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Designed by Drake Sparkman in 1947 and intiated as a class in 1954, the Blue Jay is a sloop-rigged sailboat primarily sailed on the East Coast, from Florida to Maine. Over 7,200 boats exist. Models are still being built in wood as well as in fiberglass, which the class association approved in the early 1960s. Conceived as a "baby Lightning" and popular as a family boat, the Blue Jay became a general junior training boat-often a next step for young sailors who begin with the Optimist. (Sparkman helped create the Lightning in the fifties.) At 14 feet (4.3m), the Blue Jay can accommodate adults as well. For more information, read the Blue Jay Wikipedia article.