How sailboats have changed over the past 50 years. PHOTOSTORY

How have sailboats changed over the past 50 years? We tell you about it in eight key points. From the advent of fiberglass to the latest generation of flying boats.

The history of sailboats over the past 50 years

1960s – 1970s

Boats are mass produced: from wood to fiberglass. Sailing for all is born.

For millennia, sailboats, albeit with continuous developments, have been built with one predominant material, wood. And each time they were made in a single copy or, for smaller boats, in a few expensive ones. Then comes the revolution, fiberglass. Boats, since the mid-1960s, have been made of “plastic” and, finally like cars, are being mass-produced. The most famous is the Arpege (about 9 meters) designed and built in its own yard by Frenchman Michel Dufour. Produced for more than a decade, since 1966, in 1,500 pieces. Record.

Key moment. Cabin sailboats, reserved only for an elite become popular. Sailing for all spreads.

Key number: 1,500. Arpeges produced from 1966 to 1976

Late 1970s – 1980s

Revolution in sails. From hand-sewn sails to profiles like those of airplane wings.

First there was cotton and natural fibers, then there were synthetic fibers such as nylon and Dacron. But all the sails were made by hand, with needle, thread and sewing machines. The sailmaker’s skill was to get the cut of the sail right, as a good tailor can do with a suit. Then, in the 1980s, the revolution, abetted by more powerful computers and the arrival of fibers such as carbon and Kevlar. The sails are designed like wings on an airplane, increasing efficiency by as much as 100 percent compared to traditionally made sails. But the finishing is still done by hand. A mix of craftsmanship and high technology.

Key moment. Thanks to new materials and design software, sails become like airplane wings by increasing sail performance by as much as 100 percent.

Key number: 50%. The extra durability of today’s sail compared to traditional ones

1980s

The big change that leads to being able to maneuver a boat even by yourself or two people without struggling: rollable sails.

It was 1980 when an elderly American man, Phil Weld, showed up at the start of the legendary Ostar solo transatlantic race with a sailboat equipped with a furling bow. The French, champions of long solo sailing, say: what is that old man doing with that bizarre equipment? Weld disproves everyone and, thanks to this contraption that allows the sails to be reduced without having to change them, avoiding risk and energy expenditure, incredibly wins and gives credit to the furler. Since then, sailing has changed dramatically. Today, even one person alone or as a couple can go sailing in a large boat.

Key moment. Thanks to the advent of furling sails, an experienced crew is no longer needed to run a sailboat. It can also be sailed with only two crew members.

Key number: 17 days. The time it took Phil Weld in 1980 to cross the Atlantic.

1990s

From navigation by following the stars and lighthouses to the arrival of GPS, coupled with the nautical chart.

When it was still an unknown tool on cars, GPS broke into the world of sailing in the early 1990s. From that moment to know where you are and what destination you want to reach, you no longer need the nautical chart, pilot book, lighthouses and sextant to navigate by following the stars and the sun. Your location is detected by satellites, which also indicate the route you need to take to reach your destination. Then when the GPS signal is combined with electronic nautical charts, displayed on a screen, navigation is no longer an art handed down intact through the centuries reserved for the few, but a function accessible to all.

Key moment. Plotting a course no longer becomes an art, but thanks to map GPS, everyone can know where they are and plot a course.

Key number: 1990. The first marine GPS goes into production.

2000s

When boats were no longer the business of real cruising sailors: larger, home-like spaces.

Goodbye long, narrow boats with affiliated bow and stern. Sailboat design has been taking a new path since the early 2000s, belittling the long tradition of yachting. The hulls become wide, as wide as if they were motor boats. The practical consequence of this increase in space, exterior and interior, is that today a boat, thanks in part to interior designers who specialize in boating, can be compared to a seaside villa. And sailing is no longer just for the pure and hardcore who are willing to be uncomfortable in order to satisfy their passion; it is becoming more and more popular.

Key moment. Sailboats widen from narrow and sharp, allowing for space similar to that of a beach house.

Key number: 50%. The extra usable space of a modern boat compared to one from the 1960s

Years 2000/2010

The evolution of hulls. Once wet, difficult to maneuver, skidding. Now simple, fast safe boats thanks to the evolution of hulls.

How much effort, in the old days, sailors used to take to steer the boat under sail! And how much splashing in the face they would get. Until the advent of the new generation of ocean-going boats, 2010s, which are very fast, safe in all sea and wind conditions, as well as heeling as little as possible and easier to steer. This was all because sailors who participated in regattas such as the Vendee Globe (solo round-the-world race) faced thousands of miles of sailing alone in the middle of the ocean. So designers revolutionized the traditional boat and made hulls that moved from racing to cruising boats, the ones everyone uses today. With steady improvement reaching the present day.

Key moment. The experiences of ocean racing boats are transferred to production boats, which become more stable, safer, and easier to drive.

Key number: 28,000. These are the miles of the route around the world of the Vendee Globe solo regatta

Years 2010

The catamaran phenomenon, first Polynesian workboats now yachts, even large yachts, with which even those who are not big into sailing are comfortable.

Polynesians have been sailing for millennia in boats with two hulls instead of one, the catamarans. In the West only since the late 19th century have they taken hold. When it is realized that they are also more efficient than monohulls-they are faster for the same size and do not heel-they become the boats with which all records of long ocean voyages are broken. It is only recently that models are also being created for cruising. Then in recent years the boom, until it reached 40 percent of world sailboat production. Their spread coincides with the growth in their use as charter boats for a seaside vacation. They have more space and, under certain conditions, are faster than traditional monohulls. They also appeal to those who are not into sailing.

Key moment. Catamarans from record-breaking hulls become more spacious and comfortable cruising boats than monohulls.

Key number: 40%. This is the percentage of catamarans in the total number of sailboats produced in 2018

Years 2020

When boats fly. From Enrico Forlanini’s early experiments on Lake Maggiore in the late 1800s to America’s Cup boats flying at 100 mph.

After the first experiments on Lake Maggiore in the late 1800s, for years foils, – those wings that are installed under the hull – were not used on sailboats. Until the early 1990s, when the first boats that fly on water were born. Yes, because those wings under the hull allow the boat to rise above the water level and thus, without hydrodynamic resistance, reach speeds of up to 100 km/h. Notoriety comes with America’s Cup boats adopting them. Today they are popular among small boats, but in the future they will also be adopted on “normal” boats. All it takes is a little patience. It is the future of sailing.

Key moment. America’s Cup boats adopt foils and reach unthinkable speeds, rising as if in flight above the surface of the water.

Key number: 121.1 km/h. It is the official world record for speed in a sailboat

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