Help me find a sailing dinghy

[Scillypete]

Not mentioned yet but one that should meet all your criteria could be the Walker bay 10 with the full kit, a fairly lightweight dinghy so should be draggable up a slip, the tubes should stop it from inverting and also make good fendering, can take a decent outboard for any fishing adventures although I’ve never been keen on mixing hooks and inflated tubes. No idea of the kind of sailing performance but you’re not going racing so reasonable cruising is all you need.

 

[Fossil]

In your situation - sailing in un-frequented waters - I'd prioritise the "not falling in" side of the equation over absolute comfort. Have you considered two - or even three - hulls? The cat that springs to mind is a Hobie. There are usually a few on the eBay, or secondhand market. Could be easily launched and recovered. or just left on a bank if your house is near the water. And overcome your prejudices and buy a well-fitting dry-suit to take her out, so you don't get too cold. Should give you sufficient performance in safety - you don't HAVE to fly the hull - to blow the blues away. Just a thought.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Hobbie Cats are uncomfortable to leisurely cruise around in. It’s like sitting or kneeling or slouching on the floor all the time while trying to avoid awkward protuberances. Okay if you are hiking out or on the trapeze.

 

[dunedin]

Hobbie Cats are uncomfortable to leisurely cruise around in. It’s like sitting or kneeling or slouching on the floor all the time while trying to avoid awkward protuberances. Okay if you are hiking out or on the trapeze.

........and Hpbie Cats have low volume hilla with tendency to pitch pole, much more so than a Dart for example

 

[Bobc]

I would have thought that a Solo would do the job, or if you want something that won't fall over, then a K1 (although it is a bit heavier as it has a lifting keel).

 

[ashtead]

A tinker tramp to Pootle about in with an electric motor plus a sail for drifting along when winds are light. It sounds like you want a light portable hull you can take home . There’s a tinker tramp website and ones for sale secondhand.

 

[Wing Mark]

For pottering in fine weather, I'd suggest avoiding anything slow or with small sails.
Us racers will go out in F5 or F6 and not try to go very far if it's F2 or less.
People who want to sail on sunny days wearing shorts should probably avoid boats which take a good breeze to get them moving.
Racing we're happy going around in small circles. Well triangles mostly.
People who are not racing tend to want to get somewhere, even if it's just the next beach.

Cat is not such a daft idea, but Hobies are not exactly light out of the water.

Out of the box suggestion: RS Vareo.
The asy kite adds a lot of fun without being too silly.
Disclaimer: I've never sailed one, but there were some at one of my previous clubs.

 

[matt1]

Foxer, but good luck finding one

Foxer class

 

[northwind]

Wanderer with a steel centre board and ideally the MD conversion as when capsized, they float lower in the water which aids recovery. or an Anglo Marine built gull, as they are a bit smaller and lighter than the wanderer, but still have the storage tank at the back, so you can store stuff in there and either can take a small outboard.

 

[Fossil]

When I suggested considering a Hobie, perhaps I wasn't specific enough. Granted some of the smaller, racing-orientated cats can be uncomfortable. What I had in mind was the "Getaway" range, which have what looks like fairly comfortable raised seats well above the waterline, a loose-footed mainsail - no boom to worry about - a smallish jib and which can, if such is your wish, carry about six other people and which the manufacturers recommend for fishing trips. There are other models, including a trimaran - not sure if this is still being made - which has seats in the centre hull. Anyway, my point remains that, if you are insufficiently agile to be able to dodge booms and right a capsized dinghy, and you sail out in the wilds far from possible help, you might need to be looking at something else, if not a multi-hull then a pocket keelboat, perhaps.

 

[PhillM]

Hawk 20 on a mooring sounds like it would fit the bill.

 

[westernman]

In your situation - sailing in un-frequented waters - I'd prioritise the "not falling in" side of the equation over absolute comfort. Have you considered two - or even three - hulls? The cat that springs to mind is a Hobie. There are usually a few on the eBay, or secondhand market. Could be easily launched and recovered. or just left on a bank if your house is near the water. And overcome your prejudices and buy a well-fitting dry-suit to take her out, so you don't get too cold. Should give you sufficient performance in safety - you don't HAVE to fly the hull - to blow the blues away. Just a thought.

Hobie cats pitch-pole. Ass over tit. And it does not need much wind or big waves. Been there. Done that (many times).

Righting a cat is physically harder than righting a dinghy.

 

[Fossil]

If you are fixated on single hulls, here's another suggestion - looks just what the doctor ordered. But fitting an outboard might be a bit problematical....
Just out for the day - YouTube

 

[Fossil]

Or, if you feel an outboard is essential and you don't mind fiddling with a million miles of string, how about this one?

"Cuillin" 14ft 6in Post Boat - YouTube

 

[PhillM]

Of course you could always get a little motor boat and pootle around to your hearts content but without the risk of ending up in the drink.

 

[ianat182]

So far most of the suggestions are for sailing dinghies.
Suggest you check on GUMTREE for a 12ft Clinker dinghy which is for sale. Its not mine but a mate's and I can confirm the condition is first class as advertised. It's priced in the ballpark range of a small sailing dinghy but can seat four persons if required. We're both getting less active to do sailing in a dinghy - and even more so now! It has both trolley and road trailer and located in Warsash,Hants.

ianat182

 

[Tom Sonoro]

My tuppence:

Wayfarer - too heavy for me to get up a slip unaided. Overcanvassed for single handing, though you could of course reef. Nice and stable and room for all the family.
Enterprise - a bit tippy for my taste. Again, overcanvassed.
Gull - a bit cramped, especially if you are tall/heavy/not particularly spry.
Kestrel - quite a powerful, racy boat for single-handing. A boat you sit on, not in, so you do have to concentrate. We sailed them three up at school and they were still a handful.

I would second Daydream Believer's suggestion of a GP 14. Very stable, relatively spacious. Quite heavy, but just about manageable on the hard. I would want to be able to reef the main (or keep a smaller main from something like a Gull or a Heron for windier days). You can row them, just about, or put a small outboard on the back. Plenty to be had and not for silly money.

I agree it would be a great place to keep a Flying Fifteen (or a Squib, even perhaps a Tempest?) on a mooring.

I would also raise my eyebrows at the prospect of a dip in Loch Fyne without the benefit of a wetsuit or a drysuit, at any time of year. As they say in the kayaking world: "dress for the swim, not for the paddle".

 

[Slowboat35]

I see the yacht club at Levington is selling their 4 Squibs - £1800 downwards inc trailer fully equipped.
Might be a bit big and heavy though.

 

[Greenheart]

Lots of nice ideas here. But it may be worth reviewing Mr Quandary's original post...cats and keels weren't part of his brief:

• I need a sailing dinghy.
• No racing, it would just be used for pootling about Loch Gilp, perhaps the far side of Loch Fyne.
• Single handed sailing and launching
• a tendency to stay upright most of the time and a resistance to inversion.
• I will not be wearing a wet suit, just t shirt and shorts.
• Grp hull preferred.
• I have a Laser 2000 but it is too much work to launch and recover.
• I have sailed Mirrors but can no longer crawl under the boom
• good if I could put a little outboard on the back and go out for mackerel on quiet summer evenings.
• Do not want to go too far to fetch it so something commonplace would be good.

Thinking back, this isn't an unusual set of requirements. I'd like a boat that answers that lot, myself.

I'll say this, to get it out of the way...

...by not caring about race-rules, various elderly, inexpensive two-handed race-bred dinghies can be freely adapted for unstressful cruising by single-handers who don't regard capsize as inevitable or fun. It requires reefing gear and other adaptations, and an acute sense of when not to launch, but there are lots of tidy old racers, no longer competitive but very gratifying to sail.

Two-handed race-boats are usually bigger and more comfortable than those designed for single-handing, but the racing purpose tends to keep their weight down. The trouble with dinghies expressly designed for cruising or to be 'general purpose', is that weight seems not to have concerned their designers, so boats that may be reassuringly stable afloat, are a royal pain to move ashore.

When I can't cope with the Osprey anymore, I'll look at getting (and de-tuning) an old Tasar - still a decent size and as beamy as the Osprey, but literally only half her weight.

Aside from that, conventional single-handable unsporty choices warrant a mention - but whether the boom on a Gull or Heron is higher than a Mirror's, I can't say. Credit to Oldbloke (post 9) for suggesting raising the gooseneck rather than looking for a different boat. The Mirror is cheap and tame and versatile (will take an outboard), and its simple ply construction needn't scare anyone off...

...though like the O.P., I'd prefer GRP, in order to sail rather than maintain.

But I'm not sure if the OP's location makes a very small, slow boat a less wise choice. I've found the 17ft Osprey (which I admit is the limit for hauling out alone) copes well in rough water, largely because she's not chucked about the way an eleven footer will be.

If the OP can use his car at the slipway, I think the nicest pure sailing boat must be a K1. Not strictly a dinghy (60kg lead bulb at the end of the daggerboard) although it's no heavier than my Osprey - but it is self-righting and a wonderful elegant bit of design.

But I sense that small, undemanding and not new, will win here. I bet a Mirror with a raised boom (and re-cut mainsail so it fits the slightly 'shorter' mast) will be all the fun and versatility required, easily found for sale, manageable ashore and cheap as chips.

I hope we hear what he thinks of what we think.

 

[Quandary]

Time for a response?
First, I appreciate all the responses, great to have a variety of suggestions.
I have built, owned and sailed 2 Mirrors, it was how I started on the water. The last time I was in one, about 5 years ago with two kids, I felt that it was cramped but on my own I might put up with it, I have capsized in one a few times but except for once when the mast caught in the weed at the bottom managed to right it fairly comfortably. When I had the first Mirror I lusted after a GP14 but can just about remember being in one. My last dinghy about ten years ago was a Laser 13, we used it in a local sailing club to introduce adults to sailing while their kids were using the club Picos, I did manage to turn it over only once by going forward to deal with a jamed furler. Unfortunately the Club is now defunct, there is a strange aversion to racing locally and Laser 13s are very rare.
I really fancy the K1 idea but can not see me getting value out of it up here on my own, I am not going to be going out often enough.
My son sails at Helensburgh, having failed in his objective of making a sailor out of his daughter he plans to give up his Laser 2000 and buy a Solo as there are some raced there so I might get a try in that.
I suspect it may be something traditional, perhaps in wood, I might have a go at a kit, Iain Oughtred or something like that, unless I can find something ?
The Club slipway is about 100 metres away, quite steep but you can get a car on it, I do have the gear for a light mooring but I would prefer to launch, mainly because I will be using the boat so infrequently though the moorings are right in front of our house.
If the accessibilty was less, I suspect I might not bother but it makes me jealous when I see a sail drawing nicely and the water chuckling as it passes our windows, all my sailing life I hoped for this level of proximity, seems a shame not to continue to take advantage.