Photos by Beken & Son, Cowes

LENGTH: 12 FT. BEAM: 4 FT. 7 IN. WEIGHT WITHOUT CREW: 250 LBS.

The Firefly was designed by Uffa Fox, one of the outstanding naval architects of our time, for use in the single-handed sailing events in the last Olympics. Since then, fleets have sprung up all over the world. Over 1,200 boats are now in use. In America, the University of Pennsylvania and the Buffalo Yacht Club have racing fleets and additional interest has been indicated at Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Haverford, and St. Joseph's, as well as in Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts, and on Great South Bay.

Fairey Marine, Ltd., of London, is the manufacturer and George D. O'Day Associates, of Waban, Mass., are the exclusive distributors in this country. The price of the boat is $563.

This inexpensive dinghy deserves to become one of the most popular in America. She's a thrill to sail in fair weather or foul. She can be raced either single-handed or by a crew of two. The Single-Handed Championship of Great Britain is sailed annually in Fireflies.

The 1/4-in. resin-bonded mahogany-veneer hull weighs but 160 lbs., the center-board tips the scales at 45 lbs., and the mast and rigging come to 17 lbs. The complete boat, in sailing trim but without crew aboard, weighs 250 lbs.

Both the mast and the boom are made of light, streamlined alloy tubing. They have built-in grooves to take the luff and foot ropes and are sealed to assist buoyancy if the boat capsizes. The shrouds and fore-stay are made of 3/8-in.-circumference plow steel, the halyards are 1/4-in.-circumference wire, and the diamond bracing is 17-G piano wire.

Buoyancy tanks are built into the hull, giving a reserve buoyancy of not less than 200 lbs. when the boat is flooded in full racing trim.

The Firefly can be had with either a racing rig or a reduced rig. The racing rig consists of a 63-sq.-ft. mainsail and a 27-sq.-ft. jib. With this rig, the boat has considerably more stability than has the average 12-foot dinghy and, it is claimed, is also easier to sail. The reduced rig consists of a 50-sq.-ft. mainsail and a 21-sq.-ft. jib. When fitted with this rig, the boat is ideal for juniors to use on rivers, lakes, and bays. Changing from one rig to the other takes but 10 minutes; so a fleet of Fireflies could be used by both seniors and juniors during the same afternoon.

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