During 1938 sailors connected to Oxford and Cambridge Universities asked Uffa Fox to design a dinghy similar to the National 12, but one design and more suitable for team racing. Uffa completed this design in 1939 and called it the Sea Swallow. Then came the war and nothing happened. Then Early in 1946 Uffa Fox was asked by director of the Fairey Aviation Company (Colin Chichester-Smith), to design a one-design twelve foot dinghy. Fox simply renamed the 'Sea Swallow' with 'Firefly', so named after the famous Fairy aircraft.

The Firefly is the one of the cheapest two person dinghies in the UK. Race-ready secondhand boats can be obtained for under £1000 whilst a new boat is under £4000. It is 12' long, suits a crew weight of 17-24 stone, and has no spinnaker.

Click here to discuss the Firefly dinghy in the Go Sail forums.