Top 10 boats you'd love to try

[Halcyon Yachts]

I have been very lucky and have sailed lots of different types of boats... The most memorable being a 95ft Fife (across the Atlantic), an Oysterman 22 (back from Brittany) and a Laser 5000 (across the Carrick Roads).

Other boats I would love to drive include:

Hopefully there is still time!

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

This is all a bit disappointing. Apart from one or two of you wanting a J or a Sydney-Hobart winner, most of you seem to yearn only for out-dated mediocre sailboats that should have little room in the Grand History of Yachting. Where are the requests to sail in modern cutting-edge racing yachts? Or even in the latest all carbon fibre cruising yachts? No wonder we no longer have any real yacht-building industry in the UK.

Outrageous snobbery aside, I think the choices reflect boats which people can imagine actually owning. Not everyone dreams of zipping around in a racing sled ... which is probably why the French and German mass manufacturers have done so well.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Outrageous snobbery aside, I think the choices reflect boats which people can imagine actually owning. Not everyone dreams of zipping around in a racing sled ... which is probably why the French and German mass manufacturers have done so well.

I quite like the idea of bimbling through the French canals in a Mirror dinghy with a tent.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I reckon carbon fibre is a nasty brittle material, possibly OK for sponsored racers but it has no place on rudders or blue water cruisers.

Discuss...

Carbon fibre has advantages for some things, but you are right that its brittleness is a real problem. Because it's brittle it absorbs practically no energy when it breaks, which means that it tends to explode into a large number of lethally sharp edged pieces. Not something you would ever want to take an impact, unless combined with glass, kevlar or something else more energy absorbing.

 

[Daydream believer]

Carbon fibre has advantages for some things, but you are right that its brittleness is a real problem. .

But not so insurmountable that it cannot make a fine fishing rod or a sailboard mast
the trick is not to tap it with something hard

 

[Saguday]

Island Packet 485
Discovery 55

Because I can't decide which one I'd buy with my lottery win to take us off round the world

Or a Spirit, a biggish one, just because they're so beautiful.

 

[johnalison]

Because my 34 is the largest and fastest that I am likely ever to own or be fit to sail, I should like to set off in an F7 in something substantially bigger across the N Sea, say an HR or Oyster 50-60' and enjoy helming and being served a hot three-course meal on the way.

Alternatively, I've never sailed a cat or tri of any kind. I would have to whinge about it all the way, to justify forty years of ignoring them.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Alternatively, I've never sailed a cat or tri of any kind. I would have to whinge about it all the way, to justify forty years of ignoring them.

That made me laugh. I always welcome grouchy company, the more moans the better.

 

[TSB240]

It would be great to be able to sail one up on the foils rather than just having a go. I suspect it takes some time to master. I used to have an old fashioned non-foiling International Moth in my late teens, and that was bad enough. Great fun though, if thoroughly wet most of the time.

I had a lucky sixpence design Angus.
Just walked down the Dock and met Marcus a completely nutty German who is prepping his mini transat Pogo lookalike.
Beverley said it reminded her of the International Moth. I have asked for a test drive over Caernarfon Bar in a decent blow.

Doubt I will get to try out anything else more thrilling that is sailpowered that is less than 22 foot long!

 

[EuanMcKenzie]

I quite like the idea of bimbling through the French canals in a Mirror dinghy with a tent.

+1

HR352 - might buy one one day when I'm richer
18ft skiff
A modern carbon rigged Phantom - mine was wooden with a needlespar
mystery 35
a 40' cruising cat to see how the other half live
Juneau 35' awb to compare the 352 against the other option
HR37 in case I win the lottery
A Golden Shamrock with the kite and big boy up in a 5-6 to see whether the stories were exagerated
Finn - to see what all the fuss is about
Adix - on a long delivery across the pacific

 

[nimbusgb]

Hydroptere at 45 knots plus.

AC 72

An 18' skiff.

Yes I'm a speed junkie

 

[Seajet]

Carbon fibre has advantages for some things, but you are right that its brittleness is a real problem. Because it's brittle it absorbs practically no energy when it breaks, which means that it tends to explode into a large number of lethally sharp edged pieces. Not something you would ever want to take an impact, unless combined with glass, kevlar or something else more energy absorbing.

When the Carbon fibre wing & horizontal tail Harrier II prototype ZD319 was hit on the aft bits by the links from the new 25mm Aden cannon there was nothing short of panic, and I was told to train my 14 high speed ( 200 fps ) cine cameras onto that area when firings at the range - West Freugh near Stranraer - took place.

ZD319 was also painted white on the aft fuselage to show any link strikes.

I was asked to go to RAF Wittering one time to photograph the results of Harrier II GR5's being hit by lightning, technicians with ultrasound were all over them.

A colleage doing an MBA on Carbon Fibre battle repairs reckoned the stuff acted just like plywood when hit and delaminates inside - even by a seemingly innocuous tap like a dropped hammer -

So I have rather mixed feelings about carbon fibre, and Kevin in his boy racer Halfords Special is welcome to it !

 

[roblpm]

OK assuming no point unless you are trying to decide between boats that you are going to own at some point......................

JPK 10.10, Sunfast 3200 & 3600 to decide between for my fantasy Fastnet Campaign
J88, J111, J109, J112 to decide between for my club racing boat
Some big catamaran thing for my Med/Caribbean boat
Southerly 42RST, HR 412, HR43 for my fantasy round the world boat.

One of each category would be nice. In fact maybe I should try them all as reality tends to overcome fantasy!!

 

[JumbleDuck]

But not so insurmountable that it cannot make a fine fishing rod or a sailboard mast
the trick is not to tap it with something hard

These are not things for which toughness is essential. It's good for things like that, just as it's good for wing spars in aircraft. It's not good for cockpits, though, because it has lousy energy absorbing properties and produces horrible razor edges in a crash.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Quite fancy a go in a Tofinou...



And never having sailed a cat bigger than a Dart 18, some sort of well-sorted cruising cat would be good.

Otherwise I have the boat I want.

 

[Seajet]

These are not things for which toughness is essential. It's good for things like that, just as it's good for wing spars in aircraft. It's not good for cockpits, though, because it has lousy energy absorbing properties and produces horrible razor edges in a crash.

We were warned not to approach any Harrier II GR5/7/9 crash due to the sharp edges and very toxic fumes if it was burning - a bit rough on any pilot still in it, and anyone I knew would have disregarded the warning, in fact a colleague Ken Newberry did just that with an all metal GR1, there before the fire team - sadly still too late for the pilot who had ejected into the ground; Ken or any of us would have ignored the H&S stuff about carbon fibre in accidents, but it is another example of how nasty a material it can be, I wonder how they get on with Formula 1 car accidents ?

 

[Seven Spades]

Oyster 46

Shipman 50

TP52

Open 60

Hinckley 52

Any Spirit Yacht

Hoek TC51

XC45

Rustler 33

Mystery 35

 

[davidaprice]

I've just been appointed our club's first ever 'training secretary' (we've never had any training activity before). An idea I have is to arrange regular 'boat swap' weekday evenings, where sometimes you go sailing with someone else in their boat, and sometimes you take someone else sailing in your boat. I think it would be great fun (and great experience) if all of us got to try out each others' boats, and honestly we'd all probably get a lot more sailing done (since e.g. SWMBO long ago lost interest in evening sailing together around the harbour).

Most of our club's boats are your typical 1970s-1980s 25-30' Scandinavian cruisers (Albin Ballad, Albin Cumulus, Albin Vega, Finn Express 83, Avance 245, GT-Kryssare, Folkboat) which I'd certainly be interested to try, but we've also got a trimaran (Pinta 33, said to do 18 knots) and a cat. And I'd love to have a go on our club's two H-Boats: I do miss our own old H-Boat.

 

[Rum_Pirate]

Top 10 boats I'd love to try

Mariquita (19 metre)

Elenora

LULWORTH (I've sailed on KATE )

A moth (not sure I have strength or sailing ability)

I'll have a think about the rest

 

[Resolution]

Just back after a lovely weekend with all the close family, hordes of grandchildren, so no time to get on the forum.
It is very reassuring to see that the suggestions on this thread now include several very special dream boats. This is not the time of year for boring realism (that's next week!).
Per Mr Seajet's request, my top ten targets would start with
1. a Wally Centum, coz I've never sailed on a boat over 60 feet and would like to know what I'm missing;
2. a Shipman 50 (like Seven Spades above) coz when I win the lottery that is the type of yacht I think I would like to own;
3. a Halberg Rassy 42 , to see if it is materially better than my ten year old Sabre 42;
4. a Hobie 16, together with a rejuvenated body, to remind myself of the thrills of high speed one design racing; and
5. a Laser, also with a bit of rejuvenation, to remind myself of lazy days just tooling around with such a fun boat.

Choices 6 to 10 would await the results of choices 1 to 3.
Peter