See the new VX EVO on the Ovington Boats stand at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show
by Mark Jardine 2 Mar 2017 16:04 GMT
Stand C76, 4-5 March 2017
VX EVO blasting downwind © Ovington Boats
Two new boats to the Ovington Boats stable will be on display at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show this weekend; the brand-new VX EVO and the more established International OK.
The famous Tynemouth boat builder will also be displaying their 29er, Musto Skiff, VX One, Solo, Phantom, Albacore and Optimist.
The VX EVO is a singlehanded dinghy with asymmetric spinnaker, designed for heavyweight sailors looking for a fast yet stable ride. Designed by Brian Bennett in the USA, the boat was primarily aimed at Sportsboat sailors who wanted something they could take for a blast on their own. The boat has a simple rig with shrouds but no spreaders and no forestay for the kite to get snagged on.
Nathan Batchelor has been delighted with the response they've had to the EVO so far, "We took the boat to the Paris Boat Show and sold six which was a nice surprise! It seems like the boat has really hit the spot. It's a stable boat compared to a lot of singlehanded asymmetric dinghies and is long and beamy."
The International OK dinghy has been around for a long time, so I asked Nathan why Ovington Boats decided now was the time to build one:
"It's an evolution of the OK designed by Phil Morrison with a lot of top sailors such as Jim Hunt. We've built new moulds, new foil moulds, and the idea was to build a top-of-the-range boat with reasonable lead times and at reasonable cost. We're doing it as a hull-and-fittings-only package as the mast and sails in the OK are very personalised, much like in the Finn class. We've had lots of enquiries in the UK and in Northern Europe and we're very much looking forward to showing the boat to the world at the Dinghy Show."
For younger sailors the Ovington Optimist will also be on the stand. Also designed by Phil Morrison, the boat is proving popular in Europe and is built to exacting standards.
The Ovington Boats team will be on hand on stand C76 in the Great Hall to answer any questions you have on the full range of Ovington built class and are looking forward to greeting customers old and new!
www.ovingtonboats.com