What is an Optimist?

"...a flat-bottomed, hard-chine, pram-bow dinghy with a una spritsail"
(The Observer's Book of Small Craft)

"...a bathtub that breeds the best sailors"
(an observant sailor)

Designed in 1947 by Clark Mills specifically as a training boat for younger kids, the Optimist is, quite simply, the dinghy in which the young people of the world learn to sail. Sailed in over 110 countries by more than 150,000 young people, it is the ONLY dinghy approved by the International Sailing Federation exclusively for sailors under 16 years of age. More than half of the dinghy skippers at the Sydney Olympics were former Optimist sailors.

At 7 1/2 feet long, almost 4 feet wide, and weighing only 77 pounds, the Optimist is safe and simple enough for an 8-year old, but is exciting and technically challenging enough for a 15-year old. Perfect for kids from 50 to 110 pounds, the Opti can easily carry two kids, even a kid and an adult (one with short legs!)

Take a Byte!

The Byte is a high performance racing dinghy similar to the Laser, but sized to fit young people from 90 to 160 pounds.

These 12 foot boats were designed to be the "next step" for young sailors who have learned the basics in the Opti.