6 metres, Open

This was the next-to-last appearance on the Olympic Program for the 6-metre class, which had débuted at the 1908 Olympics and been held continuously since. The event was raced on a 14 nautical mile (26 km) course, which was well offshore. The American boat, Llanoria, skippered by Herman Whiton, won the gold medal, although it was pushed in the final race by the Argentine boat Djinn, helmed by Enrique Sieburger, Sr.. Whiton and Llanoria would return in 1952 and defend their title, although the crew members were different.

The bronze medal helmsman, Sweden’s Tore Holm, was making his fifth Olympic appearance, having won a gold medal in this event in 1932 and in the 40 m2 event in 1920, and a bronze medal in the 1928 8-metre class. The fourth-place helmsman, Magnus Konow of Norway, was making his sixth, and final, Olympic appearance, in an Olympic career that began in 1908, and saw him win gold medals in the 1912 12-metre class and the 1920 8-metre class.