Laurent Giles 'Jolly Boat' Exeter |
Laser XD 203301 Upminster |
J24 (Sail No. 4239) Dartmouth |
List classes of boat for sale |
420 |
Post Reply | Page 123> |
Author | |
EmmyC
Newbie Joined: 30 Oct 10 Location: Berkshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Topic: 420 Posted: 15 Feb 11 at 1:18pm |
Hello everyone.
I am thinking of getting a 420 after my birthday and was wondering whether there were any 420 sailors on here that would reccomend it.
Thanks
|
|
Wee Man
Far too distracted from work Joined: 24 Aug 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 214 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 15 Feb 11 at 6:29pm |
I'll let you know next week, I'm crewing on one on Sunday. The girly helm loves her 420. |
|
ChrisJ
Far too distracted from work Joined: 07 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 337 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 15 Feb 11 at 9:30pm |
All depends where you are going to sail it.
If you are going to race against other 420's ,then get one quick. If racing against RS-200's: then buy a 200 instead!
|
|
EmmyC
Newbie Joined: 30 Oct 10 Location: Berkshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 16 Feb 11 at 6:30pm |
Well I wouldn't be racing against any other 420s, but I probably wouldn't use the spinnaker or trapeze straight away anyway, so it wouldn't matter who I'd be racing really.
|
|
jeffers
Really should get out more Joined: 29 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 3048 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Feb 11 at 8:12am |
If that is the case Emmy why don't you look at a double handed boat that does not have those fitted? Depending on your ability what about something like a Graduate or National 12 perhaps even a Scorpion (I know it has a kite but it pretty quick round the cans on white sails and you can easily depower if you and your crew are light).
I would say unless you are looking to go the squad route then the 420 might not be the right choice for you.
Whatever you want to get in to always have a test sail first.
|
|
Paul
---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74 |
|
Rupert
Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Feb 11 at 1:03pm |
I'm not a 420 sailor, but as a 2 handed boat for light weight people, who may well move onto trap and spinny when ready, I'd say it would be a great choice. Once you get confident, you'd find the class has a much higher % of young people than the average to spend time at events with. I've no idea what the social life is like at events (sometimes too many squaddies can be a bad thing) but it is probebly better than most others for teens.
I'm assuming you are young - it might be your 65th birthday you are waiting for! |
|
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
|
|
Pierre
Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1532 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Feb 11 at 2:35pm |
I agree with Rupert. Great boat to learn everything on.
|
|
WoodenBoatLuvver
Groupie Joined: 20 Dec 10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 40 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 11 at 2:26am |
Having sailed a friends one many times on the Orwell, I think they are generally a good boat.
I find no thwart a downside, single handed and as on most short boats (Solos too)the double pulley centre main a bind, with the owner and me on board the side tanks flexibility was more than noticeable.
Mentioning that aspect at another club, the person I was discussing said same reckoned he once saw a side tank go bang on a 420. |
|
EmmyC
Newbie Joined: 30 Oct 10 Location: Berkshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 11 at 12:05pm |
I have sailed many 2-man dinghies on my own and have never found no thwart being a downside, although that is my personal opinion. The birthday I'm approaching is my 14th, so I'm not very heavy and I don't suppose my crew would be very heavy either.
|
|
TwoLegged
Newbie Joined: 19 Feb 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 11 at 10:07pm |
Emmy, I probably wouldn't recommend a 420 as your very first boat. However, if you've got a good grasp of the basics in a Mirror a Topper or something like that, then it's a great next step. It'd be a good idea to try before you buy, but basically they are good boat for the intermediate learner.
I sailed a 420 when I was teenager (sometime before Noah took up boating). It was a fun boat: stable, reasonably light, quite free of handling vices, and reasonably fast. The flared topsides keep it quite dry. I leant a lot from sailing mine, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I took to single-handing it with all 3 sails in modest winds, when it flew along ... and with a crew I took it out in some very heavy weather and learnt an awful lot about boat-handling. However, the 420 is a very old design, from the days before designers understood how to use fibreglass, and as a result the hulls have large swatches of fairly flat unsupported fibreglass which flexes a lot. This means that the hulls get floppy quite quickly, so the race-winners tended to get a new hull every season. Staying at the front of the class is an expensive option, but it doesn't sound like you want to do that anyway The old design also meant that the gear was not as well thought out as on newer boats, so some of the controls (kicker, cunningham etc) are not as accessible as you may be used to ... but So I'd strongly suggest that if you buy a 420, buy a cheap and old one, and have lots of fun with it while you learn how to handle a reasonably fast boat, recover from capsizes and practice spinnaker and trapeze. You don't need the latest and greatest boat to learn, and there are plenty of battered 420s for sale at less than £500: http://tinyurl.com/6e7x7pt |
|
Post Reply | Page 123> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |