Pegasus Dinghy
The Pegasus is a powerful and fast two person racing and cruising dinghy designed by Uffa Fox in 1958. It was notable for being a boat capable of being built at home using marine ply but still with an efficient and aesthetically pleasing round bilged hull form - see pictures on the cvrda website.
The designer's brief was particularly well thought out:
In 1958, the famous dinghy designer, Uffa Fox was asked to design the Pegasus, and was given a brief to:-
"Design the best 14ft water-line dinghy you can. A stable fast thoroughbred, quick to plane and a boat, which does not destroy itself by its own speed when planing. Spare no time or thought to making it the best 14ft dinghy in the world"
Uffa Fox rose to the challenge and the result is the Pegasus, which at the time proved to be one of the best performing dinghies around. Modern designs are now very different in concept, and the high performance ones are certainly capable of speeds unheard of in the early 1960s.
'from CVRDA website'
... and the present day owners would probably agree that it was well met!
It is an excellent sea boat with a narrow bow entry and a planing hull, carrying a mainsail, and a jib and a large symmetric spinnaker. Stability is achieved with a trapeze allowing this relatively narrow boat by modern standards to carry a large sail plan.
Approximately 250 Pegasus's were constructed, some all wooden and many in composite construction from GRP hulls and marine ply decks and buoyancy tanks. A few all GRP boats were also produced. It is believed that about 30 remain (2007) many of these are still actively sailing. The Pegasus owners were closely involved in the creation of the Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy Association.