Finn (dinghy)

The Finn dinghy is the men's single-handed Olympic class for sailing. It was designed by Swedish canoe designer, Rickard Sarby, in 1949 for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Since the 1952 debut of the boat, the design has been in every summer Olympics, making it one of the most prolific Olympic sailboats.

Design Changes

Although the Finn hull has changed little since 1949, there has been other developments in controlling the sails. The original spars were made of wood until the late 60’s and early 70’s when there was a slow change to Aluminum masts. Aluminum is significantly more flexible and gives more control over sail shape. It became common place after the 1972 Olympics in Kiel when they were first supplied to Olympic sailors. Recently, carbon fiber masts have become common place in competitive Finn fleets. The sails too have gone through revolution and are now commonly made of Kevlar.

Finn Championships

* Olympic medalists
* 2006 Finn Open European Championship

External links

* [http://www.finnclass.org/ International Finn Association]
* [http://www.nafinnclass.org/ North American Finn Class for US and Canada]
* [http://www.finn-dinghy.de/ Finn Site - Germany]
* [http://www.finnargentina.blogspot.com/ Finn BLOG - Argentina]
* [http://www.finnargentina.8k.com/ Finn Site - Argentina]
* [http://www.finnclass.cz Finn Association Czech Republic]