BoatsFlying Dutchman

Flying Dutchman

Fractional Sloop · Centerboard Dinghy · First built 1951

A high-performance two-man trapeze dinghy that served as an Olympic class for over three decades

Designed by Uus van Essen & Conrad Gulcher, built by Advance Sailboat Corp.

LOA
Beam
Displacement
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy

See her sail

The Flying Dutchman, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from A Son de Mar

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 1.80 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 130 kg of hull, so roughly 750 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 130 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.
CoastalBluewater

At 3.58 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 3.58
EasygoingPowered-up

73.6 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 73.6

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Lighter than ~76% of boats her size on file

Compared with 135 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Flying Dutchman, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Flying DUTCHMAN is a 6.1-meter high-performance two-man trapeze dinghy with a large genoa, designed by Uus van Essen and Conrad Gulcher, and built by Advance Sailboat Corp. from 1951 to the present. This fractional sloop, with a centerboard dinghy hull, displaces 130 kg and served as an Olympic class from 1960 to 1992. Mikkel Thommessen, a Norwegian journalist, gained exposure to the Flying DUTCHMAN in 1965 during a sailing exchange program in the United States.7:42

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
73.6
Capsize screening
3.58
Hull
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy
Construction
Wood
Production
Years built
First built 1951
Designer
Uus van Essen, Conrad Gulcher
Builder
Advance Sailboat Corp

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

LaserPerformance 49er4.88 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterAn Olympic-class high-performance skiff featuring a massive sail-area-to-displacement ratio for elite racing
From Olympic drama to flying motorboats: Petter Mørland Pedersen in "Peiling på Seiling"11:34from SEILmagasinet
MacKay Boats Ltd. 49erfx4.88 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterA high-performance skiff utilizing the 49er hull with a downsized rig specifically optimized for lighter crews
Pia Dahl Andersen and Nora Edland showed strength in the first World Cup of the year.2:03from SEILmagasinet
Small Craft Ltd. Wayfarer4.82 mSame hull family1.3 m shorterAn Ian Proctor-designed centerboard dinghy with a high sail-to-displacement ratio, built since 1957 in wood and fiberglass
The Easiest Sailboat You’ll Ever Own – The Wayfarer0:47from Practical Sailor
Aubin (Chantier Aubin) Snipe4.72 mSame hull family1.4 m shorterA legendary William F. Crosby-designed fractional dinghy that remains one of the world's most active racing classes
Rio to Polynesia on a 25-Foot Boat, the Journey that Changed Sailing in Brazil Forever | #SAL #368:16from Hashtag Sal
RS Venture4.98 mSame hull family1.1 m shorterA 4.98-meter fractional sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio, designed for agile, modern dinghy sailing
Elliot Finnestrand - World Champion in sailing after motocross accident0:07from SEILmagasinet
O'Day Daysailer5.11 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA 1956 centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio that remains in production today
Boat Shop Windows4:54from kentblairl

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

International FJA lightweight 75-kilogram centerboard dinghy derived from the Flying Dutchman as a junior-level trainer since 1956Flying TernAn early, high-performance E.G. van de Stadt GRP dinghy designed for spinnaker and trapeze racingAdvance Sailboat Corp. DemonA stretched, high-performance evolution of the Flying Junior featuring increased sail area for spirited dinghy sailingFlying FishA lightweight 1970s dinghy featuring a high-performance rotating cat rig and a freestanding fiberglass mast

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Flying Dutchman, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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