16ft Corsair Dinghy
The Corsair is a class of sixteen foot three handed sailing dinghy. The boat was designed by Australian designer Alan Payne who is famous for designing Sir Frank Packers challenge yacht Gretel II.
The boat is built in fiberglass and is a incredibly heavy boat with minimum race weight being 136kg and many boats frequently exceeding that. The sail area for the weight is small leading to the boat acting similar to a small keelboat in feel. The overhanded crew and no leaning out devices adds to this effect. This also makes the boat ideal for sail training as its strength and stability allow inexperienced sailors to jump in with more knowledgeable instructors; the boat is capable of taking up to 6 people and sometimes more in training situations. The class is also preferred by elder yachties as less physical strength or balance is required to race these boats with a "mind over matter" approach to sailing; there are still regular competitors with ages past 70.
As a race boat the low speeds of the class lead to close tactical racing in the wide range of conditions the boat is capable of being sailed in. Past national championships have been recorded as taking place in conditions which would be deemed out of the question in todays liability filled environment. The class holds many class events such as the Corsair State Championships, Corsair National Championship and the National Corsair Youth Championship. Though numbers have dwindled in recent years a core group of sailors still continue to via for these titles.