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420

Class symbol
A 420 under sail
Development
Designer	Christian Maury
Location	France
Year	1959
Design	One-Design
Role	Youth trainer, racing
Boat
Displacement	100 kilograms (220 lb)
Draft	0.965 metres (3 ft 2.0 in)
Trapeze	Single
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	GRP
Hull weight	80 kilograms (180 lb)
LOA	4.20 metres (13 ft 9 in)
Beam	1.63 metres (5 ft 4 in)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	Centerboard
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda
Mast length	6.26 metres (20 ft 6 in)
Sails
Mainsail area	7.45 square metres (80.2 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area	2.8 square metres (30 sq ft)
Spinnaker area	8.83 square metres (95.0 sq ft)
Upwind sail area	10.25 square metres (110.3 sq ft)
Racing
D-PN	97.6
RYA PN	1087
[edit on Wikidata]

The International 420 Dinghy is a sailing dinghy popular for racing and teaching. The hull is fiberglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 has a bermuda rig, spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and is designed to plane easily. The 420 is an International class recognised by World Sailing. The name refers to the boat's length of 420 centimetres (4.2 m; 13 ft 9 in).

History

The International 420 was designed by Christian Maury in France in the year 1959. The class developed rapidly in France, being adopted nationally as a youth trainer for the larger Olympic class International 470. By the late 1960s the class was adopted by a few UK university sailing clubs for training and team racing.

Construction

The class adopted a policy of "prudent evolution" so as to allow development without making existing dinghies obsolete. The hull's seaworthiness and stability at speed proved to be better than most of its contemporaries, and this together with its modest sail area make it fun to sail in heavy weather and thus an excellent youth trainer, qualities that led to its adoption for that role by the Royal Yachting Association in the mid-1970s. In addition, the international 420 is known for its inherent lightness. The floatability of the boat made for a safer training vessel.

With its trapeze and spinnaker it provides the capability for advanced sailing techniques for international standard sailors, while still remaining affordable and accessible to beginners. The International 420 maintains a large multinational class association. The combination of effective class management, the boat's inherent sailing qualities, and prudent evolution have contributed to the class's continuing success.

Club 420

The Club 420, or C420, is a derivative of the 420 and is not recognized by World Sailing or the International 420 Class Association. Designed by Vanguard boats in the 1970s, it has a heavier hull, reinforced for durability in institutional sailing, and a stiff, untapered mast. The boat is much more simple to sail, yet lacks the performance of the original dinghy due to its extra weight. The Club 420 is used extensively on the youth race circuit in the US, with over 5,000 boats in North America, but is not sailed in most other countries. It cannot be used at I420 class events.

Z420

The Z420 is a transformation of the Club 420. The Z420 hull is 50 pounds (23 kg) lighter and 40 percent stiffer than the C420. Whereas a C420 hull is composed of six pieces, the Z420 has only three molded components: the hull, the deck, and the mast partners. Unlike the C420, the Z420 does not include a spinnaker or trapeze in its rigging. Z420 boats are specially designed for college sailing and were used at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championships in 2014 for the first time.

Events

420 World Championships

Held every year since 1973 organized by the International 420 Class Association and recognised by World Sailing. Three fleets current race separately which are the Male & Mixed, Female and Open Under 17.

420 Team Racing World Championship

The boat has been used for team racing in both the ISAF Team Racing World Championship and the ISAF World Sailing Games however the class established its own team racing competition in 2015. Only the International 14 and Optimist (dinghy) class association hold a team racing based World Championships in addition to the two discipline led events.

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2015 Lake Garda	Spain	Italy	Portugal
2016 Lake Garda

IYRU Women World Championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1978 Monnickendam	Cathy Foster (GBR)  Wendy Hilder (GBR)	Marie Chrustine Hue (FRA)  Claire Lefur (FRA)	Genevieve Levaillant (FRA)  Blandine Levaillant (FRA)
1978 Rochester	Cathy Foster (GBR)  Wendy Hilder (GBR)	Taylor (USA)  Lewis (USA)	Currey (GBR)  Blake (GBR)
1980 Skovshoved	Christina Mazzaferro (ITA)  Emanuela Galeazzi (ITA)	Anna Bacchiega (ITA)  Paola Bacchiega (ITA)	Marie-Christine Hue (FRA)  Claire Le Fur (FRA)
1981 Stintino	Christina Mazzaferro (ITA)  Manuela Galeazzi (ITA)	Cathy Foster (GBR)  Wendy Hilder (GBR)	Anna Bacchiega (ITA)  Nives Monico (ITA)
1989 Palma	Nuria Bover (ESP)  Sylvia Summer (ESP)	Giorgia Gaudino (ITA)  Sara Gaudino (ITA)	Stephanie Pornin (FRA)  Rouan (FRA)

World Sailing – Youth Sailing World Championships

The class has been used extensively at the Youth Sailing World Championships which run by World Sailing this is different to the Class Worlds by way that equipment is supplied and entries are limited to one entry per nations but often from more nations.

Events

Club 420 North American Championship

Club 420 US National Championship

References

1. "Introduction to the 420". 420 Sailing. Archived from the original on 2012-01-20.
2. "Centerboard Classes". Offshore.ussailing.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
3. "Portsmouth Number List 2012". Royal Yachting Association (RYA). Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
4. "Introduction to the 420 - 420 Sailing". www.420sailing.org. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
5. "Boat Classes | Chester Yacht Club". chesteryachtclub.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
6. "The C420 Association". Club420.org.
7. "Z420: New School Dinghy". Sailing World.
8. "International 420 World Team Racing Championship 2015". Campione Univela. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

External links

• Official international class website
• Official UK class website
• Official Austrian class website Archived 2011-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Club 420 Association, Inc. official website

• 420 (dinghy)
• Dinghies
• Sailboat types built by Grampian Marine