The MIT Fleet

The Sailing Pavilion has the following boats.

• A fleet of 34 Tech Dinghies.

  (From Sailing and the Tech Dinghy.) The Tech was designed specifically for MIT by Professor George Owen, and the first boats were made for the opening of the Sailing Pavilion in 1935. These boats were built of wood, lapstrake construction by the famous Herreshoff Yard in Bristol, Rhode Island. They featured a movable mast so they could be either sloop or cat rigged. A large half model of these early boats still exists in the stairway at the Pavilion. In 1953 the first fiberglass Techs were built by Beetle Boat of Cape Cod, and their construction marked a pioneering effort in this material that would soon take over the boat building industry. These boats had a relatively low freeboard and were famous for their rugged construction. Our present Techs were built in 1993 by OSP Composites of Wisconsin, and the design was modified by yacht designed Halsey Herreshoff, grandson of the original builders. The boats are 12.5 feet (3.81m) long, cat rigged, weigh about 200 pounds (90kg), and represent the best technology in heavy duty fiberglass construction. Although it is designed as a beginner's boat and for casual recreational use, the Tech is a popular boat for racing and one of the most popular of the college racing classes.

• Five Lynx Cape Cod Catboats

  The Lynx is a beautiful gaff-rigged catboat. It has a wide, comfortable cockpit and can accomodate 2 to 8 people.

• Two Lasers (for recreational use)

  A Laser is a small, lightweight, single-person sailboat. On a breezy day, expect to go very fast and get wet! A Provisional Rating is required to go out in a Laser. (more info on Lasers)

• A Hobie 20 catamaran

• 18 Club Flying Juniors (FJ's) and Six 420's (used by the Sailing Team)

• X Dimension, a 1973 C&C 43-foot racing sloop