Simoun 485 Sailboats for Sale

Drawing Diagram

Builder drawing

Hull Type

Monohull · centerboard

Rig

Fractional Sloop

LOA

15.91' · 4.85 m

Disp.

287 lbs · 130 kg

First year

1972

In the early 1970s, the French dinghy racing scene was a highly competitive arena dominated by iconic designs like the 420 and 470. Seeking to carve out a share of this rapidly growing market, the French shipyard Chantiers Gouteron, based near La Baule, introduced the Simoun 485 in 1972. Intended as a fast, doublehanded planing dinghy, the Simoun 485 was designed to compete directly with the Olympic 470. Gouteron aimed to build a boat that was not only faster and more modern but also safer and easier to manage after a capsize. The result was a lightweight, innovative fiberglass racer that represented a significant step forward in performancedinghy architecture, though its longterm legacy would eventually be complicated by its complex structural design.