Bruce Thompson
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Aug 5, 2009, 10:23 AM
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Lightning Retro for junior sailing
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Back in the 1960’s, Larchmont Race Week would host huge fleets of Lightnings and Blue Jays sailed by juniors. Today’s Lightning Class is very supportive of junior sailing, particularly through efforts such as the Sears Cup and the Grant Program. But the numbers of juniors who have their own Lightnings is tiny compared to the glory days. That has led to a study to determine a way to draw even more kids to the class.
Here at Fleet 5 in Chicago, we have been discussing a plan to re-introduce a Lightning more like the original Olin Stephens design we call the Lightning Retro. It detunes some of the innovations our fleet members worked on to turbocharge the original Lightning to make it more competitive with more modern designs, in the process making it more powerful and harder for kids to handle. Our fleet members, Bruce ‘The Bruin’ Goldsmith and Bob ‘Fast Boats Sail in Hot Water’ Smither, were instrumental in the decksweeper jib and oval mast revolutions. Their ideas have kept a 71 year old design current. But both also loved the class’ family appeal. We want to have both, the hotrod and the junior boat. So we're looking at two versions of a great design.
To take a page from the Laser book (ie, Laser, Laser Radial, and Laser 4.7), we are looking at various ways to de-power the rig without changing anything else. The original plans show a jib with a high foot and reef points on the main. Hiking straps and tiller extensions were way out in the future. So the plan is to take the current sail design and cut the sails down to create a smaller sail plan. We would also allow a cut down spinnaker, about the size of a Thistle spinnaker. This allows a kid to buy an old boat and sails and with minimal investment have a legal Lightning Retro. But he could also invest some sweat equity and buy new sails and move up to the full rig as he/she matures. What other class has five generations of the same family sailing the same boat?
The economics of becoming a lifelong Lightning sailor are very attractive. Click here for a link to the current classified ads for boats.
You will find everything from a new boat 15363 for $17,000 to a 15 year old boat 14652 for $8500 to a 70 year old boat 2777 for $2500. Obviously, the resale value holds up quite well. Amortized over a lifetime of Lightning sailing, the initial cost is quite modest. Which means you can buy a boat like 14652, sail it for a few years and re-sell it at about what you paid for it. Then you can buy 15363 as your improved financial position would then allow. With over 15,000 boats built, there is a boat for every budget.
The progression up the age ladder would look like this:
Starter boat - Retro main only, board partially retracted to give good balance to the helm.
Intermediate - Retro main and jib only (this would also be the collegiate dinghy version)
Advanced - Retro main, jib and spinnaker (this would be the collegiate women’s sloop version)
International - The full rig (the collegiate open sloop version)
As you can see, we have considered the needs of collegiate sailors. The class has an amazing history of being a launching pad for famous women sailors, with names like Shore, Allen, Palmer, Allison, Swett & Swanson. With a de-powered rig, it now would have the ability to accommodate a new event, the three women collegiate women’s sloop, a very suitable use for all those colleges looking for a place to spend their Title IX funds! With the full rig, it could also do open (men & women) sloop racing. That de-powered boat which earns its keep being used for sailing classes during the week can simply change dresses and be a Cinderella racer on weekends!
We’d like to hear what people think of our ideas.
Bruce Thompson
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