Thistle (dinghy)

Thistle

Class symbol
Boat
Crew	3
Draft	1.40 m (4 ft 7 in)
Hull
Hull weight	233 kg (514 lb)
LOA	5.20 m (17.1 ft)
Beam	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Hull appendages
Rig
Sails
Spinnaker area	20.4 m2 (220 sq ft)
Upwind sail area	17.1 m2 (184 sq ft)

The Thistle is a high-performance one-design racing dinghy, also used for day sailing, popular in the United States. The Thistle was designed by Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass who later designed the Highlander and Flying Scot. (These names commemorate Douglass’s Scots heritage.) Starting in 1945, 4040+ boats have now been built. Their construction originally used molded plywood. The builders started using Glass-reinforced polyester or "fibreglass" in the late 1950s. The current hull configuration uses a glass-reinforced polyester molded boat with wooden rails, centre board trunk, thwart, fore grating, and aft grating. The spars were once made from spruce, but are now of entirely extruded aluminum construction.

The Thistle Class Association,[1] with fleets across the United States, holds local, regional, and national regattas throughout the year. All Thistles are built to the same lines by authorized builders. Class rules limit innovations in rigging, restrict sail purchases, and prohibit electronic navigation gear. Old and new boats are evenly matched, with the owner of Thistle number 1 winning the national championship in 1990. Newer fibreglass hulls tend to "soften" over a period of 20 years, depending on use. "Softer" boats are still fast, but not competitive at the very highest level.

Thistle hulls are relatively light for their size; they have no decking or spray protection, which saves weight. The sail plan is large for a boat of this size, consisting of a marconi rig with a main, jib, and symmetrical spinnaker. The sail plan is larger for the boat’s weight than in many other dinghies, which makes Thistles perform extremely well in light wind. Their hulls have wide, rounded bottoms, allowing the boats to plane in winds as low as 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h). It is not uncommon to see Thistles efficiently making their way, while other dinghys of similar design are becalmed.

Thistles are generally raced with a three-person crew: a skipper, a middle, and a forward person. The optimal total crew weight is generally 450 to 480 pounds (200 to 220 kg) depending on wind. The crew weight, however, is generally not the deciding factor in determining the outcome of the races. In fact, class rules do not limit crew weight. In all but the strongest winds, an experienced two-person crew can manage the boat. Hiking straps are permitted for either droop or straight leg hiking, but a trapeze is not. The class is generally family friendly, though experienced sailors will still be challenged at the higher levels of competition.

The Thistle is used as the baseline for the U.S. version of the Portsmouth yardstick system for handicapping small boats in mixed-class fleets.

The 2017 Thistle National Championship took place at the Chautauqua Yacht Club in Mayville, New York. Skipper Mike Ingham with crew Dan Fein and Delia Ingham won the event.

National Championships

Year	Carron 1st	Seneca Bowl 2nd	Fairhope 3rd	St Pete Trophy 4th	Richmond 5th
1946	Gordon Douglass
1947	J. Lovett
1948	Gordon Douglass
1949	W. Lawson
1950	F. Marquardt
1951	Gordon Douglass
1952	J. Hendricksen
1953	R. Brainard
1954	H. Boston
1955	Gordon Douglass
1956	Gordon Douglass
1957	J. Hendricksen	Samuel Merrick
1958	J. Jennings	Howard W. Mead
1959	J. Jenkins	J. Jennings	Charles Morgan	W.D. Mangold
1960	Bruce Goldsmith	Howard L. Boston	Jerry Jenkins	Ed Walsh
1961	Ed Walsh	Bruce Goldsmith	James Hendricksen	John Proctor
1962	P. Bordes	A. Walter Stubner	James Miller	Elmer Richards	Lee Sutton 510
1963	E. Walsh	Jack Wanenmacher	Dennis Posey	Bob Duff	Jon Carriel 821
1964	P. Bordes	Jon Carriel	Dennis Posey	Walt Stubner	Bruno Markeliunas 1234
1965	P. Bordes	Dennis Posey	Nils Dailey	Jim Fairclough	John Proctor 1222
1966	W. Stubner	Tom Wilson	Charles Wiley	P. Bordes	Nils Dailey 1399
1967	P. Bordes	Bill Alexander	Tom Wilson	William Poole	Ed Fracker 1109
1968	D. Clark	Ed Fracker	Tom Wilson	William Alexander	Chuck Steigerwald 1619
1969	J. Miller	Bob White	Lewis Wake	Ned Lockwood	Dennis Clark
1970	K. Foster	Dennis Clark	Charles Steigerwald	Bob White	Charlie Pollak 1708
1971	R. Meissner	James Miller	Ted Fontelieu	Charlie Pollak	Gene Wood 3003
1972	Charles Steigerwald	Bob White	Dennis Clark	Rod Glover	Fuller Moore 3152
1973	J. Foster	Christopher Pollak	Mark Gilliland	James Miller	Ron Meissner 3170
1974	T. Dykstra	Ron Rostofer	Chris Pollak	Fuller Moore	Steve Klotz 1
1975	T. Dykstra	Cliff Seigh	Walt Stubner	Ron Rostorfer	Jerry Pignolet 2830
1976	Mark Gilliland	Larry Klein	Andy Barnes	Jack Bauer	Bob White 124
1977	Rorbert White	Mark Gilliland	Jack Bauer	Jim Moyer	Dave Ullman 3485
1978	Andy Barnes	Champ Clover	Mark Gilliland	Jack F. Bauer	Mark Laura
1979	Christopher Pollak	Brent Barbehenn	Greg Fisher	Example	Example
1980	Dave Ullman	Example	Greg Fisher	Example	Example
1981	Christopher Pollak	Andy Fox	Brent Barbehenn	Example	Example
1982	Brent Barbehenn	Andy Fox	Example	Example	Greg Fisher
1983	Greg Fisher	Example	Example	Brent Barbehenn	Example
1984	Brent Barbehenn	Greg Fisher	Example	Example	Example
1985	David Dellenbaugh	Chris Klotz	Example	Example	Example
1986	Example	Greg Fisher	Chris Klotz	Example	Example
1987	Greg Fisher	David Dellenbaugh	Example	Example	Brent Barbehenn
1988	Greg Fisher	Example	Example	Example	Example
1989	David Dellenbaugh	Example	Example	Brent Barbehenn	Example
1990	Chris Klotz	Example	Example	Example	Example
1991	David Dellenbaugh	Ched Proctor	Example	Example	Example
1992	David Dellenbaugh	Alex Smigelski	Example	Example	Example
1993	Bill Draheim	Bill Wilson	Example	Example	Alex Smigelski
1994	David Dellenbaugh	Ched Proctor	Marty Seelig	Sjoerd-Jan Vanderhorst	Chirs Klotz
1995	Jack Franco	Bryce Dryden	Bill Draheim	John Lovett	Chirs Klotz
1996	David Dellenbaugh	Mike Ingham	Bryce Dryden	Ched Proctor	Brad Thompson
1997	Mike Ingham	Ched Proctor	George Szabo	Example	Chris Klotz
1998	Bryce Dryden	Mike Ingham	Joe Burcar	Ched Proctor	Eric Gesner
1999	Bryce Dryden	Brad Thomson	Jack Finefrock	Terry Lettenmaier	Eric Gesner
2000	Mike Ingham	Doug Kaukeinen	Bruce King	Eric Gesner	Bryce Dryden
2001	Bruce King	Mike Ingham	Chris Murphy	Jack Finefrock	Erik Goethert
2002	Mike Ingham	Bruce King	Blair Dryden	Eric Gesner	Terry Lettenmaier
2003	Brent Barbehenn	Mike Ingham	Eric Gesner	Blair Dryden	Craig Koschalk
2004	Eric Gesner	Bruce King	Skip Dieball	Mike Ingham	Craig Koschalk
2005	Mike Ingham	Bruce King	D. Dellenbaugh	C. Koschalk	Paul Abdullah
2006	Greg Fisher	Skip Dieball	Paul Abdullah	Kyle Finefrock	Chris Murphy
2007	Mike Ingham	Scott Griffin	Terry Lettenmaier	Greg Fisher	Lloyd Kitchin
2008	Greg Fisher	Mike Ingham	Paul Abdullah	Brad Thompson	Example
2009	Dave Dellenbaugh	Brain Kitchen	Mike Ingham	Brent Barbehenn	Charles Kreitler
2010	Mike Ingham	Greg Griffin	Greg Fisher	Brent Barbehenn	Greg Griffin
2011	Skip Dieball	Mike Ingham	Allan Terhune	Chris Murphy	Paul Abdullah
2012	Allan Terhune	Skip Dieball	Mike Ingham	David Tillson	Brent Barbehenn
2013	Allan Terhune	Skip Dieball	Steve White	Chris Murphy	Sam Ingham
2014	Lloyd Kitchin	John Baker	Skip Dieball	Mike Ingham	Scott Griffin
2015	Mike Ingham	Paul Abdullah	Greg Griffin	Greg Griffin	John Baker
2016	Mike Ingham	Paul Abdullah	Kyle Finefrock	John Baker	Mike Gillum
2017	Mike Ingham	Paul Abdullah	Brent Barbehenn	Ben France	Samuel Ingham
2018	Brad Russell	Dave Dellenbaugh	Dan Hesse	Paul Abdullah	Matt Fisher
2019	Greg Griffin	Scott Meyer	Paul Abdullah	Jesse Shedden	Doug Kaukeinen
2020	Possibly Covid-19

External links

• Thistle Class Association web site
• LYC Racing builds Thistle Sailboats
• Thistle Sailing in Jacksonville video on Youtube