Dinghy Show - new hulls for the Flying Fifteen

by Sail-World/Gerald New on 8 Mar 2006 An abundance of riches for the Flying Fifteen class at the 2006 Dinghy Show, where the two major builders were showing their latest developments of the long lived Uffa Fox design.

As with most of the older one designs changes are mainly of a cosmetic nature to take advantage of new materials and techniques and builders pushing the limits of the tight tolerances

Now well established as the small keel boat with strong residuals, the class has seen a resurgence of European interest since the first European championship was held in Spain.


Always popular in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the class has seen numbers grow in Spain, France and Belgium in recent years. Following the European championship in the UK at Hayling Island SC this year - the next Worlds will take place in Mallorca, Spain in 2007.

With this heightened interest, Bret Dingwall had the first boat off his modified Dingwall mould at the Show. Bret, who has had great success with his FF and National 12 hulls in recent years, has modified the fifteen moulds very slightly in the search for more off-wind speed in the normal slightly heeled planing position for the fifteen.

Thus, he has 'straightened the chine' from the rear bulkhead point to the stern to promote an easy transition to the plane. He also expects the lengthened waterline to provide a windward speed improvement as well. The boat at the show was the first off the mou8ld and was for Mike Firth, Bret expects there to be five of the new hulls at the Europeans in July.

Over on the Ovington stand, the other major fifteen builders, there was a new deck mould on display.

This is the result of a fundamental look at the building process involved with the existing deck mould for the latest Ovington 10, and feedback from owners to improve the sailability of the boat.

The new mould allows quicker, stronger building and provides a cleaner interior, with the removal of several water retention points. The first fifteens with the new deck are expected later in the season.

With the Worlds in Europe next year the qualification series for the British fleet will be the five championships:

The Northern’s at Derwent 29/30 April, the Southerns at Weymouth & Portland 13/14 May, the UK Nationals at S Caernarvonshire 16/18 June, the Scottish at Royal Northern 26/27 Aug and the Inlands at Carsington 30/1 Sept 2006. The FF European Championship is at Hayling Island SC 8 to 14 July 2006 and the FF World Championship on Mallorca 3 to 16 June 2007.

Class website: http://flying15.pncl.co.uk/gbr