VIDEO: Meet the world’s top youth training boat

The 420 is an established worldwide performance two-person trapeze and spinnaker racing dinghy which holds status as an ISAF International Class. There are 56,000 boats which have been built worldwide. This popular dinghy is sailed at school, club, open, national and international levels.

The 420 was designed specifically to be easier to handle than its larger higher-performance cousin, the 470. Both were designed by French engineer Christian Maury, with the 420 as a stepping-stone for club and youth sailing to the 470. The 470 has been in every Olympic Games since 1976.

The 420 is the youth development boat in 43 countries around the world. It is the equipment for the two-person dinghy boys and two-person dinghy girls events at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships, the pinnacle youth event in the world.

Despite the emergence of newer commercial driven classes and asymmetrics, the 420 is still the world’s top youth training boat. About 350 boats are built per year, with 1850 boats built over the past 5 years.

In 2010, the International 420 Class celebrated its 50th Anniversary.

Thirty-six teams competed in the 2015 International 420 Class Australian Championship. Video from the event published on Jan 6, 2015.

The Club 420, popular in North America, is a derivative of the International 420. The Club 420 class is not recognized by International Sailing Federation or the International 420 Class Association and cannot be used at I420 class events. The Club 420 is similar in appearance but is slightly stronger, heavier and less refined. The Club 420 was aimed for institutional training and collegiate competition.