Thunderbird 26
Description
The Thunderbird (also known as the Thunderbird 26) is a popular 26-foot one-design racer-cruiser designed in 1958 by Ben Seaborn of Seattle, Washington. It was created in response to a challenge from the Douglas Fir Plywood Association for an affordable plywood sailboat that could race and cruise, sleep four, be built by reasonably skilled amateurs, use an outboard auxiliary, and outperform others in its class. The first boat (#1) was launched in November 1958 by boatbuilder Ed Hoppen (Eddon Boat Company) in Gig Harbor, Washington, with #2 and #3 following shortly after. More than 25,000 sets of plans were distributed over the decades, leading to hundreds (possibly over 1,000) of boats built worldwide—mostly by amateurs in plywood, with a smaller number of professional fiberglass hulls starting in 1971 (first fiberglass example by John Booth in Victoria, BC). The International Thunderbird Class Association (ITCA) maintains strict one-design rules via its "Black Book" specifications to keep the class competitive and affordable, with active fleets in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Construction Details
| Designer | Ben Seaborn |
|---|---|
| Builder | Eddon Boat Yard in Port Townsend |
| Length | 26.000 ft |
| LOA | 26.000 ft |
| LWL | 20.250 ft |
| Beam | 7.540 ft |
| Displacement | 3650 lb |
| Ballast | 1534 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.790 ft |
| Year Built | 1958 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 26.75 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8 ft |
| p | 31 ft |
| e | 13 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.75 ft | 8 ft | 31 ft | 13 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Thunderbird 26 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | 31 ft - (9449 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 13 ft - (3962 mm) |
| Leech | * 33.04 ft - (10071 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88.26 ° |
| Diagonal | 33.25 ft - (10135 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 206.56 ft² |
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Thunderbird 26 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 24.25 ft - (7391 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Leech | 22.58 ft - (6882 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 110.5 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 8.84 ft - (2694 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.8 ° |
| Area | * 107.21 ft² |
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Thunderbird 26 - GENOA
| Luff | 24.25 ft - (7391 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Leech | 24 ft - (7315 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 166.62 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 13.33 ft - (4063 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 1.19 ° |
| Area | * 161.58 ft² |
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Thunderbird 26 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | 26.67 ft - (8129 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | 17.083 ft - (5207 mm) |
| Foot | 17.083 ft - (5207 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 387 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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