Discover

Meet the Y-Flyer

Part day sailor, part racing machine, part family tradition — the Y-Flyer has been putting two people and a lot of laughter on the water since 1941.

THE BOAT

Simple to sail. Endless to Master.

The Y-Flyer is a hard-chine scow — the flat, wide hull that earned it the nickname "ironing board." That shape makes it stable and forgiving for beginners, yet quick to plane and rewarding for expert racers.

With a fractional sloop rig, the Y is sailed by a crew of two — any two. Rigging is quick, trailering is easy, and the boat behaves itself on lakes big and small.

Hulls come in fiberglass or wood, and home-built wooden boats race head-to-head with production hulls under strict one-design rules. Boats are still being built new today — or you can build your own from official plans.

FULL ONE DESIGN SPECS (PDF)

18' 0"

LOA

500 LB

HULL WEIGHT

CREW

5' 8"

BEAM

160 ft²

Sail Area

SCOW

HULL TYPE

THE STORY

Eighty-five years of flying low

1938 A boat anyone could build

Naval architect Alvin L. Youngquist publishes the Y-Flyer design in The Rudder magazine as plans for amateur builders. The idea: a fast, simple boat a family could build at home.

1941 The first boats launch

The first boats hit the water, and the class begins to spread across the Midwest, one lake at a time.

1950's - 1960's A class goes international

Fleets take root across the US and Canada, builders begin professional production, and fiberglass hulls join the wooden originals. The American and Canadian associations begin a friendly rivalry that continues at the Internationals to this day.

Today 2,700+ Hulls and counting

More than 2,700 Y-Flyers have been built with new ones added to the fleet each year. Even more, wood boats still compete against their more modern fiberglass counterparts and low number boats are still some of the best on the water