tangomoon
Well-Known Member
Has anyone any opinions for these as a Club starter dinghy? All comments welcome. When did they stop making plywood and turn out plastic - Anybody?
Optimist dinghies - opinions please
- Thread starter tangomoon
- Start date
Lakesailor
Well-Known Member
Is it me? GRP Optimist
VicS
Well-Known Member
First designed 1947
Fibreglass hulls permitted 1970
They did not become competitive until 1975-6 and wooden boats were still seen at the Worlds until 1981
It is still possible to buy plans for the wooden ones.
Why choose an Optimist
Fibreglass hulls permitted 1970
They did not become competitive until 1975-6 and wooden boats were still seen at the Worlds until 1981
It is still possible to buy plans for the wooden ones.
Why choose an Optimist
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
We've got a wooden one for sale if you are interested. Nicely built and always stored indoors until we moved a few weeks ago. Its got to go so I'm open to offers.
jwilson
Well-Known Member
I ran sail training for a club for many years: we had Optimists, Toppers and bigger/faster dinghies including Enterprises, Lasers, Laser IIs, and one 470 as club hire/training boats. Apart from the Toppers, none were ideal, but it was what we had. Starting from scratch now I'd just have Picos and Laser Stratos's.
I personally always hated Optimists, and only used them if a child was too tiny to sail even a reefed Topper. Mind you, I was aiming to teach children who wanted to sail how to ENJOY sailing, not running the 'become a racer' courses parents push their kids into. I appreciate the logic behind using ultra-slow totally non-planing tubs like Optimists for race training, but for enjoyment they are beat hands down by a boat like a Topper or one of its' modern replacements that can (given light kid on board) get planing. Also Optimists take three times as long as a Topper to rig, are more easily damaged, have to be bailed every time after a capsize, and very importantly, are very non cool to kids......
I personally always hated Optimists, and only used them if a child was too tiny to sail even a reefed Topper. Mind you, I was aiming to teach children who wanted to sail how to ENJOY sailing, not running the 'become a racer' courses parents push their kids into. I appreciate the logic behind using ultra-slow totally non-planing tubs like Optimists for race training, but for enjoyment they are beat hands down by a boat like a Topper or one of its' modern replacements that can (given light kid on board) get planing. Also Optimists take three times as long as a Topper to rig, are more easily damaged, have to be bailed every time after a capsize, and very importantly, are very non cool to kids......
Phoenix of Hamble
Well-Known Member
Well, I'll provide a gentle counter to your post.
I agree, as knockabouts, the Optimist is far from ideal. They are indeed more 'delicate' than many other boats.
But.....
They do have fabulously precise handling, and if you want a child to really understand what makes a boat work, and appreciate the impact of things such as weight distribution, centerboard use and sail trim then they are very very hard to beat.
IMHO, unless a kid wants (or sadly, their parents want) to race competitively, An Oppy is excellent for the first couple of years or so, until they have really got the hang of what is going on around them, and then move them into one of the more robust classes such as Fevas, Picos, Lasers or suchlike.
I agree, as knockabouts, the Optimist is far from ideal. They are indeed more 'delicate' than many other boats.
But.....
They do have fabulously precise handling, and if you want a child to really understand what makes a boat work, and appreciate the impact of things such as weight distribution, centerboard use and sail trim then they are very very hard to beat.
IMHO, unless a kid wants (or sadly, their parents want) to race competitively, An Oppy is excellent for the first couple of years or so, until they have really got the hang of what is going on around them, and then move them into one of the more robust classes such as Fevas, Picos, Lasers or suchlike.
dave_gibsea
Well-Known Member
Go and buy a nice old Cadet, GRP or Wood. It's the biggest 2-handed junior class and the boats are delight to sail, the parents are a nice bunch and the boats keep thier value as they are almost indescructable - 120+ at major events and lost of clubs particularly south coast and east coast. See www.cadetclass.org.uk
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
In France, Spain and Portugal, every town has a large fleet of Oppies for kids to learn on. It's funny to see the rescue boats towing them home at the end of the day with as many as a dozen behind each RIB, for all the world like mother ducks leading their broods.
In the UK kids are far more concerned to look 'cool' and the Optimist could never be called that. Far better to start with a Cadet or Mirror if you want to get them keen. Sailing in pairs rather than solo has a lot to recommend it.
In the UK kids are far more concerned to look 'cool' and the Optimist could never be called that. Far better to start with a Cadet or Mirror if you want to get them keen. Sailing in pairs rather than solo has a lot to recommend it.
oughtoc
Well-Known Member
OOOh, I know this one !
I'm a very proud RYA dinghy instructor for our club and teach the wee kiddies every summer through their RYA 1 and sometimes RYA 2.
We have oppies and toppers. And I mean oppies, not optimists. These are the rotospun (?) plastic ones, not the wooden type.
The plastic ones,take a hell of a beating in their stride, no probs, so good I bought one myself too. The hull is maintenance free and can ram stone piers with impunity. If you want to know where to get them, PM me, I understand advertising is not the done thing here.
Oppies are brilliant for small kids. By this I mean under 10yrs and under 4'10. They cannot be capsized without REALLY trying. They are very stable. You can sit down inside them & the gunwhale is shoulder high. You can double or treble up & have a laugh & feel safe. You never have to do capsize drill, you never get wet. It's a brilliant box with a sail for scared kids to get over their fear in.
Once they have any decent kind of weight at all, get into a topper and have a blast, but you will get wet. The kids I teach are usually aged 5-10 in oppies and 9-14 in toppers, but it's size that counts.
PS Couldn't agree more about pushy racing parents, in fact, racing seems to be the whole point to many sailors - does annoy me sometimes, each to their own I think.
PPS, you're right, nobody thinks an oppie is cool, but they work as first boat.
I'm a very proud RYA dinghy instructor for our club and teach the wee kiddies every summer through their RYA 1 and sometimes RYA 2.
We have oppies and toppers. And I mean oppies, not optimists. These are the rotospun (?) plastic ones, not the wooden type.
The plastic ones,take a hell of a beating in their stride, no probs, so good I bought one myself too. The hull is maintenance free and can ram stone piers with impunity. If you want to know where to get them, PM me, I understand advertising is not the done thing here.
Oppies are brilliant for small kids. By this I mean under 10yrs and under 4'10. They cannot be capsized without REALLY trying. They are very stable. You can sit down inside them & the gunwhale is shoulder high. You can double or treble up & have a laugh & feel safe. You never have to do capsize drill, you never get wet. It's a brilliant box with a sail for scared kids to get over their fear in.
Once they have any decent kind of weight at all, get into a topper and have a blast, but you will get wet. The kids I teach are usually aged 5-10 in oppies and 9-14 in toppers, but it's size that counts.
PS Couldn't agree more about pushy racing parents, in fact, racing seems to be the whole point to many sailors - does annoy me sometimes, each to their own I think.
PPS, you're right, nobody thinks an oppie is cool, but they work as first boat.
Phoenix of Hamble
Well-Known Member
Yep,
The rotospun Oppies are great little boats....
The rotospun Oppies are great little boats....
tangomoon
Well-Known Member
Hi, Thanks for the info but do you know where they sell them in £s Ss & D
VicS
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
And I mean oppies, not optimists
[/ QUOTE ] I thought Optimists were referred to as Oppies regardless of the hull material. Here for example
However, if there are imitation Optimists presumably that would mean they could not be raced as Optimists. It would not matter for a sailing school who would obvious the looking for the cheapest and most rugged available but a boat which did not conform to class rules may not be such a good choice for the private individual. The Optimist is a very popular boat for clubs to race and it would perhaps be a pity to be excluded from that.
And I mean oppies, not optimists
[/ QUOTE ] I thought Optimists were referred to as Oppies regardless of the hull material. Here for example
However, if there are imitation Optimists presumably that would mean they could not be raced as Optimists. It would not matter for a sailing school who would obvious the looking for the cheapest and most rugged available but a boat which did not conform to class rules may not be such a good choice for the private individual. The Optimist is a very popular boat for clubs to race and it would perhaps be a pity to be excluded from that.