It could easily be a description for a mass-market daysailer designed in 1997. 'Simple. Comfortable. Easy to launch. Stable with positive flotation. Good sailing performance.' Instead, it's the consistent pitch for that prototypical family daysailer and laid-back one-design racer, the Flying Scot.

A hotshot small boat sailor with a penchant for planing, designer Gordon "Sandy" Douglass was already famous in 1957 for high speed creations: the 17-foot Thistle and 20-foot Highlander. For his new design, he reined in his desire for all-out performance to produce a moderate boat that could still sail well, but be managed easily by a couple. This meant reducing sail area and letting the hull form swell for stability: then simplifying the rigging and deck layout, installing spacious and comfortable seats, and building it on the heavier, more durable side, Douglass found the rest of the formula.

Under the designerís direction, the Gordon Douglass Boat Company built the Flying Scot until Douglass retired in 1972 and sold the company to Eric and Mary Ammann. Harry and Karen Carpenter then took over in 1991 as Flying Scot, Inc. In combination with a few other builders, more than 5,200 boats have been built. The 2000-member Flying Scot Sailing Association has managed the class adroitly over the years. Working with the builders, its officers have stuck to the designerís original tenets of keeping things simple, resisting frequent rule, design or equipment changes. The class has also innovated successfully to keep the low-key, family emphasis on class events.

The combination of a committed builder, a well-run class, and a boat with characteristics that still ring true in a 90s sales brochure, augur well for this class in the next century.