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What you're buying
New boats are still built in Poole, and plenty are built at home. What to look for, what they cost, and where to find one for sale.
Buyer's notes →Designed by Harry Poole · built in Poole
Small boat,
short legs,
big grins
A little wooden dinghy, sailed by children off Parkstone: small enough to take out on your own, big enough to share with a grown-up and a friend. Find out what an AB is, learn the racing rules, then take one round the course yourself.
Fig. 01 — AB fleet, Poole Harbour
01
Three ways in
Learn
The rules, drawn
Port and starboard, windward and leeward, room at the mark. Each rule as a diagram you can play through, in the words a nine-year-old actually uses on the water.
Open the rulebook →Race
Have a go
Six boats, a three-minute countdown and a full lap. Sail the course you would sail on a Friday night, and see whether you can round the mark clean.
Start a race →02
Getting a boat
Boats change hands quietly, usually within the fleet. What is going at the moment is listed, and if nothing there suits, ask.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designer | Harry Poole1 |
| Designed | Late 1950s2 |
| Built in | Poole, Dorset4 |
| Type | Junior training dinghy1 |
| Length overall | ≈ 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)2 |
| Minimum hull weight | 50.8 kg (8 st)4 |
| Crew | One child of ≈ 20 kg solo, or an adult and two small children4 |
| Typical age | From 4–5 with an adult, up to about 126 |
| Home fleet | Parkstone Yacht Club1 |
Full specifications, and what is still unknown, on the boat detail page.