One-Design is a
racingthumb|right|Air racing: Hungarian aerobatics pilot Peter Besenyei at speed in his Extra 300 at an air race in EnglandA sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest...
method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as
Spec seriesSpec racing is a type of racing in which all competitors race in nearly identical vehicles. The idea behind spec racing is that success will be based more on driver skill and car setup instead of engineering skill and finances. Spec series are popular because they often bring down the cost of...
. It is heavily used in
sailboatA sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a smaller...
racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time. One-Design can be compared with the Development Class, the classic example being the Americas Cup 12-meter class, or to the Box Rule
http://www.sailingworld.com/ocean-racing/tech-and-design/bill-lee-thinks-outside-the-box-rule-52096.html used for example in the TP52 class
http://www.transpac52.org/Documents/2005/Transpac52Boxrule2005_051705.pdf.
However over the last 15 years a third setup has quickly risen through the ranks and has become at least as large as the above two setups. This is the formula based class setup. The mini 650s, also known as mini transats, the open 70's monohulls, the large ORMA trimarans and the Formula 18 racing beach catamarans are the exponents of this new approach. The two setups are often confused with each other as in both setups class legal boats race each other without any handicap calculations. However under One-design the boats are virtually identical except in details while the Formula setup allows the boats to differ much more in design while keeping a few important specifications the same. As a result the identifier "One-Design" has been used more and more exclusively to denote a class that races only identical boats.
Features of One-Design
As manufacturing technologies became more efficient and effective over the course of the 20th century, racers realized that there was an important need to equalize the design of the vehicles that they were competing in. The important factors being measured in One-Design racing help to equalize the vehicles and put more emphasis on the skill of the competitors.
One-Design is utilized in a variety of racing sports. Primarily it refers to sailing, where the One-Design Class Council creates, monitors, and enforces the rules that define what classes of sailboats are One-Design boats. It can additionally refer to airplanes or motor vehicles, such as
IndyCarsThe Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is an American based open-wheel racing series sanctioning body.The League sanctions two series, the premier IndyCar Series , whose centerpiece is the Indianapolis 500, and Firestone Indy Lights, the official developmental series of the Indy...
, where teams are required to meet certain specifications such as vehicle weight, engine displacement, weight, fuel capacity, and a variety of other factors are measured and regulated, or classes limited to a single make, such as the Yamaha RD Cup.
In motorsport, this term is commonly known as
one-make racing and this term is predominantly given to series for production based cars such as the
Porsche SupercupThe Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the international motor racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche AG....
.
Sailing
There are two primary methods of competition in sailboat racing: One-Design and handicap (see:
Portsmouth YardstickThe Portsmouth yardstick or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a system of handicapping used primarily in small-boat yacht racing.The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the corrected time can be used to compare widely different sailboats on even terms. Portsmouth Numbers are...
,
PHRFPerformance Handicap Racing Fleet is a handicapping system used in yacht racing. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other...
and
LYS (Leading Yard Stick)LYS is an akronym for Leading Yard Stick, or formerly Lidingö Yard Stick. LYS is an empirically based handicapping system used in yacht racing in the nordic countries. The handicap system was developed in 1970 by the Swedish yacht designer Lars-Olof Norlin. He based the system on regatta results...
). One design refers to a
racingthumb|right|Air racing: Hungarian aerobatics pilot Peter Besenyei at speed in his Extra 300 at an air race in EnglandA sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest...
class that consists of just one model or design of
sailboatA sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a smaller...
. In one-design racing, the first boat to finish wins the race. This is contrasted with handicap racing, where time is added or subtracted from the finishing times based on design factors and mathematical formulas to determine the winner. Having a rigid one-design specification keeps design
experimentIn scientific research, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables, or to test a hypothesis. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empirical approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences...
ation to a minimum and reduces cost of ownership. The popularity of one-design increased in the 1970s with the introduction of laminate construction using
fibre-reinforced plasticFibre-reinforced plastic are composite materials made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibers are usually fiberglass, carbon, or aramid, while the polymer is usually an epoxy, vinylester or polyester thermosetting plastic...
(FRP) and mold building technology. This process allowed the mass production of identical hulls of virtually any size at a lower price.
As a general rule, the tolerances are strictest in smaller boats like dinghy classes and small keelboats. All one-design classes will have a class association that will determine the measurement rules for the class. Olympic one-design classes have some of the strictest tolerances, for example
LaserThe International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
,
FinnThe Finn dinghy is the men's single-handed, cat-rigged Olympic class for sailing. It was designed by Swedish canoe designer, Rickard Sarby, in 1949 for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki...
,
StarThe International Star is a 6.9 m one-design racing keelboat for two people.The boat must weigh at least 671 kg with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m . It is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does...
, and the former Olympic class
SolingA Soling is a small class of keelboat designed by Jan Linge of Norway in 1965. In 1968, it was chosen from among many other boats to be the men's triple-handed boat for the 1972 Olympics. The Soling was an Olympic boat until its final appearance in 2000 at the Sydney Games...
.
For classes where the boats are physically smaller, this might mean that everything is designed and produced at the same factory, or by only licensed manufacturer in any country or region, so that all racing vehicles have identical parts. Examples of this include the
LaserThe International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
, Melges 24,
Jet 14The Jet 14 sailboat is a One-Design racing dinghy. The fleets are organized by the Jet 14 Class Association, which is broken into four divisions based upon geographical locations of the fleets. District I is in New Jersey, District II is in Ohio, District III is in Maryland, and District IV is in...
,
49erThe 49er is a newer one-design class of small sailing dinghy. It is a double handed twin trapeze boat, meaning that it is sailed by a helm and a crew, the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control...
, or
Town ClassTown Class sailboats are 16 and 1/2 foot long lap strake one-design dories, constructed in either wood or fiberglass. The Town Class was designed as an affordable boat for the townspeople, hence its name.- History :...
boats. This is also true of the larger
International One DesignThe International One Design is a class of sail boat developed for yacht racing. It is a 33-foot open cockpit day sailer used for Harbour racing, rather than for overnight, or ocean races, such as the Newport–Bermuda Yacht Race...
.
In medium- to large-sized boat classes, One-Design would refer to conformance to a standard specification, with the possibility of alterations being allowed as long as they remained within certain tolerances. Examples of this are the
J/24The International J/24 is the world's most popular one-design keelboat as measured by hulls produced.In the summer of 1975 Rod Johnstone designed and built hull number 1 in his garage in Stonington, Connecticut. "Ragtime" would serve as the master mould for the subsequent hulls. This design...
,
Puddle Duck RacerA Puddle Duck Racer or PD Racer is an 8 foot long spec series one design racing sailboat or day sailer. Billed as "the easiest sailboat in the world to build", the scow hull is a simple box, usually built of plywood. A sideview of the hull dimensions can be seen to the right...
,
Santana 20The Santana 20 is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. The boat is popular on the west coast of the United States with large fleets in Portland, Seattle, Eugene, Los Angeles, & San Diego. There are also fleets in the Midwest including Denver, Kansas City, Tulsa, Oklahoma City...
,
Tartan 10The Tartan Ten, nicknamed T-10, is a 10 meter keelboat designed by Sparkman & Stephens in 1978. Since then over 400 hulls have been built.The T-10 is a sloop design with 7/8th fractional rig, symmetrical spinnaker, lead keel, aluminum mast and boom, and balsawood-cored fiberglass hull...
,
EtchellsThe International Etchells Class are a one design class of sailing boat.The yacht designed in 1966 by E. W. "Skip" Etchells. The class was known as E22 until the name was changed to Etchells in 1990...
, J105, and the
Farr 40The Farr 40 is a 40 foot one-design sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design in 1996 following after the Mumm 30. It is currently built by US Watercraft. It was originally designed to be an IMS boat, but quickly become popular and developed its own one-design class.In 1997, the world’s first Farr 40...
. After the hull length overall (LOA) exceeds 27 feet, people generally refer to the boat as an offshore one-design boat or yacht.
In other classes, the one-design class may have organized around an existing fleet of similar boats that traditionally existed together often for commercial purposes such as sailing canoes,
dhowA dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. They are primarily used along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India, and East Africa...
s, and skipjacks, or boats that developed a common hull form over the years (such as
A-ScowIn sailing, the A-Scow is a large sailing scow. It is 38 feet long and with reported top speeds of over 25 knots. With its rules of design, also known as scantlings, first being written in 1901, the A-Scow has a significant history. With a large sail area and little keel ballast, the five to seven...
s).
In contrast to 'one-design', other offshore sailboats race under a variety of handicapping rules and formulas developed to allow different type boats to compete against one another. Handicap rules include
Portsmouth YardstickThe Portsmouth yardstick or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a system of handicapping used primarily in small-boat yacht racing.The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the corrected time can be used to compare widely different sailboats on even terms. Portsmouth Numbers are...
,
PHRFPerformance Handicap Racing Fleet is a handicapping system used in yacht racing. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other...
,
IORThe International Offshore Rule was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club rule....
, IMS,
IRCIRC is a system of handicapping sailboats and yachts for the purpose of racing. It is managed by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the United Kingdom through their dedicated Rating Office....
, Americap and
LYSLYS is an akronym for Leading Yard Stick, or formerly Lidingö Yard Stick. LYS is an empirically based handicapping system used in yacht racing in the nordic countries. The handicap system was developed in 1970 by the Swedish yacht designer Lars-Olof Norlin. He based the system on regatta results...
.
Car racing
Compare F1 motor racing, which is developmental, with
A1A1 Grand Prix is a 'single make' open-wheel auto racing series. It is unique in its field in that competitors represent their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it is often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport"...
which is One-Design.
Soaring
There have been several attempts to bring the advantages of one-design to the sport of competitive glider racing. The most successful of these has been the
Schweizer 1-26 classThe Schweizer SGS 1-26 is a United States One-Design, single-seat, mid-wing glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.The SGS 1-26 enjoyed a very long production run from its first flight in 1954 until 1979, when production was ended. The 1-26 was replaced in production by the...
with 700 aircraft completed and flown between 1954-1981.
Schweizer AircraftThe Schweizer Aircraft Corporation, located in Horseheads, New York, was incorporated in 1939 by three Schweizer brothers, who built their first glider in 1930....
principal
Paul A SchweizerPaul, William , and Ernest Schweizer were three brothers who started building gliders in 1930. In 1937, they formed the Schweizer Metal Aircraft Company. Their first commercial glider sale was an SGU 1-7 glider to Harvard University's Altosaurus Glider Club. At that time, Eliot Noyes was a...
was a proponent of the One-Design concept. He intended the company's 1-26 to be the aircraft to establish a one-design class in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He wrote:
"The true measure of pilot ability and experience is usually shown by his final standing in a contest. What could be more indicative of this when pilots are flying identical sailplanes with identical performance. One design competition is the sure test of soaring skill."