Can someone help explain the old “Suicide” class rules to me?

Doug Halsey · May 1, 2025

Rod Mincher's blog (Earwigoagin) has a good article on the Suicide class:
Earwigoagin: Search results for suicide

starcmr · May 2, 2025

Waterwitch said: ↑

A simple web search yielded the following from an Atkins boat plan.

During the late twenties the Huntington Yacht Club sponsored the Development Class of fast centerboard sailing boats. This class was popularly known as the Suicide Class, not because the boats were dangerous to sail, but because the insignia indicating the class was the old piratical device, a skull and cross-bones. Many of these boats were astonishingly fast Real Estate. The boats were in the neighborhood of 18 feet over all and from 4 to 6 feet in breadth and all were of centerboard type. The principal restrictions of the Development Class are: no keels, not less than 3 feet 6 inches beam, nor more than 125 square feet sail area, a limitation of 50 pounds weight for a centerboard and a crew of two. Reaching in a strong breeze, despite the modest sail area, these boats really travelled very fast and in strong puffs, if you could keep them right side up without reefing, showed all the characteristics of planing. With more sail,a ballasted keel and a long hiking board to gain stability I have no doubt that speeds up to 12 miles an hour would be easily possible with hulls similar to those of the Development Class boats.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you're referring to a development sailing class with limited formal documentation. Based on what you've found—125 sq ft sail area, 5'6" beam, and 18'-23' LOA—these are likely maximums or guidelines rather than fixed dimensions

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Can someone help explain the old “Suicide” class rules to me?

Doug Halsey Senior Member

starcmr Junior Member

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