About US
An Introduction to the Mini Optimist
Ahoy, their fellow sailor, or sailor to be!
My name is John Maselli, and I started building the 'Mini Opti' because of my love of sailing. My brother Paul and I grew up sailing all types of small dinghies on the south shore of Long Island, NY. We sailed on the Great South Bay, a long, shallow 60-mile bay that runs between the south-shore and the Fire Island barrier dunes, which hold out the mighty Atlantic Ocean. This bay is well-suited for centerboard craft due to its shallow depth.
I have a passion for building both small pond yachts as well as rebuilding old wooden sailboats. When I was thirteen, I built my first pond race during the winter, a 36" hard chine sloop. It had a self-steering wind vane, and I would take it to Eisenhower Park in Nassau County to sail on the pond there. It gave me many hours of enjoyment. There I would set the wind vane and watch her sail across the pond, maintaining a true course with the wind as I ran around the pond to retrieve it (before RC!). She even sailed dead downwind with that vane with the sails set wing and wing. I had a lot of fun and remember some old timers that I met sailing. I'll never forget those ancient mariners (At least thirty years old I would say! And wow, I am seventy now and still feel like a kid when I sail the Mini-Opti) and all that they taught me, as well as the comfort I got from their advice and affection. It was great to be a kid! (Now I look forward to mentoring the youth) I was proud of the compliments I got for that pond boat.
I want our 'Mini-Opti' dinghy to give you that same opportunity and experience with even more enjoyment than I had. Sailing is a great pastime, and whether or not you are in a real sailboat or sail a pond boat like the 'Mini-Opti', you will get the same thrills.
There is a time and place for everything! If you give yourself a chance to experience pond sailing, you will enjoy a great pastime that you can share with others and never grow tired of. I welcome you to the fun, excitement, and camaraderie. Please help us build many fleets of dinghies across the globe. As you may be aware of the Optimist Dinghy is the largest class one design in the world and is responsible for getting our youth into sailing and racing. Many of the world's greatest sailors started in the Optimist. The Mini-Opti can capture the imagination of even younger children to encourage their love of sailing and bring generations together in a rewarding pastime. Excited to see you on the pond, enjoying RC sailing, and building a strong class organization that we will all be proud of in the coming years ahead.
Happy Sailing,
John Maselli
My name is John Maselli, and I started building the 'Mini Opti' because of my love of sailing. My brother Paul and I grew up sailing all types of small dinghies on the south shore of Long Island, NY. We sailed on the Great South Bay, a long, shallow 60-mile bay that runs between the south-shore and the Fire Island barrier dunes, which hold out the mighty Atlantic Ocean. This bay is well-suited for centerboard craft due to its shallow depth.
I have a passion for building both small pond yachts as well as rebuilding old wooden sailboats. When I was thirteen, I built my first pond race during the winter, a 36" hard chine sloop. It had a self-steering wind vane, and I would take it to Eisenhower Park in Nassau County to sail on the pond there. It gave me many hours of enjoyment. There I would set the wind vane and watch her sail across the pond, maintaining a true course with the wind as I ran around the pond to retrieve it (before RC!). She even sailed dead downwind with that vane with the sails set wing and wing. I had a lot of fun and remember some old timers that I met sailing. I'll never forget those ancient mariners (At least thirty years old I would say! And wow, I am seventy now and still feel like a kid when I sail the Mini-Opti) and all that they taught me, as well as the comfort I got from their advice and affection. It was great to be a kid! (Now I look forward to mentoring the youth) I was proud of the compliments I got for that pond boat.
I want our 'Mini-Opti' dinghy to give you that same opportunity and experience with even more enjoyment than I had. Sailing is a great pastime, and whether or not you are in a real sailboat or sail a pond boat like the 'Mini-Opti', you will get the same thrills.
There is a time and place for everything! If you give yourself a chance to experience pond sailing, you will enjoy a great pastime that you can share with others and never grow tired of. I welcome you to the fun, excitement, and camaraderie. Please help us build many fleets of dinghies across the globe. As you may be aware of the Optimist Dinghy is the largest class one design in the world and is responsible for getting our youth into sailing and racing. Many of the world's greatest sailors started in the Optimist. The Mini-Opti can capture the imagination of even younger children to encourage their love of sailing and bring generations together in a rewarding pastime. Excited to see you on the pond, enjoying RC sailing, and building a strong class organization that we will all be proud of in the coming years ahead.
Happy Sailing,
John Maselli
Class Rules
MiniOpti Optimist RC Dinghy CLASS RULES
1. GENERAL - CLASS
2. GENERAL – YACHT
3. HULL
4. DECK
5. Dagger Board
6. Dagger Board BULB
8. BUMPERS
9. SPARS
10. STANDING RIGGING
11. RUNNING RIGGING
are permitted. The use of bowsers, cleats or equivalent devices, is optional.
11.6 The choice of line for running rigging is optional.
12. RADIO EQUIPMENT
13. SAILS
14. WEIGHT
15. YACHT REGISTRATION
16. GRANDFATHER CLAUSES
17. EFFECTIVE DATE - May 15, 2011.
RULES INTERPRETATIONS ...
Buiding the MiniOpti
Choosing this button will take you to the original optimist-rc website where you will find a wealth of information. Please note that the information there may be outdated but you will find much useful information there. We are working on bringing updated content to our new Shopify site and to bring the original site up to par. If you have questions, please reach out for more detailed up to date information