Diecipiedi (10 Footer) Class has been created by B.C.A. - Demco Kit in 1991 with the aim of giving to amateur designers and boatbuilders the opportunity to taste their skills in designing and building a small boat on the basis of Class rules which encourage creativity and experimentation. The rules are extremely simple. Boats must have a maximum hull length and beam of 10’ (3.048 m) and a maximum sailing area of 8 m². The length limit is connected to the size of the plywood sheets available in Italy, which is 3.1 m. A Diecipiedi may be build with just one sheet of plywood, without the need to scarf different pieces, which makes construction very simple, quick and cheap. This is one of the reasons why the class quickly became the favourite of amateur boatbuilders. In any case the Diecipiedi do not have to be built compulsorily in plywood and actually in the history of Diecipiedi there has been a high variety of materials, such as aluminium, fiberglass, hi tech composites, wood. There has been also a boat completely built in plexiglass, which allowed an excellent view to his crew over and under the water. The problem was that the boat, being transparent, risked to be hit in crowded starts by other competitors and after a short period it disappeared from the Class activity. Apart from building materials also in other features boats are quite different. These have been in the Diecipiedi history monohulls, trimarans and catamarans, the first type prevailing at the beginning and the second now. Catamarans never got brilliant results and it is now clear that they are not the right choice for winning. The same fantasy has been shown by the competitors and designers in sailing rigs: marconi sloop or cat, sprit sail, lateen and even polynesian rigs are some of the favourite choices. With the possibility of experimenting even the strangest solutions at a very low cost the Class is an extraordinary practical school of boat design, and new solutions may be immediately compared in races against other builders and designers. The first race, held in 1991 in Cernobbio, on the lake of Como, with the participation of 6 boats, has been won by a Granny Pram, a very nice and elegant but not particularly fast ten footer designed by Iain Oughtred. The following year the number of competitors had doubled and it doubled again one year later. Cernobbio race was then the only Class meeting but later the class became more organised and now there is a regatta season, starting in April and lasting until the end of September, with 8 or more meetings where an average of 15 boats participate regularly. They are mainly on the northern Italy lakes but sometimes also on the sea. The is a class Secretary and a website www.diecipiedi.it where you may find all detailed informations and a rich gallery on the activity of the Class. Meanwhile the performances of the boats have considerably improved and a Granny Pram today would not have any chance to be in the leading group. This does not mean that the Diecipiedi have become “monsters” such as the Moths flying on their foils controlled by young and acrobatic helmsmen. Diecipiedi’s crew are generally middle-aged gentlemen who try to avoid difficult conditions, who hate to be cold and wet and usually appreciate the joys of living, which also means eating and drinking in good company. The atmosphere is generally very friendly and relaxed, even in the climax of the competition and everybody agrees that the victory is less important than the amusement of sailing together and competing fairly and kindly. Protests and racing tricks are, until now, practically unknown. Every year there are new boats participating and it is a stimulating exercise to keep up with the improvements of performances. The fastest boats are in this moment trimarans, and particularly fast are the trimarans with amas high on the water which can be sailed in most conditions navigating on the centre hull, which allows to reduce the wetted area and the resistance. A boat of this kind, appropriately called Slim, has dominated the two last seasons but its supremacy is put in danger by some fast trimarans appeared this year. With light winds monohulls can still fight for victory. In our article page you may find some more technical consideration on the Diecipiedi boats.

The idea of creating the Class came seventeen years ago from an article on wooden boat on a similar Class active in the United States. We have been encouraged to create the Class from a sentence of this article stating that in the pictures of the Class regattas the participants showed almost always a satisfied smile on their face. We think the same can be told of the Italian Diecipiedi. We do not know if the Class is always active in the States or if there is something similar in other countries but we hope that our example shall be followed and that other class organisations shall develop also outside Italy. We also hope that one day it could be possible to organise a World Championship, meeting other Diecipiedi coming from different countries. It would be a real success, provided that the Class does not loose its initial spirit, which is based on friendship and amusement: it has always to be considered a joke, even if made seriously, or, if you prefer, a serious activity, but made as a joke.

Speed record for Ten Footers

Two years ago the pompously-entitled “B.C.A. - Demco Trophy: Ten Foot Speed Record World Championship” that we had proposed didn’t encounter much backing. In fact only one official qualifying session took place, and was partly invalidated by the erratic functioning of the GPS used for speed recording. The official record stands at 9,6 knots, a respectable speed for a ten footer, and yet beatable. The recordman is Fulvio Cocchi on Slim. I have tried and analysed the manifold reasons for the fiasco. I think we can a priori exclude the reasons that imply questioning the Ten Footer fans’ merits and moral qualities. For instance I would refrain from thinking that Ten Footer fans: - would prefer to remain ashore rather than risking an unexpected bath or damages to their boat. - Fear that this trophy will be a prerogative of those usual “first in the class” who always win, and will be frustrating competing with them. - Believe that an accurate speed timing will force them to reassess the speed they thought they could reach. On the other hand, I do believe that the reasons why they didn’t participate are imputable to the wording of the rules. Namely: - the competition included money prizes, and racers feared they would appear greedy if they had pledged themselves into it. The fact that the winner refused to collect his prize substantiates the assumption. - Strict regulations had to be implemented in order to prove the results’ authenticity. Maybe this made the participants think we were mistrusting them. - Ten Footer fans are known to be self-effacing and alien to any form of prima donna behavior. They might have thought that setting a new world record could have cast upon them so great a glory as to shatter their lives. Learning from experience, B.C.A. - Demco Kit cancels the trophy, and yet doesn’t relinquish the idea of trying to reach the highest speed a ten footer can get to, recording it and measuring it with the speed others manage to reach. The first goal is to break the wall of 10 knots, and from there to try and lift the bar higher and higher. Not for money, not for glory: the true record-man does it for the thrill of speed itself. The intention is one that lies beneath the creation of the Ten Foot Class: to have the chance to test practically and cheaply new design ideas, building techniques, and to try them out with friends who share the same interests. In brief, B.C.A. - Demco will organise open “speed sessions”, mainly in Cernobbio, but also in other suitable locations, to measure and confront the participants’ speeds. As weather and wind conditions must be favourable, and are not predictable, dates will be fixed “last minute”: we will take care of communicating them through our Newsletter and website, and through the Class’ secretaryship. If you’re interested, and want to make sure you will be rapidly informed, please write an e-mail to let us know of your interest for record-setting.