Year 1949 Crew 3 | Design One-Design Type Monohull | |
 | ||
Designer Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass Draft 0.67 feet (0.20 m)
5.0 feet (1.5 m) | ||
The Highlander is a large (20 foot LOA) high performance one-design racing dinghy, also used for day sailing, popular in the United States. It was designed by Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass in 1949, to be a more comfortable alternative to the Thistle. The Highlander was the last boat built by the Douglass & McLeod company. The Highlander features an 88-pound centerboard. The Highlander sails with a main, jib and spinnaker. With over 1000 boats built, the Highlander has gained reputation for being stable and secure. There are currently 14 racing fleets of Highlanders located in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Douglass' Flying Scot is known as the little sister to the Highlander.
In July 2012, Skip Dieball won the 2012 Highlander National Championship, which took place at Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio.