Justin's Otter page.

This page is devoted to information regarding the Otter sailing dinghy. Since this class no longer has an active class association, and since the information available on the web is limited, I will try to compile some useful information here.

Please notice that this page is not going to duplicate the information found elsewhere on the web. For example, basic information is available on wikipedia and a detailed forum can be found on sailsite.


My Otter in Trondheim harbour (Photo: Per Kristian Hove)

My Otter (No. 427) now lives in Trondheim, Norway. It survived the long roadtrip here in June 2009, and soon after had its maiden voyage around Munkholmen and Lade. It seems to be well suited to the fjord, but a more suitable launching ramp would make my life easier!

Dimensions and details

I have found contradicting values of the Otter's dimensions on the web, therefore I have compiled a list taken from the original sales brochure. Please be aware that the hull design and rig changed during the production of the Otter, so there may be some variations in weight, etc.

LOA11 ft 11 in.3.63 m
beam4 ft 10 in.1.47 m
main sail56 sq. ft.5.20 m^2
jib sail19 sq. ft.1.77 m^2
spinnaker (optional)70 sq. ft.6.50 m^2
original handicap134*
basic hull weight165 lbs.75 kg
launching weight200 lbs. (approx)91 kg (approx)
recommended outboard2 HP standard shaft.

* Note that the PN is given in the older 3-digit format. I don't have any information about more recent 4-digit numbers; according to the RYA the PN is no longer being updated.

My Otter has built in buoyancy tanks, and the bermudian rig (without spinnaker). We believe that it was originally supplied with the older gunter rig and was upgraded at some time (since we bought it complete with both sets of rigging). It also has an off-centre wooden outboard mount on the transom which I don't think is original. The sails were also replaced at least once.

Age and sail number


Using the information taken from various surces (primarily sailsite), I am trying to build up a database of hull ages and sail numbers. If you have anything to contribute, please contact me directly, or white something on the sailsite forum. My contact details are available .

SAIL NO.YEAR PRODUCEDNOTES
11961 or 1963(both dates from Yachts and Yachting)
3501970(from Sailing Boat Recognition by P.W. Blandford)
427ca. 1979 (estimate)My boat!
640ca. 1974 (estimate)
1115ca. 1988(estimated from original brochure)
1173unknownlast known boat.


Original sales brochure

Thanks to Roger Brain, I recently acquired an original sales brochure for the Otter. Some of the details on this page are based on the brochure. I estimate that the brochure is from ~1988 (since it talks about events in 1966 as 22 years ago). Sine it shows boat number 1115, and since the highest number I know about is 1173, it seems like this brochure is from close to the end of the production period. The brochure is shown below please note that I had to slightly reduce the quality in order to make a sensible file size - I can supply a slightly higher quality on request.


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Created 14/08/2009 by Justin Wells.
Last modified 20/01/2010.