View source for Engineering:Tech Dinghy

{{short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications 
|name              = Tech Dinghy
|class_image       = <br><span style="color:black; font-size:375%;">T</span><br><br>
|line drawing      =
|line size         =
|line alt          =
|line caption      =
|image boat        =
|image size        =
|image alt         =
|image caption     =

|designer          = George Owen
|location          = {{wipe|United States}}
|year              = 1935
|no built          = 
|design            =
|class             =
|brand             =
|builder           = Herreshoff Manufacturing, Beetle Boat Co., Paceship Yachts, Whitecap Composites
|role              = Sailing dinghy

|boats             =
|crew              =
|trapeze           =
|draft             = {{convert|2.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with centerboard down
|air draft         =
|displacement      = {{convert|250|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}

|hulls             =
|hull type         = [[Engineering:Monohull|Monohull]]
|construction      = [[Biology:Wood|Wood]] or [[Chemistry:Fiberglass|fiberglass]]
|loa               = {{convert|12.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh               =
|lwl               = 
|beam              = {{convert|4.67|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft        =
|hull weight       =
|engine            =

|appendages        =
|keel type         = centerboard
|ballast           = 
|rudder type       = transom-mounted [[Engineering:Rudder|rudder]]

|rigs              =
|rig type          = [[Engineering:Catboat|catboat]] rig or [[Engineering:Bermuda rig|Bermuda rig]]
|I                 = 
|J                 = 
|P                 = 
|E                 = 
|mast length       =
|rig other         =

|sails             =
|sailplan          = [[Engineering:Fractional rig|Fractional rig]]ged [[Engineering:Sloop|sloop]] Masthead sloop
|sailarea main     = 
|sailarea headsail = 
|sailarea spin     =
|sailarea gen      =
|sails other       =
|sailarea upwind   =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total    = {{convert|72.00|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}

|rating            =
|d-pn              = 111.2
|rya-pn            =
|phrf              =

|status            =
|previous          =
|successor         = Intercollegiate dinghy
}}

The '''Tech Dinghy''' is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by George Owen, a professor at [[Organization:Massachusetts Institute of Technology|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), as a one-design racer and for sail training. It was first built in 1935.<ref name="Data">{{cite web|url = https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/tech-dinghy|title = Tech Dinghy sailboat |access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190217142343/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/tech-dinghy|archive-date = 17 February 2019|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Owen">{{cite web|url =https://sailboatdata.com/designer/owen-george|title = George Owen|access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://archive.today/Mp6GE |archive-date = 7 July 2020|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Sherwood">Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 20-21. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. {{ISBN|0-395-65239-1}}</ref>

The Tech Dinghy design was later developed into the Intercollegiate dinghy by Paceship Yachts.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Pace">{{cite web|url =https://sailboatdata.com/builder/paceship-yachts-ltd|title = Paceship Yachts Ltd.|access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190926195006/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/paceship-yachts-ltd|archive-date = 26 September 2019|url-status= live}}</ref>

==Production==
George Owen was a professor at MIT's Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering between 1915 and 1941, designing more than 200 sailing boats and commercial ships. He was also a competitive [[Engineering:Sailor|sailor]] and conceived the Tech Dinghy for student competitive sailing at MIT in the Charles River, which is adjacent to the MIT campus.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Owen"/>

The design was first constructed from wood by Herreshoff Manufacturing in the {{wipe|United States}}, starting in 1935.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/><ref>{{cite web|url =https://sailboatdata.com/builder/herreshoff-mfg-co|title = Herreshoff Mfg. Co.|access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://archive.today/RGfAB|archive-date = 7 July 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref>

The design was next built by the Beetle Boat Co in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1958 the company started building them from [[Chemistry:Fiberglass|fiberglass]] instead of wood, one of the first boats to use the then-new material.<ref name="Data"/><ref>{{cite web|url =https://sailboatdata.com/builder/beetle-boat-cousa|title = Beetle Boat Co.|access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://archive.today/mEWLI|archive-date = 5 July 2020|url-status= live}}</ref>

The design was also constructed in {{wipe|Canada}}, by Paceship Yachts of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, although they went out of business in 1981 and production had ceased by that time. This manufacturer created the Intercollegiate dinghy, based upon the Tech Dinghy for use in racing between universities.<ref name="Pace"/>

The boat has gone through several redesigns over time, including being modified for sailing in rougher conditions in the Midwestern United States. In the 1970s it was modified by Halsey Herreshoff working with the MIT sailing director, Hatch Brown. This version made the boat faster, less prone to ship water and more forgiving to sail for beginners.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/>

The sixth version of the boat, marketed as the ''Turbo Tech'', was drawn by Penn Edmonds during the early 1990s and is {{convert|100|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} lighter than the previous generation. This version is now produced by the current builder, Whitecap Composites of Peabody, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|url =https://sailboatdata.com/builder/whitecap-composites-usa|title = Whitecap Composites (USA)|access-date = 7 July 2020|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2020|archive-url = https://archive.today/XkLv3|archive-date = 7 July 2020 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Official">{{cite web|url = http://www.whitecapcomposites.com/turbo-tech-dinghy/|title = Turbo Tech Dinghy|access-date = 7 July 2020|author= Whitecapt Composites|work = whitecapcomposites.com|archive-url = https://archive.today/HSSPi|archive-date = 7 July 2020|url-status= live}}</ref>

==Design==
The Tech Dinghy is a recreational [[Engineering:Sailboat|sailboat]], built predominantly of [[Biology:Wood|wood]] or, in later versions, from [[Chemistry:Fiberglass|fiberglass]]. The sixth generation boats are made from infused vinylester over a Core-Cell foam core, with an inner carbon fiber skin, for improved durability.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/><ref name="Official"/>

The boat has a [[Engineering:Fractional rig|fractional]] [[Engineering:Sloop|sloop]] rig or [[Engineering:Catboat|catboat]] single sail rig, with the mast repositionable on different mast steps for either configuration. The spars are [[Chemistry:Aluminum|aluminum]]. It features a spooned raked stem, an over-vertical [[Engineering:Transom (nautical)|transom]], a transom-hung [[Engineering:Rudder|rudder]] controlled by a [[Engineering:Tiller|tiller]] and a retractable, lever-controlled centerboard. The hull alone displaces {{convert|250|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Data"/><ref name="Sherwood"/><ref name="Official"/>

The boat has a [[Engineering:Draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|2.00|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the centerboard extended and {{convert|3|in|cm|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing [[Engineering:Beaching (nautical)|beaching]] or ground transportation on a [[Engineering:Boat trailer|trailer]].<ref name="Data"/>

For sailing the design is equipped with a mainsheet traveler, a [[Engineering:Boom vang|boom vang]] and an [[Engineering:Outhaul|outhaul]]. The vang is led to the mast step casting.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 111.2, noted as "suspect". It is normally raced as a sloop, with a crew of two sailors.<ref name="Sherwood"/><ref name="Official"/>

==Operational history==
MIT has sold off their older wooden boats and some of these are now sailed privately.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

It was reported in 1994 that some of the original wooden 1935 boats still existed and were still in use, even though almost 65 years old at that point.<ref name="Sherwood"/>

==See also==
*[[Engineering:List of sailing boat types|List of sailing boat types]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

[[Category:Dinghies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Tech Dinghy}}