FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CAL SAILING CLUB COMMISSIONS NEW "UNBREAKABLE" DINGHY DESIGN

Berkeley, CA, 6/29/01 - The Cal Sailing Club (CSC), a non-profit cooperative, announced today that it has commissioned renowned naval architect Jim Antrim to design a small training sailboat that will hold up to the notoriously rough conditions of the San Francisco Bay.

Many thousands of people have learned to sail at CSC over its 60-year history, but now the club hopes to bring even more people everywhere into sailing by developing a boat that will go a long way towards removing one of the biggest hurdles for community sailing programs- the cost of maintaining and repairing fragile fiberglass dinghies.

The innovative new 15-foot self-bailing centerboard dinghy will be able to accommodate up to four adults. Yet it will weigh just 425 pounds and if capsized can be righted by a single person weighing just 100 pounds. It will be unusually strong for a boat its size, and will incorporate unique features like a rubber nose, a six-inch wide hull-deck joint protected behind a flange and integral fenders, and watertight buoyancy compartments that are not compromised by hardware attachment points. Stock parts will be used wherever possible to make obtaining replacements easy.

"Maintenance is a big issue for community operations like ours," says Bob Hood, commodore of the all-volunteer CSC. "We've found that production boats just can't stand up to daily use in our windy conditions, so we've decided to build our own boats."

CSC plans to introduce these new boats to community sailing organizations around the country.

"When other communities see how durable and simple to maintain these boats are, they'll want them," predicts Saul Schumsky, the CSC member who initiated and is leading the club's effort to commission its own design. "We hope someday they'll achieve the same worldwide popularity as the Optimist dinghy."

CSC has established a separate fund to finance the construction of these boats, and invites tax-deductible contributions from the public. Donors should contact Chris Havel at 510-530-3538.

New "Unbreakable" Dinghy DesignBackground Information

The Cal Sailing Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit cooperative with a 60-year history of teaching sailing on the San Francisco Bay. The club's more than 800 members have access to all equipment and programs in exchange for one low fee and a 2-hour quarterly work contribution. Each year members provide roughly one thousand free sailboat rides to members of the community during our monthly Open Houses and to children through our cooperation with local youth programs.

Jim Antrim, a graduate of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, has designed everything from dinghies to America's Cup boats. His "Ultimate 20" was named "Boat of the Year" in 1995 and so far 160 of these sportboats have been sold. Aotea, a 40-foot Antrim-designed trimaran, held the record for the fastest sailing voyage between San Francisco and Japan for several years. His newest production sailboat is the Ultimate 24, slated for launch this summer.

CSC 15 SPECIFICATIONS
Length overall (LOA)	15'0"
Load waterline (LWL)	13'10"
Beam	7'3"
Draft (centerboard down)	4'3"
Displacement	420 pounds
Sail Area	135 sq. feet
Designer	Jim Antrim

For additional information please contact:

Marceline Therrien
Cal Sailing Club
phone: 510-208-5460
fax: 510-251-1671
vice_commodore@cal-sailing.org
www.cal-sailing.org/csc-15
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