Wayfarers

[Sailfree]

You are unlikely get this sum back on resale I'd guess unless a particularly successful racing pedigree attached.

ianat182

You are unlikely to get the price of any new GRP dinghy or boat back on resale but the success of the Wayfarer (now over 11,000 sold) means it a well recognised one class design dinghy and one of the easier dinghies to sell secondhand. The new Mk4 is being bought by all the keen racers means many more secondhand wayfarers that are unlikely to devalue much more in the next few years.

 

[lw395]

The Scorpion is no loony racer, and is very seaworthy, I took mine into surf deliberately a few times; I'm afraid my experiences with a GP - supposedly a good one, certainly the home woodwork looked nice - were rather unhappy, a great deal of effort holding it up, and it is a truly heavy boat !

Scorps are very good boats, but much wetter than a Wayfarer.
We did a fairly windy regatta with them at Lyme a while back, there were several capsized scorpions but I didn't see any Merlins go over.

 

[lw395]

We learnt to sail in a Wayfarer.

They are one of the biggest dinghys, are one of the most seaworthy, will cross oceans and seas (as proved by Frank Dye but I would not do it!).

They are not as heavy as some suggest, my wife and myself have campaigned a wayfarer in various racing events on and off for the last 19yrs and she only weighs 8.5 stone & me 13stone. Wife helms it when we race.

....

The minimum weight can be found in the class rules. IIRC it's something like 170kg for the bare hull.
Many of the GRP ones are well over weight too!
Compared with 98kg for a Merlin or a lot less for some more modern boats.
My Merlin has about 12kg of lead to bring it up to racing weight.
But people manage OK with a decent trolley and good slipway.

 

[DJE]

I had a GP14 before I had a Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was a much better sea boat.

 

[maby]

Wayfarers are beautiful boats - the most fun on water in less than 30 feet. They do get heavier as you get older - a few months ago I borrowed one and tried to launch it with the help of another overweight, middle-aged man. By the time we got it in the water, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. We had to spend half an hour in the bar getting our breath back - but it was still as wonderful as ever when we eventually got it out on the water. The thing is that, thirty-odd years ago, I used to have no trouble launching one with a limited amount of help from the slip-of-a-girl who was my regular sailing partner!

 

[Lakesailor]

Maybe the trolley wheels needed oiling.

 

[maby]

Maybe the trolley wheels needed oiling.

I think the effect would be very limited - they are simply very heavy boats. It's over 16 foot long - put a roof on it and it would qualify as a small yacht! You can buy a frame and cover that turn it into a floating tent. I've heard of people spending long periods of coastal cruising living in one. But they really are worth it - I've already told SWMBO that I have to own one before I die - my experience has been on rented or borrowed boats.

 

[Searush]

I had a GP14 before I had a Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was a much better sea boat.

Shock - horror - surprise! You'll be telling me the Pope's a Catholic next.

It's about 15% longer & wider, of course it's a better sea boat. My Westerly Pentland's a better cruising boat too.

My recommendation was all about managing the weight. Strangely enough, being smaller helps reduce the weight of the GP14.

 

[Lakesailor]

At Great Tower Scout Activity Centre where I worked part-time doing maintenance I needed to source a forestay for a Wayfarer as the habit had been for the 4 or 5 scouts and instructor to haul them up the slipway (long, steep and gravel) which always involved one or two hauling on the forestay.
The obvious happened one day and the forestay snapped at the lower terminal. The mast came down and whilst it didn't harm anyone it did bend itself.

They were bloody heavy things to move about.

 

[Victoria Sponge]

We've had a look at a Wayfarer today at Fowey. It was a lovely boat, but the owner admitted they are heavy. He keeps it on the water, but we don't want to do that. We will look at a Wanderer. Thanks for the comments.

 

[Kelpie]

Not much to add to the above, but...
In my opinion too many people think of Wayfarers as being dinghies that can and should be treated in the same as you would a Mirror. That is, dry sailed and hauled ashore every time you are finished, using man power rather than a car and a rope.
Treat them like a yacht and everything becomes much easier. They are stable enough to leave on a mooring so long as it isn't too exposed, and you visit every so often to bail. A running mooring is ideal. Get an outboard or fit proper rowlocks and long enough oars.

Of course if, like me, you have a Wayfarer with a major leak, then dry-sailing it is, but not through choice. I have rigged up a second pair of wheels on the trolley and use a rope to the car for recovery. With a squad of four guys recovery is easy, but for just the two of us, you need to make life as easy as possible.

 

[DJE]

Shock - horror - surprise! You'll be telling me the Pope's a Catholic next.

Ouch!

Perhaps I should have said:

I had a GP14 before I had a Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was a much better sea boat. We did a lot of cruising with a boom tent so the better sea keeping and stowage of the Wayfarer was well worth the extra weight.

But I often sailed it single-handed, sometimes with two reefs in the main and no jib on windy days. I could recover it single handed too by hooking the anchor round something at the top of the slip and passing the anchor warp through a block attached to the launching trolley to give a 2:1 purchase.

 

[Searush]

Ouch!

Perhaps I should have said:

I had a GP14 before I had a Wayfarer. The Wayfarer was a much better sea boat. We did a lot of cruising with a boom tent so the better sea keeping and stowage of the Wayfarer was well worth the extra weight.

But I often sailed it single-handed, sometimes with two reefs in the main and no jib on windy days. I could recover it single handed too by hooking the anchor round something at the top of the slip and passing the anchor warp through a block attached to the launching trolley to give a 2:1 purchase.

Sorry, I couldn't resist taking a pop when you put your head so high above the parapet!

I couldn't agree with you more, it may only be 15% longer, but I'd guess it's at least 30% bigger, possibly more. But the extra weight & cost (I got a nice GP14 with a combi trailer for under 400squid, I'd guess you'd have to pay double for a Wayfarer) rule it out completely for me, plus I don't really want to camp/cruise.

It's all about how the individual wants to use the boat isn't it. I think "Horses for Courses" covers it quite well.