Star (sailboat)

Star (sailboat)

The International Star (or Starboat) is a 6.9 m (22.7 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1479.3 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m (285 ft). It is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow. Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are generally made of fiberglass.

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run. Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.

The Star was designed in 1910 by Francis Sweisguth—draftsman for William Gardner's Naval Architect office—and the first 22 were built in Port Washington, New York by Ike Smith during the winter of 1910-11. Since that time, over 8,400 boats have been built. The Star has been an Olympic Games class since 1932. Although far from a modern design, the class remains popular today, with about 2,000 boats in active racing fleets in North America and Europe.

As a result of the 2011 Mid-Year Meeting in St. Petersburg, keelboats were removed from Sailing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and therefore the Star class will not be in competition in Rio de Janeiro.