The Highlander is a large (20 foot LOA) high performance one-design

One-design

One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...

 racing dinghy

Dinghy racing

Dinghy racing is the competitive sport of sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.-Organisation of dinghy racing:...

, also used for day sailing, popular in the United States. It was designed by Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass

Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass

Gordon K. "Sandy" Douglass was a racer, designer, and builder of sailing dinghies. Two of his designs, the Thistle and the Flying Scot, are among the most popular one design racing classes in the United States. The Flying Scot was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame...

 in 1949, to be a more comfortable alternative to the Thistle

Thistle (dinghy)

The Thistle is a high performance one-design racing dinghy, also used for day sailing, popular in the United States. The Thistle was designed by Gordon K. Douglass who later designed the Highlander and Flying Scot. Starting in 1945, 4000 boats have now been built. Their construction originally...

. The Highlander was the last boat built by the Douglass & McLeod company. The Highlander features an 88 pound centerboard

Centreboard

A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...

. The Highlander sails with a main, jib and spinnaker. With over 1000 boats built, the Highlander has gained reputation for being stable and secure. There are currently 14 racing fleets of Highlanders located in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Douglass' Flying Scot

Flying Scot (dinghy)

The Flying Scot is a day sailer dinghy used for pleasure sailing as well as racing throughout North America. The Flying Scot was designed in 1957 by Gordon K...

is known as the little sister to the Highlander.