A Little Dragon Information
The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. Within 10 years of it's introduction, the boat was being sailed all around Europe. In 1937 the Gold Cup was presented to the class by the Clyde Yacht Club Association. This quickly became one of the principal championships in the class and a prestigious trophy in the world of competitive yachting.
In 1948 the Dragon became an Olympic Class, a status it retained until the Munich/Kiel Olympics in 1972. Since the Olympics, there have been major developments in the design. Metal spars were introduced in 1970 and in 1973 they began to be produced in GRP or fiberglass.
The long keel and elegant lines remain unchanged but building these boats in fiberglass makes them much easier to maintain. Both fiberglass and wood boats regularly win major competitions.
Exotic materials are banned in these boats and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing tradition for speed. These boats popularity lies in the development of the sailing rig which is easy to handle for novices while still being one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.
In this class of boats, races are usually very close and races are won not by speed advantage but by skill and mastery of conditions and tactics on the course.
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