Racing Dinghies

[DJE]

The kids are 12 and 13 years old and want a racing dinghy. They are both very competent dinghy sailors. Does anyone here know anything about the relative merits of the RS Feva and the Topper Topaz? And do you know of any for sale second hand?

We had a Wayfarer 5 years ago and they wouldn't come out in it. I bet when they get a dinghy they won't want to come sailing with us any more. I have a feeling that we might end up as committee boat at club dinghy races.

 

[cameronke]

Why look beyond the good old Laser?

The kids will still be growing so could start on the 4.7m sail then move through the radial to the full rig. Relatively inexpensive, simple set up, grin factor 10 performance and (I am told) great resale value. Plenty of competition right up to Olympic standard!

You could commandeer as required!

Regards
Cameron

 

[aitchw]

I don't own either but both are sailed at my local club and from what I see the Feva has a bit more about it than the Topaz and has attracted more members to buy them. It has the RS look and plenty of sailing options in terms of rig, single or doublehanding. It is only a couple of years old so maybe not as numerous or cheap on the used market. If they are not big lads they should get some serious fun out of it before outgrowing it and if they do it can be handled one up.

 

[Cobra]

Agree with Cameron. The relatively new Feva and Topaz have very limited class racing options, whereas, I would defy you to find a dinghy club in the UK that didn't have at least one other Laser!

At the end of the day, you can start them with a relatively cheap old boat with the 4.7 rig, and then as their weight/stamina improve so you can move up to radial and ultimately full rig, before the expense of a brand new boat becomes number one priority.

As Cameron quite rightly points out, there is an added bonus of being able to comandeer a boat that is fun to sail whenever you want!

 

[aitchw]

Do you ever get the impression that if don't sail a laser you don't sail at all. Is it lack of imagination or a wish that there should be only one racing dinghy allowed. Of course, if the kids want to go two up or want to learn how to handle jib and spinny that's just tough because you should be in a Laser which doesn't have any these complications but of course it's much better even so.

Rant over!

 

[fireball]

Ah well - then you want a Laser 2000 !! .. best of both worlds!!

Ok .. perhaps not ... at 13 I was into 420's ...
so if your looking for a two kid boat then you could be looking at:

Trad boats with trapeze and normal spinnaker
420

Modern with trapeze - cheap(er!) - all asymmetric kites
Laser 3000
Hobie 405
Buzz

New - not so cheap - asymmetric kites
29er
RS200 (non trapeze)

Best thing to do though is see what boats other kids/big kids are racing at the club and get one either the same or very similar handicap.
A Laser is ok and very versatile, but hard to race competitively and (IMO) not as much fun as a trapeze boat!

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

Couldn't agree more! I think it's a great shame that's lasers are taking over, especially as you could pick up an older boat such as a 420 etc, or even a Mirror, which would give the kids far more challenging sailing for about a tenth of the cost. Still my kids are demanding a laser, probably mainly because all their mates have them, so I guess we're going to have to shell out for one.

 

[DJE]

Thanks to all. We are leaning heavily towards the Feva after advice from various sources. There are 2 in the club already and the kids have tried them out once or twice. I have sailed lasers many times and agree that they are hard to beat for simplicity and outright fun. But they don't seem to have enough bells and whistles for the modern 13-year-old and we were definitely looking for a two-man boat.

 

[wooslehunter]

1. If there isn't a good youth membership at your local club, find a club that has one.
2. Pick a boat that had a good regular turn out. That will limit the choices.

You can always race in a handicap fleet but you really need to get someone to compete against. Therefore IMHO it's better to have a boat with lots of regular turn out that you can sail competitively than to have a boat which you have to race in a handicap fleet. I speak from experience since having raced in both dedicated fleets and handicap fleets as a youth.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Definitely the Feva.... the kids at our local club love 'em....

Lasers are great, but I'm not sure I agree with the comments above about grin factor 10 performance when compared with an asymmetric rigged boat like the Feva......

Compared to the Topaz, the Feva is growing healthily as a class....

RS racing is very very well organised....

and best of all, they are indistructable..... let 'em out to muck around on hot days with no concerns about damaging the boat...

 

[sailorbob]

The Laser is a good boat, with a great fleet sizes. Second hand values hold up well, but they have their flaws. The biggest problem lies with the Laser Centre and the lack of spares at crucial times.

The biggest flaw for DJE would seem that the Laser is a single-hander and there are two kids here.

IMHO the RS Feva is a good option, but may be too small soon. The Topaz tries hard to do many things, but does not excel in any area. What about the RS 200. Good size, great fleets and easy to handle.