In its 50th year, the OK Dinghy class is benefiting from having a new builder in the UK. Idol Composites, which is located near Fakenham in Norfolk, acquired the world beating moulds from Rushworth Racing Dinghies late in 2006 and has started to manufacture some of the most beautifully finished and stiffest OK Dinghies ever produced in the UK.

Idol Composites is the brainchild of Alex Scoles. Commenting, Scoles said: “The idea was to produce the best OK Dinghies available anywhere. This means some areas such as finishing takes a little longer than some builders, but I think that the final product is of a very high quality and worth the extra effort.”

The pedigree of the hulls is in no doubt. OK Dinghies from Rushworth Racing Dinghies have won eight of the past nine UK National Championships as well as medalling at the world championship in 2003 (1, 3) and 2004 (1, 2, 3). After 10 years of production Rushworth stopped building in 2004 and the class was left without a UK builder until Alex Scoles stepped in.

Scoles continued: “While we have used the same hull mould, I rebuilt the deck mould to incorporate a new deck/hull flange which makes the boats much stiffer. The finished hulls are painted in a very high wear two-pack paint, so owners can request a wide range of colours and get a top quality finish that will not fade or crack like gelcoat often does.”

The attention to detail and the quality of the finish is second to none. Boats can be supplied at any stage of completion from an unfinished hull to be decked to a ready to race boat, as well as foils and fittings packs. The company is also looking at supplying rigs and other gear in order to be able to provide an off-the-shelf product that can be raced the next day.

More details can be found on Idol Composite’s brand new website www.idolcomposites.co.uk

Scoles is now taking orders for the winter and is offering a discount for all orders received between the UK National Championship over 24-26 August at Felpham Sailing Club and the UK Inland National Championship at Northampton Sailing Club over the weekend of 6-7 October. Alex can be contacted at info@idolcomposites.co.uk.