Sailing Dinghy for beginners

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SimonA

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Number one son is keen on learning to sail, we currently have a mobo kept on a river. I'd like to get a sailing dinghy suitable for family cruising and easy enough for kids to sail. The thing is in order to get the family out in it I'd have to get a dinghy that is stable and not likely to throw everyone in the water. I heard Wayfarers are pretty good, big enough for a family and very stable, but they are also expensive. Stability is far more important than speed.

What about a Mirror Dinghy? It seems you can pick one up for a couple of hundred pounds with a road trailer, they look a little small for a family though.

Are there any other dinghies worth considering? GP14?
 
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For a family a Wayfarer or similar would be a good choice.

A Mirror is too small for a family
About right for 1 adult plus a teenager or small adult.
Maybe one adult and two small children
 
VicS said:
For a family a Wayfarer or similar would be a good choice.

A Mirror is too small for a family
About right for 1 adult plus a teenager or small adult.
Maybe one adult and two small children
Click to expand...

Agree completely. I have used Wayfarers as a teaching baot for many years and they are great. However they are a bit of a handful to launch & land single handed - really need two people minimum or be prepared to use a car. Depends a bit on the access - ie whether its a proper slip/angle of same or gravel etc.
 
There are plenty of possibilities between these two extremes.

Something about 12-14ft - a GP14 or even an Enterprise - available cheap in Ebay

Sorry but I am too old to know the modern equivalents - don't Laser make something similar?
 
davewarburton said:
Agree completely. I have used Wayfarers as a teaching baot for many years and they are great. However they are a bit of a handful to launch & land single handed
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What about a Wanderer, this is like a Wayfarer but scaled down to 14 ft. Same designer: Ian Proctor, he designed the Wanderer for people who wanted something easier to manhandle than the Wayfarer.
 
For a very small, easy to repair and easy to sail dinghy, a mirror won't be far off.

For a proper cruising dinghy though, I'd second the wayfarer.
 
I think that the Wayfarer is the only one of those that could be described as suitable for 'family cruising'. Heavy to launch (but not as heavy as a Bosun I think.)

I had a Wanderer; it's good for two adults, a bit small for two + a child IMO - unless the child is small. Look for an 'MD' version.

The Laser 16 is worth looking at - as big as a Wayfarer.

I had an Enterprise too: not really a cruising boat IMO; not as stable as the others mentioned.

I liked my Mirror - great for parent + child or a couple of kids. Wooden ones are cheap but often rotten - I put my foot through the floor of ours.

I suggest a Wanderer (or a GP or a Laser 13) and a Topper - more fun for your son. You can still cruise together.
 
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How about a Skipper 12 or Skipper 14! The 12 is probably plenty big enough, loads of room, very stable, will also row or take an outboard happily!

I've got a Skipper 12 as a play thing and it would be great for teaching and the odd days out. They sometimes come up on Ebay for a few hundred, no rotten wood to worry about either!
 
Skipper 12/14

Our first boat was a Skipper 12 (1970s) and it was great for teaching the kids to sail and getting out on the water for picnics and the like - took a 3.5 Suzuki outboard.
Easy to launch and rig single handed, even off a beach.
I'm now thinking of a Walker Bay to replace my present MoBo tender so I can teach the grandchildren the mysteries of sail.
 
If you get something too big and safe the kids will become bored with it very quickly.
I think a wayfarer is fine for a sailing school to teach with but too big for kids to have fun in, they need a bit of weight to control in a breeze. Also they can do a fair bit of damage to other boats in the likely event of a collision during early learning.
If you are thinking of all the family sailing along in sunlit smiling harmony, that may happen once or twice but is usually restricted to adverts.
Better to get a smallish, responsive boat that the kids can use solo, a Mirror would be ideal. They can also be rowed or just messed about in, very important pastime.
How old / big are the offspring and what sort of river, tidal/ inland etc?
 
Skipper 14

Yes the Skipper 14, as has already been mentioned.
Should be less than £500 ready to go.

Think it was my second dinghy, can also be launched and recoverd by one person, so easy to single hand.

We've had Wayfarers, they'll do all you ask, but to dip that toe in the water for the first time, a Skipper's the way to go.

Only down side, they're not cool ;)
 
I spent an awful lot of my schoolboy days in a Wayfarer, fantastic boat and we used to be sent out on them from about the age of 10. I hated doing capsize drills in the bloody things but getting dunked is guranteed in a dingy.
I still take one out now and again but, as said before, they are a bit heavy. It's hard to get excited about sailing a wayfarer when there's an RS Feva sat right next to it. I have no doubt that your kids will feel the same way.

I always prefered Coypus when I was given the choice as we weren't alowed to take out the privately owned Lazers ;)
 
The OP's requirement is not explicit enough, is it for the boy to learn to sail or is it a family dinghy he's looking for?
If the boy is about 10-12 a Miracle dinghy would be pretty good for a starter boat to learn in with tutor and afterwards to race with a crew, its light and faster than a Mirror. If no tutor then a Topper is a better option to learn as a single hander followed by the Laser with small rig, graduating to the larger rig when proficient. If for family use and the occasional racing then the Enterprise,GP14, Leader,Wanderer, and Wayfarer is a good way to go.
Depending upon whether he joins a sailing club he will have ample opportunity to sail in any of these dinghies as crew and maybe graduate to the higher performance RS's and 420's, National 12's, all of them rewarding and skill oriented to sail well.
Forget the launching and recovery of the family boats when joining a club, they are managed easily on their launching trolleys - not a trailer, and when balanced properly and with practice need two persons to launch and retrieve, If in a club there is always someone to lend a hand.
Perhaps the boy is younger still in which case the Optimist is one probable contender.

Depending on your location there are now several RYA Approved teaching Clubs locally on the Hamble,My own at Warsash and Hamble siling club and the Royal Southern.
Warsash have a graded membership especially for youngsters ,Sprats, Kippers and Cadets are the levels they achieve and gain certificates of competence as they progress. For more info you could contact 01489 583575 Club Admin ,or Mark Aitken 'Kipper King'01489 583365 for more detailed information.


ianat182
 
How about an Enterprise with a set of cruising sails for learning and then the standard set for more fun and when more experienced. I've just sold my Enterprise complete with trailer!

Cheap enough on ebay.
 
Keep your eyes open for a nice GRP Heron dinghy (or a wooden one if you have the skills to maintain it)
Similar to the Mirror dinghy, but with a proper pointy bow instead of the pram bow on a Mirror.
Available in gunter or bermudan rig, they sail really nicely with up to 3 on board or can be sailed happily single handed.
Mine cost £250 with a road and launching trailer, I think I bough a bargain as it was in such a nice condition (owned by an elderly gent in Tewksbury who fully refurbished her before selling her)
They are 11ft long and look similar to a shortened GP14.
 
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