Wayfarer

[Sailfree]

New Co taken over building the wayfarer.

Revised boat is meant to be on display at LIBS. Anyone out there with experience of Wayfarers seen it and what do you think.

We are hoping to get back to racing Wayfarers this year and our Wooden one has been neglected on the drive for 3 years so may be necessary to go GRP!

 

[Dyflin]

Saw the new boat at the show, £7,000. A lot of money but a great reputation.

 

[Sailfree]

The last one +S from Portor Bros complete for racing was getting about £10,000 so at £7,000 this is a great improvement but what did you think about the changes. I hope to be going on Thursday.

Owning both a dinghy and a big boat I have to comment that thrills for your £ - the dinghy beats the big boat by about 100x !!!

 

[EdWingfield]

The reputation also includes the tendency to invert after capsize! In a seaway the boat may be impossible to recover.

Despite this the Assn website states 'The versatility and seaworthiness of the Wayfarer is something no other boat can come close to matching'

Talk about arrogance??

 

[Jonny_H]

for £7k you can you get a lot more fun for your £ - try the RS800 or V4000 (if your into trapezing), or an RS200 or RS400 or B14 if you prefer to stay sat down.

Much bigger fleets, much more modern boats, and much more fun!!

 

[bigmart]

The fact that they have been sailed from:

England to Iceland

England to Norway

Solent to France
& around the Isle of Wight

Would tend to support their claims.

I've got a Mark 11 for saleif anyones interested

Martin

 

[AIDY]

Yup just finished reading frank dye's book met him at the maritime museum last year.

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
The reputation also includes the tendency to invert after capsize! In a seaway the boat may be impossible to recover.

Despite this the Assn website states 'The versatility and seaworthiness of the Wayfarer is something no other boat can come close to matching'

Talk about arrogance??

[/ QUOTE ]

Naaaaw! it aint arrogance, it's just enthusiasm for their boats, chill...chap /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Sailfree]

My understanding is that the latest design improves this but having raced one for years know it can happen.

I have knotted ropes attached to the shrouds and when capsizing in races often manage to go over the side holding one of these and have frequently managed to right the boat before its actually completely on its side let alone inverted. If I am a bit slow with these ropes I still normally manage to get the boat up before it inverts.

If I was starting again I might choose a more GTI class of Dinghy but knowing so many Wayfarer sailors and having a strong contingent at our club with our own starts (so 1st over the line is the winner!) I could not consider changing.

 

[cameronke]

Quote "Owning both a dinghy and a big boat I have to comment that thrills for your £ - the dinghy beats the big boat by about 100x !!!
"


I reckon the fun you can have in a boat is in inverse proprtion to its size and cost re:Laser

Cameron

 

[bigmart]

The main thing I noticed about Frank Dye was that none of his crews retuned for a second voyage.

I does take a certain lunacy to attempt some of those trips.

I have owned Wayfarers on & off for the last 25 years. They are a brilliant boat for both racing & cruising. I doubt that those who knock em have tried using one.

Martin

 

[AIDY]

Yes totally agree with you.... not sure i would want to be in such a small boat in a big sea and the weather he seemed to go through. from memory didnt he roll the boat 4 days out from iceland ?

He's quite a character when i met him, didnt seem too impressed when i said i was taking my boat from falmouth to south brittany the next day /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Achillesheel]

At the sailing club i used to belong to, a fellow member used to own Wayfarer No 1. Absolutely immaculate, and still winning races.

 

[Sailfree]

Laser can be fun but after your fellow competitors become your friends and you have a bank vault full of happy memories its difficult to change fleets.

Some of the people we initially met through racing we now consider to be our closest friends. It may be that certain types of boats attract people with similar charactors or outlooks on life.

We always used to do Falmouth week and often other classes used to remark how friendly the Wayfarers were. Possibly because its not an Olympic or GTI class of dinghy but also perhaps being at the heavy end only the friendly ones get the assistance to push it up the slopes!!

 

[Sailfree]

I believe Wayfarer 1 is really 16' long and was given dispensation to race as all later ones were some 15' 10" or something as that was the maximum length from 2x 8' lengths of standard marine ply once they were bent to the shape of the curved sides of the hull!

Great to see that a boat 50 yrs old is still racing in a strong fleet.

When we started racing it was so annoying that a boat 40yrs older than yours overtook you until you realised it was only because it was being better sailed. You cannot buy your way to the front of a one design fleet. I know cause I tried!!

While there are many good new dinghy designs they only become a fun dinghy when they are sold in sufficient numbers to become a major fleet.

Lasers, Ospreys, Wayfarers, RS 400s immediately come to mind.

 

[cameronke]

I have to confess to having done virtually no racing in my Laser. I tend to just go out for an adrenaline blast if the wind is above F4.

Hope to get some club racing in this summer as there are now about 5 Lasers in my club.

Used to have great fun in my first boat; a £200 Internatinal 420 with a loony pal on the trapeze. Remember falling off the back I was laughing so hard.

Happy days
Cameron /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[EdWingfield]

On the contrary Bigmart I have sailed Wayfarers, I like their cruising performance. I too have met the guru Mr Dye.

All boats have their pluses and minuses, I just wish the Wayfarer assn could admit to theirs.

 

[aitchw]

The older classes that have survived have done so because the designs have intrinsic merit and staying power. The One Design or Restricted principle has ensured the longevity of the older surving boats, making entry to the class accessible to practically every budget level.

My own favourites are Albacores and (a little younger) Streakers, both enjoying significant revivals. Solos, Enterprises, GP14s and many others also have strong fleets.

I doubt that many of the 'new generation' of designs will have a similar status in the future though there are one or two that have the makings of becoming classics in the fullness of time.

I confess to not being wild about Wayfarers (not unusual amongst Albacore fans) but 50 years plus of popularity is difficult to argue with.

 

[Sailfree]

I believe they do accept the limitations. They did have a self draining version that they stopped producing as it had a greater tendancy to invert once capsized. My understanding is that the latest design is more stable and after a capsize comes up with less water inside.

I think in reality the members of the Assoc. and other Wayfarer sailors are no different than others in that the choice they made was right for them and they advocate the advantages. In reality most people would recommend their choice as being the best (with the "for them" implied) whether it be a dinghy, boat or car!

I am still interested in hearing from people who have examined the new boat in detail if only for pointers for what I should look for!

 

[bigmart]

Of course it may also be the case that the Wayfarer Association is extoling the vertues of the Steel Centre Plated Cruising Wayfarer which, I should imagine, not having tried one, is quite different to the Plywood Racing type.

Back in the Olden Days they would also put flotation pockets in the top of the mainsail to reduce the inversion propensity.

My only criticisms of the Wayfarer are:

the weight, Its damn heavy to launch, or am I getting Old & Lazy

The New Models. It seems to me that they have diluted the ethos of the design. To me One design should be just that.

Martin