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Double Hander for Father / Son combo
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Doctor D View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 May 16 at 9:22pm
I'm considering options for a double hander for me and my seven year old son.

He's done a fair bit of crewing in a Vibe with me (and a little light wind helming). Having recently been out in a slightly more spritely single hander with me I think he's going to want to go a bit faster when properly 2 up.

I weigh just over 80kg (just under 6ft) and he's a typical 7 year old stick insect (twice the weight when wet).

It would be sailed on a small pond most of the time with occasional trips to Lake District and Bala.

Thinking at the moment is a Laser 3000 - fairly cheap, stable, can sail it on your own.
What are they like on capsize recovery and could he helm and me crew in light winds?

Anything else anyone thinks is worth a look at?

Cheap and cheerful solutions sought as I may well be getting him his own single hander before too long as well.

Thanks.


Edited by Doctor D - 11 May 16 at 9:24pm
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GarethT View Drop Down
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Posts: 714 		Post Options Post Options   Quote GarethT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 May 16 at 9:48pm
When mine were that age we had a lot of fun in an old 420.
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Posts: 1810 		Post Options Post Options   Quote craiggo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 May 16 at 10:19pm
Get a Graduate, great parent/child boat. My 8yr old crews for me in ours (I'm 84kg). A good proportion of the fleet are families of similar ages, which makes for a great atmosphere at events like the nationals. My daughter has helmed our boat in light breezes but I only have a 1:1 mainsheet, with a 2:1 tail it would be a piece of cake. They are well suited to small ponds but equally at home on larger expanses of water. You should be able to find a good boat for under £1000.
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Rupert View Drop Down
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Posts: 8956 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 16 at 8:24am
Sounds like you want a bit more whizz than the usual suggestions (I grew up sailing a Firefly). The 3000 is a cheap way of going fast, though you will need to take care with the weather. They don't have any sort of air gap when turtled, so you will need to plan for capsizes well, & I'd suggest using a masthead float.
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GML View Drop Down
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Posts: 94 		Post Options Post Options   Quote GML Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 16 at 9:21am
I would wait until he is a teenager before getting a 3000. (Great boats that they are, you need some weight and strength up front to get the best out of them).

If you want a quick 2-hander, suited to having a light-weight up front, then you should definitely consider an (older) National 12.
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sawman View Drop Down
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Posts: 205 		Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 16 at 8:41pm
In your position I bought a miracle, its a great parent and child boat, plus the nipper can learn the age old skill of flying symmetric kite. My daighter is now a whizz with the kite. the boat is not over canvassed which does mean its not that fast, but it it easy to control, and means you can pretty much go out in any weather and not spend the day swimming. its also light to handle on shore which I have found helpful when sailing with kids as they normally head of for crisps and pop when the boat needs dragging up the beach. As it happens I have a miracle for sale, as we are moving up to a scorpion
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Doctor D View Drop Down
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Posts: 20 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Doctor D Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 16 at 4:08pm
The Grad looks like a good choice - maybe not as fast as others, but probably the right boat for us. It's a shame there's so few around.

At this point I think a symmetric is beyond us so a Miracle isn't the right choice.

Don't know much about National 12's other than there seem to be an endless variety of them. I'll do a bit of research - meanwhile I'll keep looking for a recent Grad.
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Posts: 323 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Neal_g Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 16 at 6:11pm
Miracle would be my recommendation. Start without the spinnaker then something to move on. Good fleets in the north west too.
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sawman View Drop Down
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Posts: 205 		Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 16 at 7:28pm
Originally posted by Doctor D



At this point I think a symmetric is beyond us so a Miracle isn't the right choice.




You dont need to use the spinnaker at first, but it will give you something to grow into. As Neal mentions there are a quite a few sailing in the northwest,

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craiggo View Drop Down
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Posts: 1810 		Post Options Post Options   Quote craiggo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 16 at 9:32pm
Grads sailing at Chester SC, Bolton SC, Southport SC, Ogston SC, Todbrook SC and there are others in the area.

At least you can sail to handicap straight away, if you aren't flying the kite in a miracle you may as well not bother!
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