Mini-Cup

A 12 ft sport boat that ran in Popular Science, drawn for beginners to build and beginners to sail, and quick enough to embarrass bigger boats with better reputations. She tacks very sharply. The construction is about as simple as plywood gets: the hull sides are four straight-cut strips 9 inches wide, and the deck and hull bottoms are identical, so they can be cut together from stacked sheets.

Four watertight compartments carry flotation foam, which means she can be capsized, righted and sailed away without bailing, and even with the foam her weight is about that of a Laser. An arc bottom and hard chines give a beginner enough stability to stay in her, the kick-up rudder and daggerboard are controlled from the cockpit so beach launching is easy, and the deck grab handles double as tie-down points for car-topping.