International One Design by Bjarne Aas

The International was specifically designed to be beautiful, and is basically a slightly smaller version of a particularly lovely Six Meter that Aas had designed just previously.

Compared to other, similar boats on this site she is relatively large, and her Marconi rig is just a bit more modern. An excellent cold water boat because of her good freeboard, a bit of extra size, and a deep, sheltered cockpit, she is also big enough to have very good room in the cabin for cruising if desired, and she has large amounts of storage space.

The International is a popular racing boat, and is one of the most tightly controlled One Design classes in the world. For this reason, prospective owners must decide early on if they want her to conform to class rules or not. Fortunately the effect of the rules has been to keep the boats fairly simple, with the idea being that every International is always competitive with any other International, and one cannot simply spend one’s way to a faster boat. The jib is small compared to the main, meaning the boat is easy to handle and despite her size and power, she requires little strength to sail. The whole boat has a clean, efficient, classic look that we think is pretty much the perfect expression of her type.

Internationals are known for their speed to windward and their rough water ability. They are customarily sailed very hard, and it would be hard to imagine a nicer boat to drive to windward on a blustery day.