Production model
Thistle
Built by Thistle Class
A 17 ft planing one-design centerboarder drawn by Sandy Douglass in 1945, with more than four thousand built. She has no ballast at all, a large sail plan for her length and a flat run aft, so she planes readily and is sailed flat by a crew of three sitting out hard.
The early boats were molded plywood and the later ones fiberglass, and the class has kept the rules tight enough that a well-sailed older hull still wins races. That is the reason to restore one rather than buy new: the class association is active, measurement is strict, and a boat from the 1960s is not racing at a disadvantage. She is a wet, lively boat and not a forgiving one in a breeze.
What building a Thistle actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Thistle here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Model | Builder | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter 170 | Hunter | 16′ 10″ (5.13 m) | 0 |
| Daysailer | O'Day | 16′ 9″ (5.11 m) | 0 |
| Sun Cat | Com-Pac | 17′ 4″ (5.28 m) | 0 |
| Precision 18 | Precision | 17′ 5″ (5.31 m) | 0 |
| Legacy | Com-Pac | 16′ 6″ (5.03 m) | 0 |
| Precision 165 | Precision | 16′ 5″ (5 m) | 0 |