Thistle (dinghy)

2025-10-14T01:41:38Z

2603:7000:47F0:7E40:2D24:EDF9:C470:A8D2: typo removed

{{short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
| name =
| insignia = File:Thistleclass.png
| insignia size = 100px
| insignia alt =
| insignia caption =
| line drawing =
| line size =
| line alt =
| line caption =
| image boat = File:Thistle dinghy with skipper Terry Lettenmaier sailing downwind.jpg
| image size =
| image alt =
| image caption =
| designer = [[Sandy Douglass]]
| architect =
| location = [[United States]]
| year = 1945
| no built = 4,000
| design =
| class =
| brand =
| builder = [[Douglass & McLeod]] [[Clark Boat Company]] [[W. D. Schock Corp]] [[Filip]] [[Ellie]] [[Aleph]] [[Johanski]] [[Spens]] [[First to the Mark]] [[Fox]] [[Northwest One Design]] [[Great Midwest Yacht Company]] [[Beacon Composites]]
| role =
| boats =
| crew =
| trapeze =
| draft = {{convert|4.50|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the [[centreboard]] down
| air draft =
| displacement = {{convert|515|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
| hulls =
| hull type = [[Monohull]]
| construction = [[Fiberglass]]
| loa = {{convert|17.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| loh =
| lwl = {{convert|17.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| beam = {{convert|6.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| hull draft =
| hull weight =
| engine =
| appendages =
| keel type = centreboard
| ballast =
| rudder type = transom-mounted [[rudder]]
| rigs =
| rig type = [[Bermuda rig]]
| I =
| J =
| P =
| E =
| mast length =
| rig other =
| sails =
| sailplan = [[Fractional rig]]ged [[sloop]] [[Masthead sloop]]
| sailarea main = {{convert|136|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
| sailarea headsail = {{convert|55|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
| sailarea spin = {{convert|220|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
| sailarea gen =
| sails other =
| sailarea upwind =
| sailarea downwind =
| sailarea total = {{convert|191|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
| rating =
| d-pn = 83.0
| rya-pn =
| phrf =
| status =
| previous =
| successor =
}}

The '''Thistle''' is an American [[Planing (boat)|planing]] [[sailing dinghy]] that was designed by [[Sandy Douglass]] as a [[one-design]] [[Sailing (sport)|racer]] and first built in 1945.<ref name="Data">{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/thistle|title= Thistle sailboat |access-date= 2 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201002224254/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/thistle|archive-date= 2 October 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/designer/douglass-gordon-k-sandy|title= Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass 1904 - 1992 |access-date= 2 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201003145531/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/douglass-gordon-k-sandy|archive-date= 3 October 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Sherwood">Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 84-85. [[Houghton Mifflin Company]], 1994. {{ISBN|0-395-65239-1}}</ref>

==Production==
The design was originally built by [[Douglass & McLeod]] in the [[United States]], but the company went out of business in 1971. Since then production has passed to several American builders, including the [[Clark Boat Company]], [[W. D. Schock Corp]], [[Northwest One Design]] and the current builder since 1975, [[Great Midwest Yacht Company]]. More than 4,000 boats of this design have been completed.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/douglass-mcleod|title= Douglass & McLeod|access-date= 2 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201002224410/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/douglass-mcleod|archive-date= 2 October 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/clark-boat-company|title= Clark Boat Company|access-date= 2 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201002224359/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/clark-boat-company|archive-date= 2 October 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/schock-wd|title= Schock W.D.|access-date= 2 October 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200718211515/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/schock-wd|archive-date= 18 July 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Official">{{cite web|url= http://www.nowwebsites.net/|title= Great Midwest Yacht Designs|access-date= 2 October 2020|author= Great Midwest Yacht Company |work= nowwebsites.net|archive-url= https://archive.today/20201002225126/http://www.nowwebsites.net/|archive-date= 2 October 2020|url-status= live}}</ref>

W. D. Schock Corp records indicate that they built 250 boats between 1959 and 1975.<ref name="Prod">{{cite web|url= http://wdschock.com/history/boatlist.htm|title= Boats built by W.D. Schock|access-date= 9 August 2022|author= W. D. Schock Corp|author-link= W. D. Schock Corp|work= wdschock.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100221183356/http://wdschock.com/history/boatlist.htm|archive-date= 21 February 2010|url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Design==
The Thistle is a recreational [[sailboat]], with the earlier production models made from molded [[plywood]] and the more recent models built predominantly of [[fiberglass]], with wood structural members and trim. The seats are a fiberglass-sandwich construction, and provide built-in flotation. It has a [[Fractional rig|fractional]] [[sloop]] rig with [[aluminum]] spars and three spreader bars. The hull has no decks, a [[plumb stem]] and [[Transom (nautical)|transom]], a transom-hung [[rudder]] controlled by a [[tiller]] and a retractable, drum-mounted [[centerboard]]. It displaces {{convert|515|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/>

The boat has a [[Draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|4.50|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the centerboard extended and {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing [[Beaching (nautical)|beaching]] or ground transportation on a [[Boat trailer|trailer]].<ref name="Data"/>

For sailing the design is equipped with symmetrical [[spinnaker]] of {{convert|220|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} and built-in flotation.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

The design has a [[Portsmouth Yardstick]] racing average handicap of 83.0 and is normally raced with a crew of three [[sailor]]s, although it has a capacity of six people.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

==Operational history==
By 1994 the design was being raced in more than 150 fleets.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote, "the Thistle was influenced by English dinghy design and is similar to the International 14, another racing dinghy with a plumb bow and flat run. Originally, boats were of molded wood. Racing crew is three, but the Thistle will carry six. She will fit into a garage. The Thistle has a lot of sail and a lot of speed. Class rules are strict. Gear that may be technically legal but provides an advantage is not allowed ... The Thistle is the boat used as the primary yardstick for Portsmouth Numbers."<ref name="Sherwood"/>

===Racing===
{{Main|List of Thistle (dinghy) championships}}

==See also==
*[[List of sailing boat types]]

'''Similar sailboats'''
*[[International 14]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Thistle-class sailing dinghy}}

{{Douglass & McLeod}}
{{WD Schock Corp}}
{{Clark Boat Company}}
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs}}

[[Category:Thistle (dinghy)]]

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Thistle (dinghy)