Pleasure sailing Dinghy.

[Seajet]

I remember ' Virgin ' used to be a make / design of Fireball - nothing to do with Richard Branson as far as I know - one called ' She's A Virgin ' with it painted in big letters used to sail near us with an attractive female crew on the wire -leading of course to much speculation among us teenagers.

I wouldn't call it an old man's boat, but definitely far more fun for the crew than being on the helm which was rather neutral, lacking feedback.

Years later I had a Dart 18 and really didn't like it; no sensation of speed like a proper monohull with sheets of spray, on the Dart I had to keep telling myself ' I suppose we're going really fast now ' - and the helm was completely dead to feel,the thing was just a macine which went where pointed.

I've sailed a lot of expensive trendy designs, but the Osprey Mk II was the nearest I've got to dinghy Nirvana.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Much better to stow a small tent and chuck that up where you moor bankside if possible. You can get a simple tent for £20 at a supermarket, even some 'pop up' ones are low cost these days, so you can pitch them almost blindfold. It will do a season or two with care.

Tim

That's a good debate. So dependent on your sailing area. Down here I would prefer to sleep aboard. No lugging kit across the mud, no waiting for access to the boat etc etc. The regular DCA sailors in the Solent sleep aboard .... and the boats are an Enterprise, a YW dayboat,a Mirror, a Wayfarer and a Tideway amongst others. In the NW of Scotland I'd fancy wildcamping ashore.

Once afloat I agree the bigger the better but ashore the size ,trailing and storage issues are real. Hence if it was just me a smaller trail anywhere anytime boat has real advantages. The cost of a roadworthy big trailer might be £800?.

 

[Greenheart]

I reckon it's terribly easy to have a boat and make excuses for keeping it, putting up with all the respects in which it may not suit the sailing you want to do. Equally, it's easy to set one's sights on a costly 'ideal' design and not discover what else was just as suitable.

Of course, the vast majority of dinghies are designed to be raced, but this is an interesting point I think...

...racing boats tend only to hold their value as long as they're competitive. Once they stop winning races, even the big fast ones become dirt cheap...

...whereas, those designed to cruise, have almost no performance edge to lose as the years go by, and so they hold their value...

...so, if you want a boat for cruising in, but you don't have stacks of cash, a large ex-racer is a great way to avoid the whopping prices of recognised cruising designs, whilst still providing enough space, speed and load-bearing capacity to please the adventurous cruiser.

Racers aren't versatile - they're too busy being efficient. But it's easy to modify one, leaving a fairly lightweight, still fast, fairly simple and manageable boat, for a quarter the price of any redoubtable thirty-year-old Wayfarer. (I like Wayfs, I just couldn't afford one.)

It's also deeply rewarding to put some effort (not much) into cleaning up an old boat that was virtually a giveaway, and seeing her soar once more. And if that boat's big enough to lie comfortably in the cockpit, you have a cheap, simple summertime camping cruiser.

I saw this one at a French dechetterie or public dump...I was quite tempted...I wonder if it would appeal to a...binman?

 

[Seajet]

I reckon it's terribly easy to have a boat and make excuses for keeping it, putting up with all the respects in which it may not suit the sailing you want to do. Equally, it's easy to set one's sights on a costly 'ideal' design and not discover what else was just as suitable.

Of course, the vast majority of dinghies are designed to be raced, but this is an interesting point I think...

...racing boats tend only to hold their value as long as they're competitive. Once they stop winning races, even the big fast ones become dirt cheap...

...whereas, those designed to cruise, have almost no performance edge to lose as the years go by, and so they hold their value...

...so, if you want a boat for cruising in, but you don't have stacks of cash, a large ex-racer is a great way to avoid the whopping prices of recognised cruising designs, whilst still providing enough space, speed and load-bearing capacity to please the adventurous cruiser.

Racers aren't versatile - they're too busy being efficient. But it's easy to modify one, leaving a fairly lightweight, still fast, fairly simple and manageable boat, for a quarter the price of any redoubtable thirty-year-old Wayfarer. (I like Wayfs, I just couldn't afford one.)

It's also deeply rewarding to put some effort (not much) into cleaning up an old boat that was virtually a giveaway, and seeing her soar once more. And if that boat's big enough to lie comfortably in the cockpit, you have a cheap, simple summertime camping cruiser.

I saw this one at a French dechetterie or public dump...I was quite tempted...I wonder if it would appeal to a...binman?

Well it should have a lot of appeal around Calais, just please don't let on...

I see your description mentions Albacore, but I don't remember them in grp, thought they were all diagonal wood like Fireflys ?

Snag is rescuing old boats is like going to a dog / cat rescue centre, we don't dare go near one as we know we'd come back with hundreds !

 

[Ravi]

Thinking about a sailing dinghy I could enjoy purely for pleasure, none racing, robust, with centre board, that I could manage on my own, that I could row, possible small engine if required, mainly for use on River Medway and up creeks. Properly Boards use, that could give a bit of cover for summer night sleeping. Or am I asking to much from a dinghy

As others have said, A Wayfarer will give you the best of everything that you want if you are up to getting it ashore. From personal experience as a not particularly fit, not particularly large guy, I managed to haul mine in and out the water when I was singlehanding. When there was nobody around to help and I was feeing knackered I would haul the boat trailer (with jockey wheel) out of the water, ease it back onto a strategically place stone and then stroll up and get the car and tie the trolley to the towbar. So, don't discount a Wayfarer. Yes, they are heavy to get out of the water, but manageable. Launching down a slipway is never a problem. If you shop around you should be able to get a Wayfarer for around your £500 price.

I had an Osprey as well and I do love the idea of a cruising Osprey. They are the fastest, most graceful, elegant boats that you could want. And, you would get one much cheaper than a Wayfarer. The chances are that any racing Osprey that you get will be rigged for racing and if you are not used to racing, all that string will look like an explosion in a spaghetti factory. Ospreys are beautiful boats but I am not convinced that they would be ideal for cruising. They are certainly fast enough to get you out of trouble but they are designed as a trapeze boat for two or three up and they are just not as stable as a cruiser like the Wayfarer for single handing. They don't have the storage space that you will get on a cruising Wayfarer, either. For 'camping', the Wayfarer also has comfortable room for two airbeds and there are plenty of designs available to make your own boom tent. If you do opt for an Osprey, drop me a line as I know someone who has one of the original wooden ones sitting in his workshop.

If you are always launching / recovering from your home club and there is a slipway, then you should have no problem with a Wayfarer.

 

[ex-Gladys]

Well it should have a lot of appeal around Calais, just please don't let on...

I see your description mentions Albacore, but I don't remember them in grp, thought they were all diagonal wood like Fireflys ?

Snag is rescuing old boats is like going to a dog / cat rescue centre, we don't dare go near one as we know we'd come back with hundreds !

No, there were loads of Albacores built in GRP, It's mid 70's when I was familiar with them and thought Rondar did them...

The pic looks like a beat up old 470

 

[neil1967]

As a lighter alternative to a Wayfarer, and probably not as sporty as an Osprey, take a look at a Kestrel, either the older Mk1/Mk2 designs, or the newer Kestrel 2000 by Hartley boats. Good seaworthy boats, relatively stable, but plenty of fun. Some are used for racing, but many have a small o/b on the back for cruising. Not seen any with rowlocks, but I guess you could fit them.

 

[lw395]

Enterprises teach you to sail properly, or they punish you. That was in Jack Holts design brief and he deliberately gave it a massive mainsail relative to its length that demanded considerable control. Watching an Ent. sailed well is a lesson in good sailing...something I never quite achieved in mine! In the Enterprise fleet we always called the Fireball "The Old Blokes Boat" as it had virtually no vices at all. Great boat by the way and the best championship winning boats of all are built up here in Keighley by Guy Winder (now his son David) and during the wooden pre composite era by Mike Saul who worked alongside Guy some years back.

http://www.winderboats.com/

Tim

The ent was originally drawn with the 'cruising rig' then a taller mast and bigger main added.
Furballs only come into their own when it's quite windy. They might be viceless OAP boats in light weather inland, but they are a lot of fun in big waves. Very, very wet in chop though.
The only real dinghy cruising I did was in an old 505. Cheap, light, plenty of space and weight carrying ability, plus fast and easy to make a lot of progress with the crew on the wire. Also a brilliant boat that will cope with a lot of weather and get a mediocre helm around the course when a Fireball would teach them swimming.
These days I might look at something like a Dart 15 as a cruising boat.

 

[Greenheart]

I see your description mentions Albacore...

When did I mention Albacores, Andy? Not since I bought the Osprey. I used to think an Alb might be suitable for cruising though.

I do love the idea of a cruising Osprey....I am not convinced that they would be ideal for cruising.

Hmm. As I'm certain you were were an Osprey racer, I can see why you might doubt the suitability...but remember that the spinnaker and trapeze account for half of the ropey spaghetti, and after three years I've barely started using either, yet. The basic white sail-plan needn't daunt anyone with any dinghy experience, as long as they have the foresight to sew a reef into the mainsail...

...I'm largely self-taught in every respect, and I'm hoping to make strides with spin & trap this season, but not having done so yet hasn't restricted my time afloat or my enthusiasm about the boat.

They are the fastest, most graceful, elegant boats that you could want. And, you would get one much cheaper than a Wayfarer...you should be able to get a Wayfarer for around £500.

You seem a tad divided on the subject, Ravi! But I understand your reservations. I can only say again that both boats are by the same designer, and what little the cruiser gives up in space aboard the Osprey, he'll really enjoy in the performance advantage over the Wayfarer. Regarding stowage on board, the Osprey is easily big enough to add substantial dry-lockers to.

Here's the point, as I see it...three years after buying the Osprey, if I still truly hankered after the virtues of the Wayfarer, I could now get one...

...but there's no way that anyone could persuade me that a Wayfarer would suit me best, now that I've been forced to try an Osprey instead.

The default cruising answer is always 'Wayfarer', but its weight and sloth make it better suited to heavily-laden crews of two or more. Cruising doesn't have to be slow and heavy, but dinghy cruisers don't seem to have woken up to the availability of so many great cheap boats.

 

[lw395]

When I had an interest in dinghy cruising, a usable Wayfarer cost a fair amount. (I was fairly skint).
IIRC anything good to go was say £800. In the days when I drove £200 cars.
I did not want to be dragging something I'd paid proper money for over gravelly shingle beaches.
My first old 505 cost me about £200 at this time, including everything to get it sailing, complete with (rusty) combi trailer.
Unfortunately, I got into racing it and that became an arms race, even at modest club level.

As an aside, I used to do a bit of Fireball sailing in the 80's, there were some older Fireball sailors who'd sailed to the Scillies most summers over the previous decade. I think they slept on someone's floor when they got there, but these are the only real offshore dinghy cruisers I've ever rubbed shoulders with.