What is the O'pen BIC?
The O'pen BIC is a sporty one-hand dinghy for children and teenagers. It can be seen as a modern alternative to the optimist, as it is designed for sailors of similar size and body weight. In contrast to the OPtimist, this dinghy is not closed, but an open gliding hull as known from the big brothers 29er and 49er. The child therefore does not have to putt even after a capsize. The boat only came on the market in 2006, so it is the youngest youngest and youth boat class of the DSV currently. Since 2013, official German championships have been held in the O'pen BIC and the major world championships or European championships have fields with up to 250 participants.
Facts and figures
Daniele Vitali designed this single-handed dinghy to bring a gliding dinghy to the market that competes with the optimist. The result was a practically unbreakable hull with 2.75m length, 1.15m width, 0.1m freeboard, draught with sword 0.75m, mast height 3.9m and also the rig is designed for simplicity, stability and speed. Thus an O'pen BIC can be brought from the car roof to the SLip system ready to sail in 5 minutes. The O'pen BIC is sailed with 2 different sail sizes. The slightly lighter sailors use a 3.8m² sail, the slightly older and stronger sail use the 4.5m² sail. Both sails are completely battened and are attached to the mast with a loop.