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The Enterprise type is a two-man sloop-rigged hiking sailing dinghy with distinctive blue sails.Despite being one of the older classes of dinghies, it remains popular in the United Kingdom and about a dozen other countries, and is used for both cruising and racing. It has a combination of size, weight, and power which appeals to all ages, and to sailing schools.

The Enterprise is most often sailed with no spinnaker. However the international class rules allow the decision of whether to allow spinnakers to be made by the national authority. In the U.K. and Canada, no spinnakers are allowed until 2002 when a new PY handicap was introduced in the UK to allow spinnakers to be used in multi class racing in clubs, although spinnakers may still not be used in "Class" racing; in the United States they are allowed.

Unfortunately Enterprises had poor buoyancy (early designs used air bags tied under the seats which often came loose) and consequently a reputation for sinking. Modern FRP Enterprises have built in buoyancy tanks improving stiffness and removing much of the maintenance associated with buoyancy bags. Wooden boats still tend to have buoyancy bags to the rear and a forward bulkhead. It is rare to hear of Enterprises sinking any more.

They are also relatively unstable in comparison with other dinghies of similar performance, they have handling characteristics which would generally be associated with much faster designs.

Enterprises provide close tactical racing, as opposed to some modern designs, which are considered "boat speed-obsessed". However, top Enterprise sailors depend more on expensive equipment and exotic materials than sailors in stricter one-design classes such as the Laser, where all boats are identical.

Originally "The News Chronicle Enterprise", this predates Jack Holt's other newspaper sponsored Mirror Dinghy as the first UK sailing dinghy to be sponsored by a national newspaper.

The first two Enterprises built were sailed from Dover to Calais both as a test and for advertising purposes. This feat was recreated on the Enterprise's 50th anniversary, but this time the two boats were sailed both to France and back again!

The Enterprise has the following specifications:

• Designer: Jack Holt (1956)
• LOA: 13 ft 3 in (4.0 m)
• LWL: 12 ft 11 in (3.9 m)
• Beam: 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)
• Displacement: 259 lb (117 kg)
• Draft: Centreboard up 8 in (203 mm), down 3 ft 10 in (1.2 m)
• Sail area: main & jib 115 ft² (10.7 m²)
• enterprise Class Sailing Race Results Website

• Enterprise Association UK
• International Enterprise class rules at www.sailing.org