New Zealand Dinghy Exhibition ends on Sunday
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 6 Oct 2018 06:34 PDT
Townson dinghies - NZ Dinghy Exhibition 2018 © Richard Gladwell
The New Zealand Dinghy Exhibition, which is part of the Auckland Heritage Festival, closes at 4.00pm on Sunday.
It features many of the classes that have made up New Zealand's history of dinghy sailing and have launched more than a few significant design careers.
Centrepiece of the show is the M class Mach One which has had a makeover to bring the class up to a new level ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2022. The makeover includes the addition of carbon spars, and the images below tell the rest of the story.
Also on show is the latest R-class built in the best traditions of the class - and is a foiling monohull in a similar style to the AC75 - except the R class was developed a year before the AC75.
It is also notable for being built by a 17 year old, as part of a school project. While early sailing trials were a little fraught, subsequent refinements have got the boat to the point where she can be sailed in two-sail mode, singlehanded and in stable flight while foil-borne.
The other classes on display include the P class, Idle Alongs, Silver Ferns, Frostbites, Darts, Javelins, Sunbursts, NZ Moths and many more. A feature of the Exhibitions is the large scale, high quality reproductions of the original line drawings of many of the old classes - all of which played a significant role in New Zealand's dinghy sailing culture.
And best of all the exhibition is free!