The International Cadet Class was formed in 1947 and Jack Holt who was a junior race trainer designed the first Cadet boat. Since then, thousands of children have had their first introduction to sailing via the Cadet including several Olympic Sailing medalists.

The Cadet is what is known as a single-class boat and therefore all Cadets have the same, strictly controlled measurements. The boat itself is 10ft. 7 in. (3 m 20 cm.) long, weighs 135 lb (61.2 kg) and has a sail area of 49 / 50 square feet (4.55 / 4.65 square metres).

The boat was purposely made to be too small for an adult to sail but with all the attributes of a racing dingy even to include a spinnaker. Until recently, all Cadet boats were made of wood but the latest models (Rondars) are made of glassfibre which of course means low maintenance.

As opposed to the Optimist or Topper classes, the Cadet is almost the only class of boat which is sailed by a crew of two, namely a helm and a crew. In fact, more children sail a Cadet than any other RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Youth Class double handed trainer boat. The big advantage of this is that the children can get to sail almost straight away under the guidance of the older and more experienced helm.

It is important to note that before taking over their responsibilities, almost all helms will have sailed as a crew for two or three years themselves. The helms will therefore have a great deal of experience and knowledge which they can then pass down to the new crews and therefore ensure rapid progress for the beginners. The Cadet therefore provides a three sail experience where the helm and the crew must work together as a team to obtain the best results.

As mentioned above, until recently, all Cadets were built of wood. However, there is a ready market for older Cadet boats and several forty year old boats are still in regular use across the country. These cheaper older boats are never the less still very competitive with national success being achieved in second-hand boats costing less than £1,000.