Shark (boat class)
| Notation | |
|---|---|
| Character does not exist | |
| Boat dimensions | |
| Length above : | 9.60 m |
| Length WL : | 6.60 m |
| Width above sea level : | 1.90 m |
| Draft : | 1.10 m |
| Weight (ready to sail): | 1,700 kg |
| Weight (ballast, keel): | 1,050 kg |
| Sail area | |
| Sail area close to the wind : | 21.5 m² |
| Spinnaker : | 30 m² |
| Others | |
| Rigging type: | Sloop |
| Class : | One-size-fits-all |
Hai or Requin (French for shark ) is a boat class from Finland (Finnish: Haj ). The one- size -fits-all class HAI is a keelboat with sloop or Bermuda rigging. The yacht was designed in 1930 by the Finnish yacht designer Gunnar L. Stenbäck as an inexpensive regatta and cruising sailboat. It developed into a popular small yacht in Finland and France.
history
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In the 1920s, one-size-fits-all classes were relatively rare and different design classes dominated regatta sailing, making these yachts very costly to design and build. Many Scandinavian top sailors and yacht designers were concerned about the future of their sport because of these high costs. Stenbäck was very committed to one-size-fits-all and argued that this was the only way to keep the costs of regatta sailing low. As an answer he brought the design Hai (today Hai 960) using particularly inexpensive materials (Nordic pine and oak, iron ballast instead of lead ballast) and a relatively small sail area, so that expensive winches were not required. The keel was long and shallow to ensure safety in the rocky Scandinavian waters.
Stenbäck presented his design of the Hai yacht in 1930. The first boat was presented to the public a year later and the design quickly became very popular and many boatyards began to build this class of boat. The yacht club Helsingfors Segelsällskap (HSS) in Helsinki particularly promoted the boom in the boat class before the Second World War . Boats were also exported: around 100 boats to France, around 30 to the USA and also to Germany, Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.
The class rules of the Finns slowed down the spread of the class and although it later became easier no international class association was formed. After the war, the shark class got competition from the Nordic Folk Boat and Dragon , which became the Olympic boat class. The shark class never achieved the same international status. However, the class was the largest keelboat class in Finland until well into the 1960s when it was replaced by the H-boat . The new boat class was also inspired by the yacht club Helsingfors Segelsällskap (HSS) and designed by the Finn Hans Groop . Nevertheless it remains an active boat class with newbuildings but with a rapidly decreasing number. A total of 290 boats are registered in Finland. The Finnish shark is quite unique and leans heavily on the original shape with a wooden hull and masts - GRP boats are not allowed.
French requin
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In France, under the name Requin, the boat has gained a large following and today there are around 500 registered vessels. Due to the lack of an international class association, the Requin type has developed independently of the Finnish boat class Hai. Nowadays plastic is allowed as a building material for the hull and also aluminum as a material for the mast. The sail area is also significantly larger: 22.1 m² for the mainsail and 6.93 m² for the jib . A genoa sail is also allowed on a Requin.
Shark 2000
The Hai 2000 type is a modernized version of the Hai with a plastic (GRP) hull based on the Requin and an aluminum mast. The mainsail is 16.5 m², the jib 9.5 m² and the spinnaker 36 m². Some wooden shark boats have also been re-rigged for the Hai 2000 class.
International competitions
As described, the shark class was never a leading international competitive class. There have been some regattas between ships from different countries, especially in the 1930s when the boats became popular in the Scandinavian countries. But there have also been regattas with competitive boats from Finland, Germany and France in recent years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sailing database Udkik.dk Hai 960: technical details , English, accessed on January 31, 2017.
- ↑ Jakobstads Båtvarv: The Haj , English, accessed on January 31, 2017.
