Best Recreational Dinghy

Photos by Walter Cooper

Pile in the kids, or the adults, because there’s plenty of room in the versatile little RS Venture, which is ideal for sailing programs and families alike. With this 16-footer, RS Sailboats, of the United Kingdom, offers a $14,000 dinghy with excellent performance and handling, and construction quality that will live up to the demands of club-sailing programs (especially if you add the optional bumpers).

RS’s experienced team of sailors and engineers sorted every little detail of this boat before bringing it to market—from the self-draining cockpit, to the optional weighted centerboard, masthead float, and simple sail-control systems—and the judges couldn’t find a single fault. It’s more than a recreational dinghy; it’s an excellent trainer, and has great potential for one-design racing, too.

Read more about the RS Venture here.