Get the most out of your boat! This section contains information on

• The history of the Fireball.
• Building and maintenance.
• Rigging and racing, how to tune and sail your boat to its utmost.
• The rules - class rules, RRS, Portsmouth Yardstick...
• A comprehensive list of suppliers who specialise in Fireballs, with links to their Fireball pages and tuning guides.

You can also visit the FI Forum for 'The Boat' and 'Class Rules'.

Introduction to the fireball

The fireball is a high performance two-person sailing dinghy offering exciting sailing, intense competition and a great social life off the water. It has a wide appeal as it is simple to build, reasonably priced and not to demanding to sail.

Many fireballs are amateur-built, a good indication of the simplicity of the design. The fireball hull and sail plans are of strictly one design, but the class rules allow you to adept the position and design gear to suit your own weight and style of sailing.

Anyone can sail a fireball Age or sex does not determine ones ability to be competitive. Some countries' leading fireball sailors are women. The class also has a strong contingent of sailors over forty.

Winning fireball races is not really a question of having an amateur or professionally built, plywood or fibreglass, old or new boat, but rather comes down to mastering the art of tuning, and sailing better than your competition.

fireballs are a delight to sail in strong winds. The thrills of trapeze and spinnakers are hard to match in any type of sailboat or board. If capsized, the boats are easily righted, and can be sailed without bailing. The weight and strength of the crew is not as important as the tuning of the boat. The trapeze and sail handling requires skill rather than strength.

The fireball is an international class, with fleets in every region of the world, and associations conducts yearly World, Continental, National and State Championships.