Designers Choice

Short description: Sailboat class

Designers Choice

Class symbol

Development
Designer| Sparkman & Stephens
Location| United States
Year| 1978
No. built| 1500
Builder(s)| Howmar Boats
Role| Sailing dinghy
Boat
Boat weight| 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 m2)
Jib/genoa area| 38 sq ft (3.5 m2)
Total sail area| 120 sq ft (11 m2)
Racing
D-PN| 101.3

[edit on Wikidata]

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]

## Contents

* 1 Production
* 2 Design
* 3 Operational history
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## 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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Designers Choice sailboat". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/designers-choice-howmar.
2. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Sparkman & Stephens". sailboatdata.com. https://sailboatdata.com/designer/sparkman-stephens.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 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. https://sailboatdata.com/builder/howmar-boats-inc.

## External links

* Video: Sailing a Designers Choice

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