title: Mistral 16
text: # Mistral 16
  
  The Mistral 16 is a Canadian sailing dinghy that was designed as a daysailer and first built in 1980.
  
  The Mistral 16 is a development of the Ian Proctor designed 1959 Wayfarer dinghy and is similar to the CL 16.
  
  ## Production
  
  The design was built by Canadian Yacht Builders in Canada, starting in 1980, but it is now out of production.
  
  ## Design
  
  The Mistral 16 is a recreational dinghy, built predominantly of fibreglass. It has a fractional sloop rig, a spooned, slightly raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a folding centreboard. It displaces 365 lb (166 kg).
  
  The boat has a draft of 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with the centreboard extended and 8 in (20 cm) with it retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.
  
  The boat may be optionally fitted with a small outboard motor for docking and manoeuvring. It was built as both an open boat and with a small cuddy cabin.
  
  ## Operational history
  
  In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "the formula for this boat was simply to add a small cuddy cabin to the standard Mistral 16 open dinghy. Although the cabin seems to stick out a bit in the front of the boat, this formula has produced a good sailing vessel with a relatively roomy cabin for a 16 footer. While its cabin seems to offer a touch more space than other boats in this size range, it's still going to be a tight fit for anyone who plans to overnight inside this boat."
  
  