020
External links
editUK heron Dinghy Class Association:
National Heron Sailing Association of Australia:
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
