Australia was the top-ranked country in sailing at the 1996 Games. To improve the odds, Dutch shipbuilders began to design smaller, faster boats that could outmaneuver threats and protect the valuable cargoes. These agile ships, known by the Dutch word jacht, quickly became fashionable as a pleasure craft used first by royalty, notably England's King Charles II who discovered yachting while in exile in the Netherlands. Yacht racing began in earnest in the mid-18th century when sailing matches for large stakes were held on the River Thames in England. Although early yachts were made from iron and wood, modern yachts increasingly rely on plastics to improve speed and agility.
Plastics improve performance.
Sailboats are mainly made from fiberglass , an inexpensive material that performs well in the water. Racing sailboats, which need lighter, stronger and better-performing materials than watercraft meant mainly for recreational use, are constructed from a laminate combination of polyester , Kevlar and fiberglass. This specific combination of materials matches the expected load and purpose of the sailboat to give it the greatest amount of stability. All plastic used in the boats are an improvement over wood, which is weak, prone to corrosion and easily warped. The interior of most competitive sailboats is also constructed of plastics, such as ABS and polyethylene .