The 420 is an established worldwide performance two-person trapeze and spinnaker racing dinghy which holds status as a World Sailing International Class.
| Status | International | Hull Length | 4.2 m |
| Type | Centreboard Boat | Beam Length | 1.63 m |
| Number of Crew | 2 | Mast Length | 6.26 m |
| Opt Crew Weight | 110 - 145 kg | Mainsail Area | 10.25m2 |
| Designer | Christian Maury | Headsail Area | 2.8 m2 |
| National Origins | France | Spinnaker Area | 9.0 m2 |
| Hull Material | GRP | Sailing Boat Weight | 100 kg |
| Number of Trapeze | Single | Bare Hull Weight | 80 kg |
There are 56,000 boats which have been built worldwide. This popular dinghy is sailed at school, club, open, national and international levels. There are many second hand boats available, active clubs and excellent tuition for all levels.
Built in buoyancy tanks make the boat very safe even when inverted. The 420 is the youth development boat in 43 countries around the world. It is the equipment for the two-person dinghy boys and two-person dinghy girls events at the Youth Sailing World Championships, the pinnacle youth event in the world.
Despite the emergence of newer commercial driven classes and asymmetrics, the 420 is still the world's top youth training boat. A brand new 420 ready to sail costs approximately EUR5500 - 6000, making the boat an extremely affordable choice.
About 350 boats are built per year, with 1850 boats built over the past 5 years.
In 2020, the International 420 Class celebrated its 60th Anniversary.
The International 420 Class is recognised by World Sailing as an "World Sailing Learn to Sail Training Programme Recommended Boat", which endorses its use by Member National Authorities for developing and teaching sailing in their nation. This status also endorses that the 420 is proven to have suitable availability to MNA's and also offers a supply structure to reduce costs to the MNA's and Learn to Sail Programme training centres.
All boats recognised by World Sailing have been independently assessed by World Sailing to be ideal for developing and/or teaching sailing within the World Sailing Learn to Sail programme; they also undergo safety assessments such as European CE marking or coastguard assessment.
