12-metre class

The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. The designation "12 Metre" does not refer to any single measurement on the boat, it is not their overall length for example, but to the sum of the components of the formula that governs design and construction. Typically 12 Metre class boats range from 65 to 75 feet (about 20 to 23 m) in length overall; they are most often sloop-rigged, with masts roughly 85 feet (26 m) tall.

The first 12 Metres were built in 1907. The 12 Metre class was used in the Olympic Games of 1908, 1912 and 1920 but few boats participated in these events. The 12 Metre class boats are best known as the boat design used in the America's Cup from 1958 to 1987.

Competitiveness between boats in the class is maintained by requiring the boats to be in compliance with the 12 Metre formula. Designers and builders are required to take into account such things as the sail area, the boat length at the waterline and the boat girth (the measurement around the boat from one sideboard, under the keel, and then over the top on the opposite side back to the original side). The measurements are then weighted in the formula. For example, the present formula takes the square root of the sail area rather than total area. The combination of weighted measurements must be less than or equal to 12 metres. Designers are free to change any of the component variables, as well as other details, such as the size of the rudder and keel, so long as the corresponding changes elsewhere produce an ultimate sum of 12 metres and the resulting boat is both seaworthy and safe. Though disparity between boats are minimized by the rule, enough variation exists so that races are as much about design and construction as they are about seamanship and tactics.