Dinghies ... .. .

[Courtnadge1]

Hello,

Well thanks to the advice of "yachtcharisma" and a couple of people that I have spoken to at work I have decided to buy a Dinghy for some sailing practice.

This opens a whole new can of worms, what kind of dinghies are best for the complete novice, budget of lets say ~ £500, I wouldn't mind doing some work on it as I feel that this would give me some more experience.

Any suggestions.

Thanks,
Pete.

P.S.
Thanks to all who have helped so far, your ideas have been very helpful.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Because the dinghy is an apprenticeship for something bigger, why not start with a dinghy that behaves like a small yacht.

Two options - a Wayfarer and a Wanderer. Not for £500, but you'll get your money back when the time comes to sell.

 

[Stemar]

I recently got an old Kestrel (about 14ft, GRP, heavy centreboard for a lot less than £500 ,she sails like a dream, but is big enough to be a bit forgiving and handle a bit of chop. Only downside, my sails were meant for heros - there aren't any reefing points!

 

[poter]

I agree with Twister_Ken a Wayfarer would be an great start boat.
Another idea why not also try out a cat say a Hobie a Prindle or a Dart, nice stable platform and you will get to understand what to do with the sails, and once proficient get out on a harness for some thrills.
I had a Hobie 16, many years ago, the best fun I ever had.


have fun

poter.

 

[gtmoore]

I can second that about the cat. I sailed a Prindle 16 for several years - it has to be the most laughs for a couple of grand you can get. My sailing was mainly on lakes but had a whale of a time in Pool harbour and it was there I learnt the hard way about tides (hit drying mud bank, pitchpole, slow-mo of crew and helm flying through the air landing 6ft in front of boat!).

 

[jamesa]

2 old faithfulls that can be easily found for this sort of money - GP14 or Enterprise. Both suitable for novices. The GP14 will also has the option of small jib (as opposed to standard genoa) and will allow you experiment with a (very small) spinnaker if you're feeling adventurous!

 

[yachtcharisma]

Would agree with all the suggestions above, except maybe the cats. 14' seems to be a very popular size for fairly stable, semi "yacht-like" dinghies, pretty much any of which would be quite good to learn in. I think my own choice would be a Wayfarer. Worth getting something that looks more like a boat than a surfboard! The flatter, surfboard-like dinghies (lasers etc) are often more racing oriented, which is not really what you're after at the moment.

Why am I against cats? Largely because you are really using dinghy sailing specifically as preparation for buying a bigger monohull (unless you become totally converted to the "cat" cause!). Cats do sail significantly differently from monohulls, and habits you learn on a dinghy cat won't necessarily be quite as transferable to a small monohull as those that you learn in a wayfarer. On the other hand, I believe they are great fun...!

Only other point is perhaps size. I remember you mentioned originally that you'll be sailing with your wife. If the two of you are going to dinghy sail together as well, then 14' is great. If, on the other hand, you're going to be largely singlehanding, you might like something a little bit smaller, if for no other reason than its easier to pull up the slipway on your own afterwards! I did most of my learning in a Mirror (about 11'), first on lakes then on tidal waters, and I found it a very good size for one, plus it would certainly come in your price range. But I would go to something a bit bigger if there are going to be two of you in it much.

Hope that's helpful. I feel a bit responsible if its my suggestion that persuaded you to dinghy sailing in the first place...! Hope you enjoy it!!

Cheers
Patrick

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Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[Mirelle]

Some good stable learning dinghies:

Mirror, GP14 and Enterprise (all orginally built in plywood. Mirror still is)

Bosun (used by RN as training dinghy)

Wayfarer if you can find one at the price

Albacore (really nice "hot moulded" wooden boat, forgiving and lovely to sail, my first choice)

Avoid anything that has strings and wires that you don't recognise hanging off it!

 

[AndrewB]

A slightly different tack.

If you want a dinghy solely to learn to sail, and you would sell it again the moment you had, then you might consider that rather than buy a dinghy, you and your wife have a week's holiday in a dinghy sailing school. The concentrated learning curve would be worth the best part of a season in your own dinghy, without any of the hassle associated with ownership.

On the other hand, if you think you might actually like sailing a dinghy for a couple of seasons, then I'd strongly recommend joining a local club. This would give you a place to leave the dinghy, easy access to the water, plenty of advice, safety cover, even a little racing practice if you really want to sharpen up. Don't worry too much about the type of dinghy until you have at least approached a couple of local clubs. You'll find out through the club what classes of dinghy are sailed locally, very likely opportunity to get an oldish boat cheap, maybe even get to try out a couple of different classes before you decide. Almost all clubs support at least one class suitable for learning (though a Mirror and a Topper are a bit small for adults).

Some types of dinghy are more suitable in some areas than others. For example, so far you have been recommended a Wayfarer, GP14, Enterprise, Albacore, Bosun. All are very good in their way, but old-fashioned designs from before the days of really effective wetsuits (this tells you something about how long ago most of us learnt on dinghies!); and heavy, best suited to sea-sailing. If you were to practice on a lake, for example, something different might be preferable.

 

[graham]

Re: A slightly different tack.

If you can sail a dinghy you can sail anything.Iknow people who have sailed in yachts for years and still dont know the basics of getting the boat to sail well.

If you learn to sail a dinghy first you have to sail yourself out of trouble as there is no engine waiting to be started at the first sign of a problem.

The Enterprise dinghy often comes with two sets of sails,the larger racing set and a smaller set for cruising which are ideal for beginners.

Best of luck + Happy Sailing

 

[yachtcharisma]

Re: A slightly different tack.

There are two schools of thought about learning to sail. Courses are certainly very valuable, and some people learn very well that way. But I personally feel I've got a great deal from owning a boat and going out and playing in it that I wouldn't have got from the courses - especially confidence-wise. In particular, a week's dinghy sailing course will certainly teach you how to sail it, but you'll really need to own something afterwards if you want to go away and practise those skills and not gradually forget them. That said, if you don't use courses, you really do need to read everything there is to read about sailing, then go out and try it on the water. But then, if you've just caught the bug, you'll probably be doing that anyway!

I'm a terribly antisocial person, and I'm sure joining a club is very good advice, but I wouldn't feel restricted by what boats they sail or where or when they sail them. Choose a boat that you think you'll learn well in, and find somewhere to keep it where you'd like to sail it. If you have to join a club to do that, so be it, but don't end up with a tippy racing boat because that's what the nearest club happens to race. I much preferred at first to go out somewhen quiet, when I knew I could make my mistakes unobserved and learn from them, which makes the type of boat much more important than the club. Especially since once you've mastered everything the dinghy sailing books can tell you you might well want to take it down to the estuary to see what some of the things the dayskipper book mentions are all about. You don't need the safety boats, the races, or even the instructors to learn to sail. But I'm well aware that many people enjoy the club lifestyle...

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun whichever route you choose. But I guess the bottom line is to at least be aware that there are perfectly reasonable alteratives to all the courses and clubs...

Cheers
Patrick

==================
Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
==================

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Re: A slightly different tack.

I totally agree
such is the fine tuning needed for dinghies to go faster you find you become a better helm steering to wind etc.
and if your dinghy is on a mooring you ALWAYS have to sail onto the mooring
plus it can be great fun screeching along getting wet

...It was like that when i found it!

 

[Ohdrat]

If you want a "dinghy" that really behaves like a yacht this is it..<font color=blue> >[url]http://www.boats-uk.co.uk/Pages/John Lack/Devon Yawl.htm</font color=blue>[/url]

The best place to look for 2nd hand Devon Yawls is surprising Devon! They are the most excellent small boats and seriously seaworthy.. I have sailed round Start Point in one.

 

[Grehan]

Dinghy / dinghy school

We had a week's dinghy school a couple of years back - precisely for the reasons given elsewhere (a) its fun and (b) it teaches wind awareness that's beneficial when sailing much bigger craft.
Throughly recommend.

Admittedly we didn't then get much chance to put the dinghy skills themselves to much effect (except on the yacht) - until recently. Looking round for a tender, we thought up the idea of getting a cheapy elderly Mirror and getting the extra benefit of some 'close to the water' dinghy fun.
Well that's worked out, sort-of.
We really enjoy taking the Mirror out, but she's just a little too big to use as a tender.

Can anybody . . suggest something a bit smaller (maybe don't sail as well, but is a touch more stable and 'luggable') at a similarly cheapy cost?
[the world of all those different dinghies and classes is a complete mystery to me]

ta

BTW We find two adults fit ok on/in a Mirror although taking the dog (labrador) as well is indeed a bit of a squeeze! She (the dog) does love it though. (and so does the wife!).

 

[AndrewB]

Re: Dinghy / dinghy school

If you want cheap, an old Optimist perhaps, 8' and designed to be sailed by a child. But I don't know if it's possible to adapt it for rowing.

There has been a selection of sailing tenders at recent boatshows. We've wondered about the Seahopper (http://www.homestead.com/seahopper/frontpage.html), which is a folding boat. And in the inflatable line there is always the Tinker Tramp (http://www.tinker.co.uk/html/tramp.htm). But these mean digging deeper.

I think you'll be lucky to find anything suitable that's as cheap as an old Mirror - unless you make it yourself.

 

[chippie]

Re: Dinghy / dinghy school

I have an old optimist which has a removable seat that fits over the centreboard housing for rowing. I'm not sure it would be much good with more than one person in it when being rowed though.