History

Until recently, young Optimist sailors who wanted to move up to a bigger single-handed dinghy, found that the step from the Optimist to the Laser or Europe was usually too big for them, as they are still too light or too inexperienced for these boats. For the category of 12 to 18 year olds there wasn’t a suitable dinghy, which was competitive enough and reasonably priced. All this was changed with the introduction of the Splash in 1988, with the result that, a year and a half later, it was recognised as a national one-design class. In 1999 the Splash gained international recognition by the ISAF, which means that every year world championships must be held with at least 150 starters from all over the world.

The Splash was developed by Roel Wester, who is a former champion of various single-handed classes, together with the internationally well-known designer Koos de Ridder.

In 1988 there were only a few Splashes, but now almost 1500 have been sold. This number will keep growing rapidly. And not Surprisingly. What gives more fun than racing in a large fleet of Splashes? During the last five years the Splash has been the class with the most competitors in the Sneekweek regatta.

General features of the Splash

The Splash is a modern, but certainly not an extreme design. The stem is almost vertical, making the waterline as long as possible. The boat is not excessively wide and has a deep cockpit, in which a child will find plenty of room to move. Along the cockpit sole there are two hiking straps, which are adjustable in height. The hull is slightly V-shaped with a low, vertical transom.
The deck is longer and wider than the hull, providing a grab rail all around the boat, which makes carrying considerably easier.
The foredeck and aftdeck are large and the side decks provide a good sitting position.
The centreboard trunk is positioned in front of the forward bulkhead of the cockpit and the board can be adjusted by means of a piece of shock cord. The long, narrow centreboard completely fills the trunk with its streamlined section.
The rudder is slightly balanced, making the boat very light on the helm.
The unstayed tapered mast is stepped in a mast cavity in the foredeck, in which it can rotate freely.
The sail can easily be trimmed while sailing and water is removed from the cockpit by means of a self-bailer as soon as the speed increases.
A mooring line can be attached to a stem fitting.
Because of its weight (52 kgs) the Splash is easy to move around and it can be car topped.
The Splash is supplied in all colours and multi-coloured hulls are no problem.

Performance

Two persons can easily carry the Splash to the water’s edge and one can do the rigging. A grown-up can board via the foredeck, so a child will certainly be able to do so. Once on board you will find that the Splash is very stable.
While sailing, the Splash is very sensitive, very light on the helm, accelerating quickly and sailing close to the wind.
The boom is high enough to pass underneath without danger. In gusts the boat is very forgiving and does not capsize easily. If it should do so, it rolls over very slowly, so that it can easily be righted before it is up side down. With the right side up again, very little water remains in the cockpit. The bailer will remove this at once when the boat accelerates.
The sail controls are led aft to the sailor and the view is unobstructed all around.

The Splash won’t disappoint you on any point: the ideal dinghy for the sailor who has grown out of the Optimist. And maybe you can lend it to your parents when there is a lot of wind.