_sail_badge.png){kind=icon} | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Charles McGregor |
| Location | United States |
| Year | 1939 |
| No. built | 11,000 |
| Builder(s) | Moore Sailboats W. D. Schock Corp |
| Role | One-designracer |
| Name | El Toro |
| Boat | |
| Crew | One |
| Displacement | 80 lb (36 kg) |
| Draft | 1.50 ft (0.46 m) withdaggerboard down |
| Hull | |
| Type | monohull |
| Construction | wood orfiberglass |
| LOA | 7.92 ft (2.41 m) |
| Beam | 3.93 ft (1.20 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | daggerboard |
| Rudder | transom-mountedrudder |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | Bermuda rig |
| Sails | |
| Sailplan | catboat |
| Mainsail area | 49.00 sq ft (4.552 m2) |
| Total sail area | 49.00 sq ft (4.552 m2) |
TheEl Toro is an Americanpramsailboat that was designed byCharles McGregor as asail trainingdinghy andyacht tender, first built in 1939. It is now often sailed as a singlehandedone-designracer.[1][2][3]
The boat is a development of McGregor'sSabot design, the plans for which were published inThe Rudder magazine in 1939. The design has been widely adapted and other derivations include theNaples Sabot,US Sabot,Wind'ard Sabot and the AustralianHoldfast Trainer.[1][2]
The design was built byMoore Sailboats andW. D. Schock Corp in the United States, but it is now out of production. More than 11.000 boats were produced.[1][2][4][5][6][7][8]
The El Toro is a recreationalsailing dinghy, with the early versions build ofplywood and later ones offiberglass, with wood trim. Spars may be made from wood,aluminum orcarbon fiber. It has acat rig, a squaredstem, a nearly plumbtransom, a transom-hungrudder controlled by atiller and a retractabledaggerboard. Ready to sail it displaces 80 lb (36 kg), with the hull alone weighing 60 lb (27 kg).[1][2][3]
The boat has a draft of 18 in (46 cm) with the daggerboard extended and 6 in (15 cm) with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water orbeaching. It can also be transported on atrailer or automobile roof.[1][2]
The design has ahull speed of 3.8 kn (7.0 km/h).[9]
The boat is mostly sailed on the American west coast and is supported by an active class club that organizes racing events, theEl Toro International Yacht Racing Association.[1][2][10][11]
The class has competed in the annual BullShip Race inSausalito, California, since 1954. The start line is at the Horizons Restaurant dock and the course runs toSan Francisco, pastAlcatraz Island and theGolden Gate Bridge, finishing at the end of the breakwater at theGolden Gate Yacht Club andSt. Francis Yacht Club. Due to the distance, currents and other challenges for these small boats the race is referred to asThe El Toro TransPac, a comparison to theTranspacific Yacht Race.[9]
In a 2015 reviewer T. Sitzmann inSail 1 Design wrote of the El Toro, that they "are satisfactory tenders and sprightly racers. Junior sailing programs at yacht clubs and municipal sailing classes have developed many fine young El Toro captains. High quality racing programs have kept the interest of these young sailors. Often sailors 'move up' to larger yachts and are frequently recognized as champions. Many return to the lively tactical sailing situations provided by El Toro racing."[3]
Related development
Similar sailboats
Media related toEl Toro (dinghy) at Wikimedia Commons