The US EC12 Class
   American Model Yachting Association 

The Class
The model was created from a water test tank model for a design pending for the 1968 America's Cup. The East Coast 12 Meter model was established in 1970 with the forming of the Association. It has been in continuous operation since with the first hulls registered the following year. The class is the second largest of the 30 something classes with 430 members, as of 2011. The first Class National Championship Regatta was held in Memphis in 1971 and also continuous every year since.

The largest population of the class is on the East Coast from Maine and Vermont to Naples Florida and west to Chicago. Class operations are in competitive racing with over 20 two-day events thoughout the calendar year. These regattas draw from 20 to 35 boats and the nationals in the Fall often approaches 50 entries. The class website, linked to the left, shows the scope of these operations with a running 18-month sailing schedule. Delta MYC is the only club in California sailing the the EC12 and for the most part the entire West Coast.

The EC12 popularity is from the clean lines of a sailboat, it's gracefulness in the water while handling like a sailboat and the simplicity of the electronic equipment and controls. Further is the level of activity with organization, communications and support for the members. The boat is an instrument in the vicarious experiences not likely to be able to realized in life by most.

The Model is just short of 60 inches long with a draft of 7.875 inches, a mast standing 72 inches above the deck and weight about 23.5 pounds fully ballasted and ready for the water. The hull is a certified one-design and a completed boat is registered and assigned a yacht registration number that is printed on the sails. The Class Registry dates back to May 1971 and maintained from owner to owner. This too can be seen online at the class website.

Rick West is this site's administrator and has been the EC12 Class Secretary since 2004 and will retire from that position in 2014. Wherever EC12s are seen the #94 yellow boat will have him at the helm. #94 has won 9 nationally scheduled regattas including the Morgan-Black (Worlds) Regatta in Nelson, New Zealand November 2006. He is the creater of the EC12 Building site where most of the early work in 1999 was done here with the Delta Group.