The Snipe was designed by William Crosby in 1931 and has evolved into a highly successful two-person dinghy with a worldwide following. A 15.5-foot hard-chined boat, the Snipe is raced as a strict one-design class with no spinnaker. It was designed for home building, and the boat established its class status a year later, becoming the largest racing class in the world by 1936. Fiberglass construction was allowed starting in the 1950s. The other significant changes over the years have been the replacement of the working jib with an overlapping jib and the early-1970s reduction in weight to 381 pounds. Over 30,000 Snipes have been produced, with sailing in 27 countries, and fleets are spread all over the U.S., with one active fleet in Canada. Torben Grael and Paul Bert Elvstrom, the two most-medaled sailing Olympians, were both Snipe Sailors. The class slogan is "Serious sailing, serious fun." The Snipe is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) International Centreboard Class Association. For more information, read the Snipe Wikipedia article.
