11:metre One Design - backgroundKeelboat yacht racing has become an costly and time consuming sport. As a result yachting as a sport shows a down trend in many part of the world and many sailors have been lost to other sports. To counter this trend the 11:Metre One Design was developed. The 11:Metre project started with a very extensive 2 boat test program during the fall of 1990 in Sarasota, Florida. Residents could see 2 yachts pacing each other side by side for months testing a variety of keels, rudders, and sail plan configurations. The test program was also aimed to check the building procedure in order to test a simple, cost-effective but still a high quality construction. Everything to ensure the best value for money for this kind of yacht, and that the boat could be built all over the World to exactly the same specifications. The 11:Metre is a yacht with very tight One Design rules with every hardware and rope specified. The Building manual makes every boat alike no matter where it is built. The first boats was shipped from Florida to Stockholm International Boat show in March 1991. In spite of the bad economy in Sweden during that time 37 yachts was sold to private owners during that show. In less than 2 years more than 120 yachts was sold all over the World to enthusiastic sailors. Often persons with world class sailing experience that was attracted by the 11:Metre performance and ease of handling. The 11:Metre One design yacht was awarded the prestigious Silk Cut Nautical Award for best production yacht 1991. |