Designers Choice

Designers Choice

Class symbol
Development
Designer	Sparkman & Stephens
Location	United States
Year	1978
No. built	1500
Builder(s)	Howmar Boats
Role	Sailing dinghy
Name	Designers Choice
Boat
Displacement	315 lb (143 kg)
Draft	3.00 ft (0.91 m) with the centerboard down
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	Fiberglass
LOA	14.87 ft (4.53 m)
LWL	12.75 ft (3.89 m)
Beam	6.08 ft (1.85 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	centerboard
Rudder(s)	transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
Sails
Sailplan	Fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area	82 sq ft (7.6 m^2)
Jib/genoa area	38 sq ft (3.5 m^2)
Total sail area	120 sq ft (11 m^2)
Racing
D-PN	101.3

The Designers Choice is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Sparkman & Stephens as a sail training and racing boat and first built in 1978. It was Sparkman & Stephens' design #2349.^[1][2][3]

The Designers Choice was later developed into the Shadow, by making the cockpit longer and deeper and adding internal seating.^[1]

Production

The design was built by Howmar Boats in the United States starting in 1978. A total of 1,500 boats were produced, but the company went out of business in 1983 and the boat went out of production at that time.^[1][3][4]

Design

The Designers Choice is a recreational sailboat, built predominantly of fiberglass. The hull design is flat aft, so the boat will plane. It has a fractional sloop rig with anodized aluminum spars and a loose-footed mainsail. The hull has a slightly raked stem, a vertical transom, a transom-hung, kick-up rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centerboard. The forward part of the boat is open, without a foredeck. The aft deck includes a small stowage locker. The cockpit is self-draining. The boat displaces 315 lb (143 kg).^[1][3]

The boat has a draft of 3.00 ft (0.91 m) with the centerboard extended and 5 in (13 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.^[1]

For sailing the design is equipped with an outhaul, boom vang, a Cunningham and a jib window. It is also fitted with foam flotation for buoyancy, hiking straps and may also be optionally equipped with a spinnaker for sailing downwind.^[3]

The boat may be fitted with a small outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.^[3]

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 101.3 and is raced with a maximum crew weight of 900 lb (408 kg).^[3]

Operational history

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "this is a combination boat, meant for training, racing, or general sailing. The Designers Choice has curved sections forward and is relatively dry. With flat surfaces aft, she planes."^[3]

See also

• List of sailing boat types

References

1. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Designers Choice sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
2. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Sparkman & Stephens". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
3. Sherwood, Richard M.: A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition, pages 48-49. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. ISBN 0-395-65239-1
4. McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Howmar Boats Inc. 1970 - 1983". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.

External links

• Video: Sailing a Designers Choice