The Osprey designed Ian Proctor has stood the test of time, sailable in all but the most extreme weather conditions, whether inland reservoir, tidal rivers or mountainous seas. A well behaved and balanced boat, capable of sailing or racing with a crew of two or three, with one trapeze. She is provided with a spacious interior, with a choice of fittings and layout, rig and sails allowing competitive pricing.

It is a one Design Class rules are administered by the RYA; although cosmetic improvements have occurred over the years. Old boats can still (and often do) compete at the top end of the fleet.

With a UK handicap of 938 the Osprey is a fast exciting boat to sail. The Osprey relies on the traditional values of boat design, dating back to the 1950’s, to achieve its speed. An Osprey doesn’t struggle upwind only to fly on the downhill leg, it’s simply fast all over the course.

Upwind performance is catered for by a large over-lapping Genoa, whereas off-wind speed is generated by the large spinnaker emerging from the ‘chute. (Spinnaker bags are a rare sight due to the generous freeboard provided in the original design. This makes the intake of water so minimal as to render bags an inconvenience compared to the speed of a ‘chute.)

With the ever increasing sophistication and competitiveness of many classes, competent helms and crews are finding themselves off the pace as a result of being either too heavy or light. Crew weight has never featured highly in the Osprey Class with a range of weights that any other class would find hard to beat. After all, with a hull weight of 134kg the boat itself is no lightweight. Perhaps this is the reason why the odd 7kgs or so of crew weight does not make that much difference. The extra weight and power upwind only results in a penalty downwind!

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