So you want to buy a Fireball?

Originally intended to be built by homebuilders, the Fireball has also been built by large professional shops, small professional shops, and by hobbiests of both amateur and professional status. The rules of the International class association place limits on the frequency at which amateurs are allowed to build boats, and the amount of time that they must own them before selling. If a builder falls outside of these boundries then they must register as a professional builder. There is a limit to how many professional builders may exist within a given geographical boundry.

Hull numbers have been given out sequentially since the class began, so the number can give you an estimate of what year the boat was built. In recent years about 30 to 50 new boats have been registered annually.

There are a few different hull types out there.

• older fibreglass hulls. These were built with polyester resin, and most are solid fibreglass (as compared to the modern fibreglass/foam core sandwich construction). Some have wooden decks. All tend to go soft with age, and gain weight. Watch out for leaks in the hull/deck joints.
• wooden hulls. Wood stays stiff for a long time, so older wooden hulls can still be competitive as long as they have been maintained. The wood should have been encapsulated with epoxy inside-and-out. Wood is still a viable construction method today for a fast hull. Maintenance isn't as high as you might think it would be.
• modern cored fibreglass hulls. The foam core gives these boats superior stiffness to their solid-fibreglass cousins. Should be built with epoxy or vinylester resin (both are a higher performance resin than polyester). Some have a wooden deck to give a traditional look. These hulls have a long competitive life.
• 'fat' boats vs 'skinny' boats. Sometime back when hull numbers were in the 13000 series it was discovered that pushing the hull tolerances to the maximum beam in the bow and chainplate areas could make for a faster hull. In practice there is very little difference in light air (in fact, the old skinny hulls have an advantage because they have less wetted area). Once the wind gets up to planing conditions the fat boats may have a slight advantage because they plane a bit earlier and also have a bit more bouyancy to keep the bow up in chop. The advantage of the modern shape is slight, and newcomers to the class shouldn't worry about it until their boat handling skills are up to snuff - one bad tack will easily erase any advantage that a fast hull will give you. You will find both fat boats and skinny boats in the 13000 series, but most boats built from 14000 onwards are of the fat shape.

Who built what?

Blanco [Quebec]

• hobbiest, built hulls mostly for the Montreal fleet
• wood hulls, many with modern 'fat' shape
• last hull number in 14000 series
• templates and hull jigs currently owned by QFA and being used by amateur builders

• large professional producer (contributed to Calgary having the largest fleet in the world at one time)
• 'glass hulls (uncored) - most would now be mush and weren't even particularily strong when new.
• last hull number: probably around 7500
• watch for leaks in hull/deck joint
• Think the company still exists, in one form or another, as Glenmore Boats, building mostly Cats for the prairie sailors.

• small producer of wooden hulled fireballs
• Notes: John Douthwaite built a small number of wooded boats in Vancouver, during the late 1970's and early 1980's. all the boats were built to special order, and looked really good when finished. (were also very fast). The best known Douthwaite hull in Ontario is Peter Standeven's old boat, Digby, which won the 1982 Canadian Champs, sailed at Buffalo Yacht club, on Lake Erie, and then took part in the 1983 Worlds in Switzerland.

• large professional producer
• built in UK but many hulls have found their way to North America
• good looking wooden hulls
• last hull number probably in the 5000 range

• built wooden hulled fireballs as a hobbiest (amateur)
• also supervised group builds by amateurs in N.C.
• last hull number probably in the 12000 range

• "Uncle Bobby" Haining has built wooden hulled fireballs as a hobbiest
• Steve Smith, known for his work in race car composites, took a mold from a wooden hull built by Bob Haining
• cored 'glass hulls produced from this mold have been completed by Bob Haining and others
• as of 1998 it should still be possible to have Steve Smith produce an empty hull "shell" for your completion

• small semi-professional shop
• cored fibreglass hulls (unfinished)
• buyer has to deck hull himself/herself
• still in business (1998)

• small professional shop
• both all wood hulls
• also known for making the "cedar speeder", a cedarstrip Fireball
• last hull number in the 11890 range
• Notes: built a number (+100) wood boats over a number of years, in his garage. All the boats were wood, with epoxy coating (for the most part). Early Lightfoot boats (10,500 vintage) were prone to self destruction, due to lack of experience in knowing how to build a strong boat. Later hulls (11,500 vintage) were much stronger, many are still going fast today.
  Notable hulls - built a special hull for Brett Willetts to compete in the 1978 Worlds, in Thailand, that had double thickness plywood on the hull sections, to withstand the pounding from the anticipated big waves they would be sailing in. With all this extra wood, the hull still needed max correctors, when first weighed.
  Also, just before he retired from building (due to an allergic reaction to epoxy), Bob could put a hull together completely, in less than 9 days (working both days of a weekend, evenings during the week, and the next 2 days of the following weekend). The hull would be ready for sanding, and painting after this short build time!

• medium sized professional shop
• wood hulls, often minimum weight with correctors
• high quality workmanship
• also known for fast Intl 5o5s
• NOTES: Mark Lindsay is the only North American builder to have built a world championship winning boat.

• hobbiest, built for family & friends
• wood hulls
• high quality work
• last hull number in 13000 series

• small professional builder, only built a handful in the early 80's
• cored fibreglass hulls
• last hull number in the 12000 series

• large professional producer
• solid fibreglass hulls, some with wood decks
• deck had a unique tiered look rather than smooth curve with longitudinal hollows for spin pole
• last hull number in the 8000 range

• large professional producer
• built in UK but many hulls have found their way to North America
• all 'glass hulls (a core material was used in some parts of the hull, but this core is known to absorb water and make the boat heavier as the boat ages)
• still in business, but no longer making Fireballs
• last hull number: at least 10000
• Notes: Many of the Rondar boats in Canada came over during the mid 1970s(the 1978 World Junior Sailing Championships were sailed in Rondar Fireballs, in Canada, prior to the 1978 Fireball Worlds, in Nova Scotia. All the boats used for the World Juniors became available for sale in Canada after the regattas. Hull numbers were in the early 10,000 series.

• no info

• no info