Which sailing dinghy?

[alant]

My Son-in-Law, has made noises about learning to sail & I have suggested a dinghy first, before moving up to a bigger boat/yacht. One of my reasons, is that my grandchildren, can have some fun learning/getting wet, as well.

It has been suggested by another, that he consider starting in a small yacht, Newbridge Navigator, because this someone knows of one for sale.

My argument against this, is that his kids will get bored & lose interest if they themselves are not 'hands on' (currently too young/small) & only 'he' will enjoy it.

What dinghy would you suggest as a starter to suit both age ranges?

 

[Seajet]

Much more info' required, what ages, has your Son in Law any experience, how fit, how many children & ages, & not least where would he be sailing, and how steep is the slipway, for a start.

 

[Rick_A]

Although i have been sailing on our yacht since i was born, i got into dinghy sailing when in my early teens.
I started off with a GP14, a very stable boat 14' long. Unlike lasers which will be faster but are easily capsized by wash from a motor boat etc while they are sitting at anchor or on a mooring. They are imo not a boat for beginners. The gp14 was easy to use on your own and easily has room for a couple of adults, or adult and 2 kids. Perfect for beginners. I as a 14 year old could pull my gp14 up the slope myself on its road/launch trailer and it was a reasonably steep slope (anyone who has been on the corran esplanade in oban will have seen them). Similar but slightly larger was the wayfarer. 16' long Plenty of room on this, and i used the one i had for day trips.
Also the gp14 is a very popular little dinghy and has been around for some time. I paid £200 for mine and it was complete with everything except trailer. And in excellent condition too.

 

[Sailfree]

Many sailing schools use a Wayfarer. It is a heavy dinghy but hence more stable in a sea. The new ones are rated to carry 6 x 70kg persons so great for tuition.

The new Mk 4 is a bit more sleek and all the racers that want to seriously compete have bought them leaving lots of 2nd hand ones available.

We were recommended to learn to sail on Wayfarer as it has all the same controls as a big boat. They were right and although we have moved onto big boats still get great pleasure racing a Wayfarer.

 

[dianoce]

I think Dinghy is the best for beginners. It is good to start from small and gradually turn to much bigger and sophisticated ones. It is just like learning from the basics before learning the specials.





El Nido Palawan

 

[Fantasie 19]

Both of those (GP14 or Wayfarer) would get my vote, but as Seajet says a little more information on where you will be sailing would help...

 

[NealB]

The Wayfarer and GP are both heavy, and hard work to haul around on shore.

An idea of budget would be useful.

 

[Strathglass]

I was brought up sailing Enterprises, and GP14's then Fireballs.

I hate to say it but they have virtually disapeared from the scene now.

Look at your local sailing club and see what they use for sail training. I doubt it will be Ents, GP's or Wayfairers. Modern boats are easier to manage both in and out of the water.
They are much more dynamic and not necessary more difficult to sail.

There is a vast range of modern dinghies available. There are no doubt clubs around which have fleets of ent.gp etc around but they are in the minority. In my club there might just be one or two still around out of something like 100 boats.

As has been said, it really depends on the age of the children and the experiance of their father.

It is a bit like the 'discussion' between old and new yachts bnut I won't enter into that.

 

[Neil_Y]

What's the budget?
I'm over 50 and have an old I14 which I take out (in lighter winds) with friends 11/12yr old son, he's been trapezing and helming and loves the speed (until he tried this he wanted a jetski as they were fast).

So a bit of speed helps keep kids interested, you can sail a high performance dinghy slowly. I also have a Laser which is good for one adult and a smaller child, you can let them helm and capsizing isn't a problem as they come up easily and empty quickly.

Cost wise you can get an old 14 for 1000 or less and an old laser for 600-800.

RS Feva's seem quite popular with families and kids down here.

Older designs such as Merlin,GP,Scorpian,wayfarer are great but once capsized can be a pig to empty.

If you're sailing dinghies capsizing is part of it and you or the kids should be comfortable with the occasional capsize.

I agree with strathglass, modern boats are easier to sail, right, empty, maintain and haul up the slipway.

 

[Gin]

My Son-in-Law, has made noises about learning to sail & I have suggested a dinghy first, before moving up to a bigger boat/yacht. One of my reasons, is that my grandchildren, can have some fun learning/getting wet, as well.

It has been suggested by another, that he consider starting in a small yacht, Newbridge Navigator, because this someone knows of one for sale.

My argument against this, is that his kids will get bored & lose interest if they themselves are not 'hands on' (currently too young/small) & only 'he' will enjoy it.

What dinghy would you suggest as a starter to suit both age ranges?

I would recommend approaching the objective from a different direction.

First of all, join a club to get proper instruction so that established and proven techniques are adopted. This will avoid bad practices taking root and will provide a structure with the aid of the RYA personal logbook.

Secondly, sail whatever the club uses- it matters little what that is but it will provide the means of measuring progress against others.

Thirdly, spend the first season or two crewing with a competent helmsman to learn how to cope with challenging conditions

Then buy a dinghy or move on to a keel boat to apply those lessons.

Finally, it is my personal opinion that sailors who learn on dinghies and then move up to something bigger better understand what their craft is capable of- if you make mistakes in a dinghy you end up swimming and vowing not to make that mistake again (even though you may do so !) . If you start with a yacht and compound your difficulties by self learning or being taught in an unstructured way then you may make repeated mistakes, suffer inexplicable frustrations. and be given endless words of 'wisdom' from those whose advice you can't really evaluate.

This final paragraph is simply my opinion, nothing more, and is delivered with good intentions in trying to help and with no offence to those who don't agree.

 

[ianat182]

On previous threads on this same theme the recommendations have been fairly consistent,those were Wayfarers, GP14;Leaders,Wanderers. These are tried and tested and much enjoyed dinghies that give pretty good performances fully crewed,but not singlehanded. The mention of the Merlin above brings back fond memories of my two that I used for tuition for lads and girls that had outgrown their Mirror dinghies and wanted a performance dinghy, like 420's,Laser 2 and Contenders with trapezes. Not many did the International 14, though the club had the two World champions as members in this class who came through via the 420 and Mirror classes -and nowadays the Round the World helmsman.
Not necessarily the career path for all of us!
Almost all dinghies are raced either in handicap by PY or in Classes, some one-design.
As said above it may be an advantage to purchase an adopted club class dinghy, but only after crewing one first.
Most dinghies now are around the£300-500 mark for an earlier Mk/design and perfectly OK for early learning;A Wayfarer, new, is around £10K, but perfectly good ones can be had at £1k and old wooden or composite about £800, but the plus is that they are still saleable after you move on to the next fancy.
I have ignored the single-handed dinghies here,though there are some sparkling performers which do require practice to perform their best,Lasers,Blazes - and Moths!

I miss my dinghy sailing in any of the above irrespective of type, just being on the water is a bonus!

ianat182

 

[rob2]

I second the suggestion of learning the actual sailing in a dinghy. You could either join a club with dinghy training facilities or take a family holiday at a school, although I would suggest stipulating that, at least initially, each family member should be in a separate crew.

I prefer dinghy sailors as crew on a yacht, they tend to sail better and are attentive to the big picture. The worst example I ever experienced of someone who had started on yachts was a guy who insisted on running the engine to make to windward and leave the sails flogging as they only made the boat lean over! (and he ate all my Mars bars)

Rob.

 

[Kelpie]

Wayfarers are maybe a bit different from other dinghies, in that they can be kept on a mooring. I singlehand mine all the time, and I'm only about 60kg- but I couldn't do this if I had to launch and recover each time.

 

[alant]

Wayfarers are maybe a bit different from other dinghies, in that they can be kept on a mooring. I singlehand mine all the time, and I'm only about 60kg- but I couldn't do this if I had to launch and recover each time.

That assumes you can get a mooring & then you need to get out to it, so need another boat, etc.

Having considered what is locally available + costs, am considering a scow.

 

[Alfie168]

Having considered what is locally available + costs, am considering a scow.

So a Fireball then... Never a bad choice, ever.

Tim

 

[alant]

So a Fireball then... Never a bad choice, ever.

Tim

Just spotted a couple of Hunter Medina's, which are not much more expensive. Normal yacht rig, sleep aboard, kettle (important stuff first) & can sit on a wet lawn.
Anyone sailed one?

Might need the scow to get out to it on a mooring though!

 

[Lakesailor]

I haven't, but there are two on our moorings. One in particular is well-sailed (I mean the owner sails it well) and I often think it would be a nice boat to have.
A friend who races a Folkboat brought one back from IOW to Lymington single-handed in an F5 for a friend and was very impressed with it.

 

[Greenheart]

I'd say there probably can't be many boats that answer every aspect of this question.

I'm certain this chap needs to get a dinghy rather than a yacht, because otherwise the kids won't be able to use the boat alone, for a few years to come. And, they'll learn much more, left alone to capsize and recover in the bounce-back way kids always do...but not in a yacht!

But...which dinghy?

I had a Topper, first. Sorry to say, I can't recommend it. It isn't quick or slick enough - and as soon as the kids hit their teens, they'll only want what the adults sail. Curiously, as an adult I've never wanted a Laser, but I certainly used to. It's cool.

If the kids are still very young, they'll be able to share the work required in keeping the Laser's rig out of the sea. By the time they're too big to share, they'll either want a Laser each, or they'll be dreaming about 49ers or bigger brethren.

With the Laser being central to the imminent Olympics, sailing kids with a competitive side will want one, and anything slower will frustrate. The choice of rigs mean it needn't be daunting, and it's easily enough boat to keep dad entertained when he's sailing alone.

It's car-toppable. The kids won't rely on each other's presence, and there'll be a Laser team at every sailing club, everywhere. And if there's the least doubt about the kids' enduring interest, dad won't be stuck with a children's boat to get rid of.

Good grief, I ought to be earning a commission here. But I'm very certain there's a good reason why they've sold 200,000.

 

[Seajet]

A Leader / Wanderer may fit the bill, but still a bit heavy.

I found GP14's incredibly heavy, and hard work as they sit there and heel instead of converting the energy into motion !

The Scorpion is lighter, 14' and actually drains and rights very well but may be a bit fast to begin with; the Laser ( singlehander ) amazingly for the numbers sold, can be a pig if capsized in a breeze, too buoyant and tends to flip over again.

The Enterprise occurred to me too, a good versatile boat, 13' so handier on shore, not great in a strong breeze for beginners.

How about a Miracle ? Cheap and cheerful, last time I looked there were several on E-Bay, would seem to tick all the 'crew carrying, sensible but not too boring handling & sensible weight' boxes; they even have a cut-away forward side deck with lower seats for small children...