O'pen Bic Buyer's Guide
The O'pen Bic is a 9-foot singlehanded dinghy aimed at junior and small-adult sailors, with production beginning in 2006. On the used market it appeals to parents and sailing schools looking for a near-unsinkable trainer that can take a beating on a rocky shore.
Layouts on the Used Market
There is no cabin or accommodation to speak of; the boat is an open cat-rig dinghy with a daggerboard and a single composite epoxy centerboard. Its 3.74-foot beam and 99-pound bare hull make it a minimalist platform, and the cockpit is sized for one sailor near the 143-pound recommended crew weight, with a hard maximum of 198 pounds.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
No equipment is carried at a common or often-seen tier, and no upgrades are listed as frequent, so a buyer should expect a bare boat: the as-built 48-square-foot fat-head sail with full-length battens, the factory composite epoxy rudder and centerboard, and the molded bow nose guard. Any electronics, dollies, or covers would be owner-supplied and should be evaluated individually rather than assumed.
What to Inspect
The key structural point is the hull-to-deck joint produced by twin-sheet thermoforming, which differs from a rotomolded seam and should be checked for separation or stress cracking twin-sheet thermoforming technology. Confirm the composite epoxy rudder and centerboard are intact and not delaminated, and verify the bow nose guard is still attached and not ground through. Because the boat cannot be swamped, interior buoyancy should need no repair, but a capsize-tested boat should still right easily and show no hull distortion.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These dinghies are found in the United States and Switzerland. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm the hull-to-deck joint is sound, the epoxy appendages are undamaged, the nose guard is present, and the sail's battens and fat-head shape are intact. A clean example will be a durable, self-rescuing trainer with no ballast or engine to complicate ownership.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the O'pen Bic. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 5 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 1 | $2,000 | — |
| May 25 | 1 | $2,600 | +30.0% |
| Aug 25 | 1 | $2,600 | 0.0% |
| Dec 25 | 1 | $1,552 | -40.3% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $1,800 | +16.0% |
Where they're listed
O'pen Bic listings appear across 2 countries. Switzerland has the most listings with 1 (50.0%), followed by United States.
Country view
2 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | $1,552 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| United States | $1,800 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |