start sailing in a dinghy or small yacht/keelboat?

[pij27]

I am returning to sailing after a break of 20 years. I am wondering whether to learn to sail a dinghy or in a small yacht/keelboat.

The sailing will be general day sailing and cruising in different areas, not looking to undertake long distances or many days away to start with. With a budget of approx £2,000 I have seen a number of small yachts and dinghies which look in good order for a gentle and relaxing sail. Or would I be better off with a small tender/open motor boat? All seem to appeal at different times.

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly received.

 

[Kelpie]

There's no single right answer. It depends on what you want to get out of it.
The usual route is via dinghies- learn quickly, go swimming a few times, hopefully have a lot of fun and rapidly develop understanding of sail trim, wind awareness, and the general mechanics of a sailing boat. All on a fairly small budget without having to worry about forking out on yachty costs (engines, lift outs, instruments, antifouling, the generally higher costs of all maintenance).

On the other hand, a carefully chosen small yacht can be bought for your budget and be in fairly good fettle and not cost much to run. You would be (re)learning on a more stable platform without the fear of getting it wrong and ending up in the water. It would be far more versatile as a way to spend time on the water.

Just make sure you go in with your eyes open- the ideal seller is someone who cherishes their boat and is sad to see it go. Engines, rigging, sails, and other equipment are only of value if they are in good working condition. Buying a boat as a doer upper almost never works out.

Have fun

 

[Capt. Clueless]

I last climbed out of a Mirror dinghy 50 years ago, but last year bought a 23' sailer. It's like re-learning again, but a couple of RYA courses solves that.

 

[ShinyShoe]

I think it very much depends on what you want to do. If you want to stay round a local bay, perhaps some light racing - either to improve skills or just for fun, and want the reassurance of a safety boat nearby - dinghy sailing is the direction of travel. If you want to go from one bay to the next, the club safety boat wont be following you. That means you need to think carefully about your choice of boat... ...its certainly doable by dinghy (see the post in the margin about some Navy Boys doing 300nm, and Frank Dye crossed the North Sea in a Wayfarer) but I think it takes you to the very extremes of where you may want to be! Plenty people cruise dinghies even down to Mirror size (11.5ft). But because the boat is less stable, it probably means you need to be a better sailor...

...If you go for a small yacht / day boat that is very difficult to capsize you make the process safer, and so your skills may not need to be as polished. Just be aware that errors may be more expensive though, and if it has a fixed keel it will be easier to touch the bottom and it cause a problem.

If you sail a dinghy - when you tack (turn through the wind) you change sides of the boat. If you sail bigger boats you might not bother.

I'd say the deciders are:

- How far you want to sail
- Do you want to sleep aboard
- Do you want luxuries like cooker / heads
- How many people

You can learn in either and swap over for far less learning curve than starting from the beginning. But if you are only dinghy sailing to learn the basics to learn to sail a 20ft trailer sailer I'm not that sure there is much advantage. I think it may be quicker to learn to dinghy sail as there is generally less messing about to do stuff... ...BUT the time you'll save you probably have to re-invest in learning a new boat when you move up in size.

Many clubs will have open days - why not pop along and try things and see what you like the feel of.

 

[Babylon]

With such a tight budget, I'd think about some kind of trailer-sailer - keep at home or ashore elsewhere, small outboard, sails, cuddy or small cabin, etc - in which you can have huge fun.

There are all sorts of inshore sailing areas around the coast, and you can trail the boat to different summer cruising grounds.

Where are you based?

 

[LadyInBed]

What area of the country do you live / hope to sail?
If you have sailed previously, then offering yourself as crew to others is an option to get you started.

 

[Greenheart]

With a budget of approx £2,000 I have seen a number of small yachts and dinghies which look in good order for a gentle and relaxing sail. Or would I be better off with a small tender/open motor boat?

Unlikely that anyone except you, can answer that.

A motor boat is more like transport, so if you want a boat to get to places briskly, rather than just because it's nice to be afloat, a motor makes sense, if you don't mind the noise. Women like them too because they tend to be comfortable and stable, and no great effort, providing the motor works. My girlfriend would much prefer that I'd bought a motor boat.

I wanted a yacht but I hadn't even your modest budget; so I bought the biggest sailing dinghy I could find, an Osprey. It's as long as the smallest yachts, but only a fifth as heavy...

...and a lot more sprightly. And hence, despite not being very interested in performance, I developed a profound appreciation of the fine sailing characteristics which a big old-fashioned racing dinghy offers. But my enduring love for this boat, which only cost bicycle money, is the space on board which will even let me lie comfortably on the cockpit floor...

...so she's well suited to fine-weather camping-cruising, whilst remaining a rewarding sailing experience in the daytime. And rather a beauty, to my eyes.

There's much more to dinghy-cruising than just Wayfarers...I groan inwardly as I hear the invariable "W" reply whenever somebody asks the forum for an all-purpose day-sailing boat. Dozens of different dinghy designs are great for modest inexpensive cruising, as long as the sail-plan can be effectively reefed/reduced in breezy weather.

Let us know what you think. :encouragement:

 

[Quandary]

Having just given up our last sailboat for a motorboat, I just can not believe how boring it is, it is not that comfortable either so stick to something with sails. If you do not want to sleep on it and intend to use it when the weather is pleasant a dinghy can be fun and cost very little, you will get the hang of handling it back a lot quicker and then you have all the incremental progression to look forward to. Where you plan to keep/use it is a big part of the decision as is the percentage of your day spent preparing at the start and tidying up at the end.
Be prepared to be flexible and move on at the beginning so get something that is popular and in demand, an awful lot of folk are stuck with boats that they have stopped enjoying but can not get rid off these days.
I would go with the advice to join a club and get out with other people, it is very easy and even a keen novice will be in great demand, easiest way to find out what you want.

 

[Topcat47]

I started my sailing hobby on an Ocean 75 as part of a large crew. I improved my sailing on dinghies. I now have a 26'er of my own. The idea of having an inside toilet as opposed to rushing ashore and wriggling out of a wetsuit to have a dump and the benefit of a hot coffee or a cold beer en-route sold me on small cruisers. Yer pays yer money...........

 

[pij27]

Thanks for the advice, think a small yacht or keelboat is ideal for me, not keen on idea of getting a manoeuvre wrong and capsizing.

 

[[70521]]

Lots of good advice above, like you I returned after a 20 year break. We are to old to sit around with a wet bum all day - looks like you have made a good decision. I can't interest you in a Mirage 28? A bit more than your budget, but a lovely boat?

 

[Greenheart]

We are too old to sit around with a wet bum all day...

Perhaps that's true...a smart decision.

All the same, having had only a three-figure budget, I'm relieved not to have waited while saving, glad I didn't avoid the dinghy stage on the way back from decades of not sailing. I still want a heated cabin and self-righting, but the dinghy is a delight and a thrill in pleasant weather, vastly rewarding to good technique yet able to give me an instructive little scare when I mess it up.

Best option by far, must be to have both types of sailing boat - and dinghies are so cheap there's no need to go without.

 

[EuanMcKenzie]

At that Budget i'd have Dan's Osprey, but I've had two before and always loved them

She's looking good Dan - nice job!

 

[paul-essex]

I am returning to sailing after a break of 20 years. I am wondering whether to learn to sail a dinghy or in a small yacht/keelboat.

The sailing will be general day sailing and cruising in different areas, not looking to undertake long distances or many days away to start with. With a budget of approx £2,000 I have seen a number of small yachts and dinghies which look in good order for a gentle and relaxing sail. Or would I be better off with a small tender/open motor boat? All seem to appeal at different times.

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly received.

what part of the country are you I have a good W25 on ebay at the moment for silly money

 

[Greenheart]

She's looking good Dan - nice job!

Thanks Euan...actually that's a photo from October, before I spent the winter making lots of little improvements.

I wasn't able to clean the old marks off the topsides, but I polished her bottom so she should now sail at least as well as I can make her. :encouragement:

 

[Seajet]

I certainly second Euan's remarks, you've done jolly well there Skipper - hope I might get some pics of her in action as you go past sometime !

 

[Greenheart]

Cheers Andy, I certainly hope all my effort over the winter days in the shed won't be let down by my daftness on the water.

Funny thing, I never could shift the shadows around the long-gone decals on the topsides, but the undersides have shone up quite nicely...

...so folk won't necessarily see that she's had loving care, but the undersides are glossy enough not to hold her back.

Sorry about the thread drift.

 

[tico]

More Fred Drift....
Thought Dan's photo looked familiar.
I learnt to sail dinghys in a 'Fish'.... was the prototype for the osprey.
wooden clinker built. Went well in anything above F3 but needed that as it was so heavy.

 

[roblpm]

Some great advice on here but no-one has really mentioned where you are going to park the small keel boat. I would find a berth first and a boat that suits it after?!

 

[Greenheart]

I learnt to sail dinghys in a 'Fish'.... was the prototype for the Osprey...wooden clinker built. Went well in anything above F3 but needed that as it was so heavy.

That's interesting; I thought Ian Proctor designed the Osprey specifically as a would-be Olympic speedster.

I bore for England on this subject, but I reckon the racing origins of most dinghies, are the reason many people who'd like a sailing boat for some summer fun, are scared off.

Racing dinghies are meant to perform, meaning speed, and speed means to hell with comfort, so any novice who wants to relax is quickly persuaded to buy something else...

...but the sail-plan of almost any dinghy can be gently modified to enable her crew (or a singlehander) who isn't interested in racing, to enjoy sailing her without alarm...

...that's my deep-reefed mainsail...no bigger than a Laser Radial sail. But the hull remains a big, comfortable, high-riding, dry place to sit. That tiny reefed sail draws predictable humour and scorn from racing purists, but when it breezes up, it's very relaxing to know I can drop a couple of gears and handle her as sedately as Granny in a bathchair.

The other benefit being that when the wind drops and the racers are slumped in their super-light modern boats, I can raise my full sail, and alone in this 40 year-old hull which was designed to carry three men, I can outpace the brisker boats whose crews' weight equals the boats' rated payload...my point is, she's an inexpensive old boat, disregarded because she's no longer competitive, but offers me almost unlimited pleasure and satisfaction as a sailing machine, floating picnic place and (soon I hope) camping cruiser.

So, I say to the OP, don't dismiss dinghies...masses of fun for hardly any cash, as long as you can see past the obsessive competitive instincts behind their origins. :encouragement: