ONBOARD C

The Windmill class BY VANESSA BIRD

he name Clark Mills may not be instantly recognisable to Teveryone, but mention the name ‘’, and there are few people who haven’t heard of it, or indeed sailed on one. It was Mills who designed the Optimist in 1947, and since then the 7ft 7in (2.3m)

pram has become one of the M SHERMAN most universally recognised in existence. The Windmill, in Francisco Bay in 40-knot winds that Above: despite its BUILD TIME contrast, is probably not instantly left few boats upright – not bad for a size, the Windmill According to the class association, recognisable outside the USA, and 15ft (4.6m) foredeck-less dinghy! is well suited building a wooden Windmill takes although the Optimist’s bigger To look at, you wouldn’t think it to in c200 hours, excluding fi nishing work. sibling, designed by Mills in 1953, was suitable for heavy weather heavy weather has not gained international sailing, but the Windmill is a capable BUOYANCY recognition to the same extent, or little dinghy and fast, too. With its Full-length buoyancy tanks run from indeed come near to the number of long run aft, sharp forebody and bow to stern. Ideal crew weight is boats built, it is unusual in being one high-aspect ratio daggerboard, it will 275lb-350lb (125kg-159kg). of the only high-performance plane in just 10 knots, but its narrow dinghies that has been designed beam of 4ft 9in (1.5m) means that it ONE-DESIGN specifi cally for home construction. can be quite tender to sail, so crews The Windmill is a One Design so strict Mills’s desire was to produce a need to be nimble-footed. Originally, rules have to be adhered to, and the boat that could be built with minimal Mills intended the design to be sailed boats have to be oK cially measured boatbuilding skills. It was designed as by 14 to 16-year olds, but it soon before they can race. SPECIFICATIONS the natural successor to the Optimist, became apparent that these boats one that required honed skills to sail, needed a reasonable amount of crew LOA ANOTHER WINDMILL? and which could be crewed by two in ballast to prevent them being 15ft 6in Don’t confuse this Windmill with the local races. Although not fi tted with a overpowered, and today the (4.75m) GRP simulated clinker Windmill built spinnaker or trapeze, the hard-chined Windmills are mostly sailed by adults. by JEP Marine. The latter was 12ft dinghy was still designed to be The Windmill was designed with LWL (3.7m) LOA with tan sails. challenging, and to put on a similar ease of construction in mind, and 13ft 8in HOME BUILDING performance with contemporary, wooden hulls can be built from four (4.2m) professional-built designs. sheets of ¼in (6mm) ply. Unlike many Plans for the design are still available It was a bold remit, but one that of its contemporaries, the Windmill BEAM from the Windmill Class Association, Mills soon achieved, quieting the has no frames within the hull, relying 4ft 9in and cost $60 (£37.50). doubters as it took to the podium at entirely on stringers, (1.5m) several major events. Ten years after or longerons, for stiffness, in addition COST it was conceived, in 1963, a Windmill to the transom and two thwarts. DRAUGHT To build a wooden Windmill from was pitted against its contemporaries This means that the hull is relatively 4ft 2in/6in scratch costs between $3,500-$5,000 at the One of a Kind Regatta lightweight at 198lb (90kg) – an (1.2m/15cm) (£2,190-£3,129), but kits and hulls sponsored by magazine in International 505, in comparison, for fi tting out are also available. Miami, and despite winds exceeding which was designed in the same year SAIL AREA New GRP Windmills cost 26 knots during the racing, fi nished and is just 1ft (30cm) longer, is nearly 119sqft around $8,000 (£5,000). third in class, behind the Thistle and double that weight. Glassfi bre has (11m²) International . Three years later, proved popular, too, as has composite CONTACT the design proved its success wasn’t wood/epoxy construction, and all WEIGHT windmillclass.myfl eet.org a one-off either, when it crossed the methods are permitted by the class. 198lb (90kg) line in fi rst place, leaving 32 boats in Celebrating its 60th anniversary in DESIGNER Vanessa’s book, Classic its wake. Remarkably, in 1967, the 2013, the Windmill is now popular in Clark Mills Classes , is a must-buy. Windmill won the Heavy Weather 42 states across America, and in For more details, go to

One of a Kind Regatta on San Canada and Finland, too. www.classicboat.co.uk

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