Welcome - About Us

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The Sarasota Model Yacht Club got its start in Sarasota in 1996.  Our club sails the American Model Yachting Association-sanctioned one-design Soling One Meter R/C , RC Laser, DF65, DF95 and (during the winter only) IOM model yachts. The club meets six (seven times a week when the IOM sail) times per week for practice and racing. We sail at the Nathan Benderson Park at the West Lake on Athletes Drive.   The West Lake is off of Honore at Athletes Drive. 

    The Soling 1-Meter kit-based model is a pleasure to sail. As a one-design, it is an ideal introduction to model yachting, yet it provides a  competitive boat for the best of veterans as well and is available from  “Boatyard John” (our club builder). 

    The RCLaser is factory-built ready to sail and available at intensitysails.com 

We also sail the Dragon Force (DF) DF65 and the DF95 RC boats. 

The DF 65 is one of the fastest growing class of RC sailboats in the U.S. The boat has earned this distinction by being a great one-design sailing boat while being the least expensive ready-to-sail boat on the market. At around $350 for a boat with radio and receiver and about 3 hours of assembly and you're on the water.    

The DF95 is the fastest growing class in the USA and is near Ready-to-Sail in a kit form from Radiosailing.net or from “Boatyard John”. 

    All skill levels are welcome, from neophytes to crusty old salts! You will find that our members can be very helpful in getting you involved with this great hobby. Come on out to watch the hard-fought races or join us for practice and racing.  

The Soling One Meter (S1M):  This S1M the largest class in the U.S. and Florida. We sail Solings Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Race Captains rotate throughout the year. Craig Collemer is the Race Captain.

The RC Laser:  This is the largest RC class in the world. We sail Lasers on Friday. Steve Lippincott is the Race Captain.

The DF65 and the DF95:  These are the newest and fastest-growing restricted one-design class in both Florida and the U.S.  

We sail DF95's on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Bill Hendrickson is the Race Captain. The DF65 fleet sails Monday and Wednesday.  Rob Wucki is the Race Captain. 

IOM The IOM Class is considered a Development Class by the AMYA. 

The International One Metre class is the fastest-growing class in the world. This class is distinct and different in purpose from the US One Meter class, and complements the International Marblehead Class as a simpler, less expensive boat. The International class has a one-design rig, and has minimum weights on the keel and overall, and restricts the hull material. The net effect of these differences is that the typical cost spiral of lighter weight, and more expensive materials and manufacturing processes, is arrested. This allows amateur designers and builders a chance to design and build with little concern that they are building in a disadvantage due to weight. This is a feature not found in any existing AMYA class and is one of the reasons that the class is so popular around the world.  We sail IOM's on Sundays in season.  John Stryhn " Boatyard" is the Race Captain.