Naples Sabot Class Approves New Foiling Leeboard

(April 1, 2014) – The International Naples Sabot Class today announced they have voted unanimously to adopt a new foiling leeboard design that will help junior pram sailors better transition into high performance racing classes.

The Naples Sabot is a popular 8’ dinghy sailed almost exclusively in Southern California between San Diego and Long Beach. The class has long been a hotbed for developing top one design sailors like John Shadden, Charlie Buckingham, and JJ Isler.

Coupled with this announcement, US Sailing’s Olympic Development program also announced that the new “Foiling Sabot” would be their newest junior sailing Olympic Development class.

“We’ve always known that the Sabot class could be a key stepping stone for future Olympic sailors,” explained Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “The addition of the new foiling leeboard will make this the primary training boat for all aspiring future Olympians.”

The new foiling daggerboard was developed by Pete Melvin of Morelli and Mevlin, who was instrumental in developing the AC72 foiling attributes for Emirates Team New Zealand. “The high performance Sabot design and hull shape really lend themselves to foiling,” shared Melvin. “But what really made this work is the starboard side mounted leeboard that we were able to mount the foiling board onto.”

Former Sabot Champion Jeff Lenhart, one of the testers for the new foiling leeboard, remarked on the Sabot’s foiling performance. “When they match the new Sabot with the new patented Ullman hard-wing sail, these boats will literally fly.”

Officials for the International Optimist class, when asked to comment, mentioned they were directing their focus elsewhere. “Our class prefers to concentrate on the helicopter attributes of our parents. Their ability to hover is remarkable, and if applied to the boat, it could fly too.”