The Seafly SD

The first Seafly SD (Southampton Boat Show)
The first Seafly SD (Southampton Boat Show)

Advertising card for the Seafly SD

In January 2013  John Claridge Boats, based in Lymington, bought the moulds for the “Modern Seafly” and the demonstration boat from Tony Longworth. Famed for designing the Magnum series of International Moth dinghies, John Claridge presently builds the Lymington Scow and Pram, and has revitalised the Lightning 368 design.

During 2013 through 2014,  John Claridge successfully raced the demonstration Seafly in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club handicap series, and proceeded to develop an updated Seafly design which he exhibited at the 2014 Southampton Boat Show. Without changing the fast planing Seafly hull, he has modernised the Seafly by remodelling the deck layout. In recognition of these radical changes he initially renamed the modernised boat the “Cfly”.  However the design has been accepted by existing Seafly sailors, particularly at Blakeney Sailing Club, and is now known as the “Seafly SD”.  Featuring a self draining cockpit, flared side decks, and narrower side buoyancy tanks, the new boat incorporates improvements that were being discussed during the last years of the Seafly Dinghy Class Association.

Three of the new Seafly SD boats raced against traditional Seaflys at Blakeney in 2016 in a resurrected Seafly National Championships and, at the same meeting, a Seafly Class Association was reformed.

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