The Thistle: A Timeless Classic

The Thistle stands tall as a timeless classic. Designed by Sandy Douglas in 1945, the Thistle embodies elegance, performance, and pure sailing joy. With its classic lines and graceful profile, the Thistle is a high-performance vessel and a breathtakingly beautiful boat that turns heads wherever it sails.

The Thistle measures 17 feet , striking the perfect balance between maneuverability and stability. Its weight of approximately 450 pounds allows for nimble handling on the water, ensuring an exhilarating sailing experience. The Thistle's construction combines wood, fiberglass, and other lightweight materials, optimizing strength and weight distribution.

Equipped with a powerful rig, the Thistle boasts a sail area of approximately 185 square feet. The fractional rig configuration, consisting of a mainsail, jib, and spinnaker combination, offers exceptional performance. The Thistle comes alive in a fresh breeze. When the wind picks up, and the conditions are right, the boat easily pops up on a plane. As it gains speed, some sailors claim they can hear the distant sound of bagpipes playing in the wind, adding a touch of enchantment to the exhilarating experience of downwind sailing. A thistle is sailed with a crew of two or three, depending on the wind conditions.

This is not just a beautiful sailboat but a highly competitive one-design racer. Defined by strict class rules, the Thistle provides an equal playing field for sailors, where skill and tactics take precedence over boat design and technology. There are thistle fleets across the US, with sailors competing at the club level and regional and national regattas.