Contender class vessel equipment
Designer
Ben Lexcen
(1936 - 1988)
Date1967
Object numberANMS1543[095]
NamePlan
Mediumink on drafting film
Dimensions270 x 560
Copyright© Ben Lexcen
ClassificationsMaps, charts and plans
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionFittings plan, including equipment, for International Contender Class vessel. Designed by Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) of Miller and Whitworth. This very detailed ‘equipment drawing’ for the 16-foot CONTENDER racing dinghy. The work shows the type, size, weight, location and manufacturers name of the fittings and equipment used on the boat.
HistoryThe self-taught naval architect and yacht designer Ben Lexcen was born Robert Clyde Miller, on March 19th. 1936 at Boggabri, in New South Wales, Australia. As a boy he sailed extensively on Lake Macquarie, often spending nights camped alone in his first small boat. In 1952, at the age of 16, he designed his first sailing boat ‘THE COMET’ which he built with his friend William Bennett. He soon began to make a name for himself at local sailing competitions with this boat. In 1960 he entered his next boat ‘TAIPAN’ in the 18-Footer World Championships, and later winning the World Championship in 1961 with his design, the 18-foot skiff ‘VENOM’. A year later in 1962, together with his sailing friend Craig Whitworth, he founded a sail-making company in Sydney called ‘Miller and Whitworth’ while continuing to design boats. One of these boat designs became the much-regarded 16-foot international CONTENDER which he started in 1966.
Despite designing seven Australian 12mR America Cup challenge yachts and many fast and successful offshore racing yachts, Ben Lexcen (formally Bob Miller) maintained a passion for small fast sailing boats all his life. The 16-foot CONTENDERracing dinghy, designed in 1967, is one of his finest small boats. Ever the innovator, he started the design project when the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) deciding to look for a boat to replace the Olympic Finn dinghy in 1964. They wanted a single-handed performance boat which would be lighter than the 1949 designed Finn dinghy (FD). They placed an emphasis on, seamanship, skill, and agility to sail them, rather than that demanded by the earlier boat. This prompted boat designers and sailors from around the world to prepare boats for the test trials. David Thomas from UK was one of the favourites as was Paul Elvstrom from Denmark but the first trails at Weymouth, UK in late 1965 were inconclusive.
Meanwhile Australian naval architect Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) designed his version in 1966. Nicknamed ‘MILLERS MISSILE’, it was a radical boat with hard chine hull, very flat underwater sections, a fully battened main-sail and a trapeze for the single crew to balance their weight against the wind on the sail. But it did not perform well, so Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) redesigned the hull based on the 20-foot Flying Dutchman (FD) dinghy which he was sailing at the time.
His second design, originally named DOROTHY after his wife, looked promising but Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) needed funding to launch the project. By chance he found a sailcloth manufacturer with a new product called CONTENDER who were keen. The boat was renamed and sent to the second trials at La Baule in France, but the winds were light, none of the boats performed well, so no decision was made. The third set of trials were at Medemblik in Holland, by which time Bob Miller had redesigned the boat with more sail and higher freeboard. With strong winds during the trials, Bob Miller sailed his new CONTENDER called SKIPPY and proved he had the best boat. It resulted in the IYRU declaring that they had their new ‘singlehander’. In 1967 the CONTENDER was selected as a potential Olympic successor to the Finn dinghy and in 1968 awarded international status. It was not however given Olympic status, but still enjoyed success around the world as an International Class boat.
From its home base in Sydney, Australia, the CONTENDER was originally built in timber, using lightweight marine plywood for most of the parts. Some of the boats were sold as ’kit boats’ which allowed owners to plan and build them themselves. Then in 1970, due to increasing demand locally and from the US, Canada, and across Europe, they were built in GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) as a series production. Being an international class boat means they must all have to be the same size, shape, weight, and all have the same fixtures and equipment, as shown on this design work.
The first World Championships of the International CONTENDER took place at Hayling Island, UK during 1970 and continues at various venues today. The boat continues to be built today, under licence in glass fibre, wood, or a composite construction using wood and epoxy glue. They are all built to strict guidelines, to conform to the class rules, overseen by the International Contender Association.
This equipment drawing, along with the others, will have been prepared to sell the design package to a wide variety of potential clients. Knowing what fittings and parts to buy, and where they are located on the boat, is clearly important for the builder, regardless if the boat is being built by professional boatyard or by a private owner at home. The ‘equipment drawing’ for the 16-foot single handed CONTENDER racing dinghy is a well detailed work, providing the builder and owner with all the information required to build and sail the boat to class rules. It shows each fitting, its location, size, wight and in some cases the manufacturer. Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) and his team at ‘Miller & Whitworth’ clearly spent a good deal of time and effort preparing this and other drawings which could be easily understood and used by owners with limited boatbuilding skills Bob Miller left the ‘Miller & Whitworth’ partnership with Craig Whitworth in 1974 and moved to England where he started design work on the 12mR AUSTRALIA. Despite the CONTENDER being an international success it is unlikely he made any money from the design after he left the partnership. He was unable to receive his mail sent to ‘Miller & Whitworth’ and frustrated the company were still using his name he changed it to Ben Lexcen in 1977. The International CONTENDER proved to be an outstanding design, and still the only high-performance single-handed dinghy that offers international racing in competitive fleets. More than 2,400 boats have been built and are sailed in seventeen countries around the world.
An accomplished international sailor, Bob Miller (later Ben Lexcen) represented Australia in the Soling class at the 1972 at the Olympic Games at Munich, West Germany. He sailed successfully in many offshore races after that but maintained a love of fast, sailing dinghies all his life. Ben Lexcen passed away at Balgowlah, Sydney on May 1st, 1988, but the night before he returned to his love of the 18-skiff by attended the launching of Grand Prix Sailing at the Entertainment Centre.SignificanceThe ‘Equipment Drawing’ is an important work in the construction and finishing of the 16-foot CONTENDER racing dinghy. As the boat was awarded international status in 1968 it was built and raced in many countries around the world. This requires them to all be the same size, shape and weight, and have the same standard equipment, so that no boat would have an advantage over a rival. All boats are all built to strict guidelines and class rules, overseen by the International Contender Association. The CONTENDER was one of Ben Lexcen’s most successful designs, with more than 2,400 built and sailed in seventeen countries. Almost sixty-years after being designed it is still produced and the only high-performance single-handed dinghy that offers international racing in competitive fleets.
