Leader Class Owner's Association

Welcome Leader Sailors. A very warm welcome to the official website of the Leader Class Owner's Association (L.C.O.A). Here you will find all sorts of useful information about the Leader Dinghy, it's class association, latest news, upcoming events and pre-loved dinghies and parts for sale. Happy sailing.

About the Leader Class Owner's Association (L.C.O.A)

The L.C.O.A exists to encourage new and existing sailors to become active in the use of the Leader dinghy. The Association also promotes the interest of the class and helps to maintain contact between members.

The Association is run by an annually elected committee of Leader owners to represent the racing, cruising and pottering fraternity. One of the main positive features of the Association has always been the friendliness between Leader owners.

The open meetings arranged by the L.C.O.A are open to all Leader owners.

In many parts of the country, a trial demonstration can be arranged for prospective Leader owners by an existing member of the class. This will enable prospective owners to experience the pleasure of sailing a Leader before they buy their own.

L.C.O.A Membership

Membership includes regular updates via email, eligibility for events in the Leader sailing calendar and support from other L.C.O.A members. Cost of membership is just £10 per year to become a full member and £5 per year for an associate member (e.g. non-Leader owner)

You can download a membership form using the button below. Simply print the form and send it with payment to the Membership Secretary Roger Morse, to the address on the form.

Leader Handicap

The RYA no longer includes the Leader in the Portsmouth Yardstick list. The Leader had a Portsmouth number from it's design in 1960 until about 2005, but the RYA requires a minumum reporting level from clubs to keep the numbers up to date. Despite the Association's best efforts we could not acheive this minimum from the clubs.

The Leader dinghy is listed in the CVRDA (Classic and Vintage Racing Dinghy Association) handicap guidance. It is 97 in their handicapping system, the same as an 'old' Enterprise. The Enterprise has always had a very similar speed to the Leader. Our PY numbers were the same from 1997-1999 and our boats are unchanged since that date.

Thus the L.C.O.A recommends that the PY handicap should follow that of the Enterprise Class (1133 from April 2024) when racing against other boats with a PY number.

Leader Measurements

All dinghy classes insist on measurement certificates on new boats to ensure that they are comparable to others within the class, which avoids the scenario where boats are built specifically to maximise speed by pushing tolerances to the limits.

Any new Leaders built would need a measurement certificate. This could be arranged by contacting the L.C.O. A committee.

The historical Leader Class

The Leader was designed in 1961 by Gordon Pollard as a general purpose 14 foot dinghy. Leader owner and Treasurer of L.C.O.A Mike Sherwin has written an article detailing the origins of the Leader Class and it's evolution.

On the same page you will find historical Leader documents and articles.