Lightning (dinghy)
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Olin Stephens |
| Location | United States |
| Year | 1938 |
| No. built | 15,550 |
| Builder(s) | Clark Boat Company Lippincott Boat Works Nickels Boat Works Allen Boat Company Jack A. Helms Co. J.J. Taylor and Sons Lockley Newport Boats Skaneateles Boat & Canoe Mobjack Manufacturing Siddons & Sindle Lofland Sail-craft Eichenlaub Boat WindRider LLC Saybrook Yacht Yard |
| Role | One-design racer |
| Name | Lightning |
| Boat | |
| Displacement | 700 lb (318 kg) |
| Draft | 4.95 ft (1.51 m) with centerboard down |
| Hull | |
| Type | monohull |
| Construction | wood or fiberglass |
| LOA | 19.00 ft (5.79 m) |
| LWL | 15.25 ft (4.65 m) |
| Beam | 6.50 ft (1.98 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | centerboard |
| Rudder(s) | transom-mounted rudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| I foretriangle height | 20.00 ft (6.10 m) |
| J foretriangle base | 6.91 ft (2.11 m) |
| P mainsail luff | 24.00 ft (7.32 m) |
| E mainsail foot | 10.00 ft (3.05 m) |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | fractional rigged sloop |
| Mainsail area | 120.00 sq ft (11.148 m2) |
| Jib/genoa area | 69.10 sq ft (6.420 m2) |
| Spinnaker area | 300 sq ft (28 m2) |
| Total sail area | 189.10 sq ft (17.568 m2) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 88.4 |
The Lightning is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens, as a one-design racer and first built in 1938.
An accepted World Sailing class, the boat is one of the most popular one-design sailing classes in the United States and is also raced in several other countries.
The design was developed into a smaller boat, as a trainer for the Lightning, the Blue Jay in 1947.