Review of Optimist
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of plywood.
Some boats has a hull made of Fibreglass.
Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.
The Optimist is equipped with a cat rig. A cat rig (also called an una rig) is simple to manage as there is no standing rigging, often referred to as “unstayed”. With only one sail it can be single-handed quite easily. The downside is its upwind performance.
DaggerBoard aka Sword
The Optimist is equipped with a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.
The boat can sail close to the beach as the draft is just 0.10 - 0.20 meter (0.33 - 0.63 ft) dependent of the load. See immersion rate below.
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Optimist is about 16 kg/cm, alternatively 92 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 16 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 92 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Optimist is 2.01.
Sorry, we do not have sufficient statistical information available for this boat to provide a significant reliable analysis.
Maintenance
This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.
Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Optimist it would be a great help.
If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.