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Boat profile

International 420 (i420)

CrewTwo (skipper and crew, full trapeze for the crew)
Length4.2 m (13 ft 9 in), same hull as the Club 420
RigFull trapeze plus a symmetric spinnaker on a pole, not the simplified rig the Club 420 uses
Typical sailorCompetitive youth and Olympic-pathway racers; one of the Youth National Team's six classes

The International 420, often written i420, is the full-rig version of the same 4.2-metre hull the Club 420 is built from. Where the Club 420 drops the trapeze and swaps a fixed-bowsprit gennaker in for a full spinnaker, to make the boat easier to learn and cheaper to run for high-school and college programs, the i420 keeps the full trapeze and a symmetric spinnaker on a pole, closer to a genuine performance dinghy. It's recognised internationally by World Sailing, and it's the version used at the more competitive end of youth racing, including as one of the six classes on US Sailing's Youth National Team.

Often confused with the Club 420, the simplified, no-trapeze version of the same hull built for North American high-school and college programs.

A short reference stub, expanded as the teaching material grows.

Discussed in

Sources