The Yankee One-Design Class was designed by W. Starling Burgess in 1937, immediately after he designed the Super-J boat Ranger, the most successful America's Cup boat in history. 

Burgess used tank testing to prove that a more vertical bow could be faster than the sharp, overhanging bows of the day. It's also more comfortable, as it cuts through waves instead of pounding on top of them. The Yankee's nearly plumb bow was a radical innovation, now standard on modern racing sailboats.  

The Yankee's design brief called for high performance in all conditions, from the light airs of Marblehead to the heavy weather of Buzzards Bay.

The result is a boat sailors fall in love with. It can ghost through light air, and then when the wind picks up, it really comes alive. Sailing a Yankee feels both exhilarating and solid. The low freeboard invites you to dangle a hand over the leeward rail and feel the water go by, and the helm is so perfectly balanced that the Yankee will sail itself if you let go of the tiller.

Thirty-nine Yankees were built between 1937 and 2010 — most of them in the 1940s, with two more added in 1963 and 2010. Only a handful are still sailing today, a few are under restoration, and the whereabouts of others remain unknown.

Yankees are highly sought after, and for half a century they have been shipped long distances when changing hands. Some are sailing in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Y21 Sirocco, built in Massachusetts in the 1940s, raced in Cleveland in the 1960s, was rebuilt in Port Townsend, Washington, and is now racing in the Mediterranean.

Unlike the International One-Design (IOD) class, where every detail is fixed, the YOD class rules require the hull, rig, and sail plan to follow to the original design, but certain details are left to the owner. This has encouraged generations of sailors to experiment and improve.

John Linderman built three Yankees — Venture (Y36), Tarfun (Y40), and Flotsam (Y42) — each one incorporating lessons learned from the last. When the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB) built Gemini (Y44) in 2010, they studied Flotsam and interviewed YOD sailors to build on existing innovations and identify more improvements.

This archive exists because of the generosity of sailors and families who have shared their photos and stories.

We are still organizing and posting this material, and there is still much to discover. We would like to solve the mystery of the missing Yankees. Sometimes one will show up after being restored and maintained for decades by people who don't know what kind of boat they own, but love how well it sails. If you have sailed a YOD, owned one, built one, or have photos or memories to share, please contact us — we want to hear from you.