Print Page | Close Window

RS Quest - Suitable for single handing?

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Choosing a boat
Forum Discription: Ask any questions about the sport!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12479
Printed Date: 28 Mar 24 at 11:44am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: RS Quest - Suitable for single handing?
Posted By: Jamesr
Subject: RS Quest - Suitable for single handing?
Date Posted: 10 Aug 16 at 11:29am
Hello 


After a 25 year break from sailing I bought a Topper Topaz Duo last year but do not get on with it. I find it too cramped and way too unstable. I lack skill and confidence so I want a boat that is easy to learn to sail single handed and one that is suitable for pottering around if there is not much wind. 


Ive come across the RS Quest which looks ideal on paper but cannot find much on line about it. Does anyone have any experience with this boat? Is it suitable for single handing? 


Others Ive come across are Topper Argo or maybe a Wanderer. Laser 2000 looked good but I hear its too much for one person. 


I am a fairly fit 42 year old and weigh 85kg. The boat will only be used on a large lake and will not be used for racing. My main priorities are stability and suitability for single handing / occasional double handing. 


Thanks




Replies:
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 10 Aug 16 at 11:36am
Quite a big thing for heaving round the shore on your own I should have thought. That's a surprisingly important factor. But if your normal venue is all concrete slipways and shallow gradients then naturally that's much less of a problem than if you have to haul it up a steep shingle beach.

I think you really need to get a ride in as many different boats as possible to get a picture of what you need your boat to be like. Few here will have sailed the Topaz duo (although doubtless that won't stop people knocking it) but its hard to imagine its a very tippy boat. Sailors are usually keen to promote their chosen craft (misery likes company!?) and are IME always willing to allow other sailors to test out what pulling it back to the berth is like!


Posted By: Jamesr
Date Posted: 10 Aug 16 at 11:55am
Thanks for the reply. 

The problem that I see is that anything small is going to be unstable or no good for pottering. In my Topaz Duo I have to kneel in the middle unless there is 10 knots of wind.

Are there any boats that are small enough to move on shore but stable/roomy?

Thanks


Posted By: about a boat
Date Posted: 10 Aug 16 at 1:58pm
I am 6 foot tall and about the same weight as you. From what you are saying it sounds like you might be better of with a design that you sit in rather than something you sit on. I would suggest have a look at a Mirror. Although these are small boats they are roomy. For example I was cruising the kids Mirror on Saturday by myself. I had plenty of room. When the wind died I could lay down in the boat or sit very easily without being cramped. Or thay are stable enough to even lay down o the side deck and take a nap. Also as it a small boat none of the controls are too far away from you. May be worth a look. Unless you want to go faster than a Mirror!

But I would have a look at other boats too. Small boats do not mean they are wobbly. Wobbly boats are usually due to the helm.

Would not thought a L2000 is too much single handed. You do not need to fly the kite and you can reef the jib too. It is probably more to do with the style of sailing. Even in the Mirror, when I race it single handed I make sure everything prepared before tacking or gybing so it can be executed well. (It sometimes works!)

Have you thought of a Gull?


Posted By: Do Different
Date Posted: 10 Aug 16 at 4:56pm
Miracle. Bigger than a Mirror but very light for their size and commonly sailed by bigger people as a single-hander for recreation. Can feel quick as well in a breeze.


Posted By: Do Different
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 6:40am
http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=382&PN=1304&title=favourite-photos
Miracle action.


Posted By: transient
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 9:44am
Sailing a two hander single handed will be a big compromise. They were designed for 2 people so you will very rarely be getting the best out of the boat or yourself, this is not a good strategy for improving/confidence building imo. Also you will be severely restricting the range of conditions you can sail in.

Buy a boat that's designed for your most usual type of sailing and hire a boat from your club for the two handed occasions.



Posted By: Late starter
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 9:46am
Another +1 for the Miracle. Works well IMHO as a singlehander for bigger folk, plenty of room, and ideal for those who may want to singlehand sometimes or sail with a crew from time to time. Only downside is that most that come up for sale nowadays are tatty wooden examples.


Posted By: Jamesr
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 2:44pm

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I have looked at the Gull but its even smaller that my current Topaz.

Thanks for the advice on a Miracle but I was hoping for something a bit more modern and wood free. I'll try to have a proper look at one. 



Posted By: Do Different
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 3:17pm
Take your point, there are GRP Miracles though.

Modern is an interesting term, fashions and design avenues change, some last and some don't. The older designs that are still around are survivors from the heyday of dinghy sailing. 


Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 3:22pm
Originally posted by Jamesr

I have looked at the Gull but its even smaller that my current Topaz.

Room in boats is a funny thing. Its not always obvious why you seem to have more room to stretch in some than others, and its by no means always related to headline dimensions. That's why its a good idea to try and get a ride in as many things as possible. Even a quick out to the middle of the lake and back will tell you a lot about how you'll find a boat.


Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 5:17pm
You'll need to find a sea cadet group and boat a ride in a quest!

I've sailed one as helm and as crew, and it felt smaller than the 2000 somehow, in some ways like a big Feva. Not sailed one by myself, but can't see it being much of a problem.

-------------
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686


Posted By: craiggo
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 11:06pm
Please please please don't assume that modern boats are any better than older traditional dinghies. There is a chap on here insistent that we are a bunch of backwards individuals refusing to move into a modern world, but when so many of the modern offerings are such utter junk it's easy to see why people continue to sail traditional boats.

Like has been said previously, consider an ideal boat for your main sailing activities and don't try and find a compromise.

It sounds like you want a boat for pottering about in rather than racing and to be honest none of the modern boat builders produce for that market. They either produce racing dinghies, beach boats for holiday makers which are robust but wobbly as you don't mind swimming a bit on your hols, or sail trading craft where you typically have 2-3 people in the boat.

To be honest in your position I'd look for a cheap FRP mirror.

-------------
OK 2129
RS200 411


Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 11 Aug 16 at 11:34pm
The mirror is certainly fun singlehanded, and when you feel like it, flying the spinnaker by yourself can be really satisfying. Very stable, but somewhat slow.

-------------
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686


Posted By: Jamesr
Date Posted: 12 Aug 16 at 9:47am

Thanks for all the responses.

Something Ive learnt from this forum is that boats that I would normally dismiss as they were designed 50 years ago seem to be the most recommended and the most suitable. Coming from the world of mountain bikes and cars where the latest is the best does not seem to apply.   

Im in no rush so Im going to spend some time going to boat shows and looking around the club and have a proper look at some of the recommended boats.

 




Posted By: Late starter
Date Posted: 12 Aug 16 at 12:16pm
I think taking your time and seeing what's around your local clubs etc is very sensible. I've seen way too many newbies rock up to my club with the latest tupperware monstrosity that they ended up being very disappointed in, and selling at a huge loss one season on.  The funny thing is buying into some of the older designs (Miracle/Mirror both mentioned and are good examples of this) can actually be very difficult, as mostly they are only built nowadays by racing oriented professional boat-builders who build a lovely boat but at a very high price. So it will pay to take your time, work out what class suits you, and understand the vagueries of that class before you part with your cash.


Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 12 Aug 16 at 1:42pm
Originally posted by Jamesr

Something Ive learnt from this forum is that boats that I
would normally dismiss as they were designed 50 years ago seem to be the most
recommended and the most suitable. Coming from the world of mountain bikes and
cars where the latest is the best does not seem to apply.  


You need to qualify that quite a lot. Sailors, are incredibly evangelical about their chosen craft. Many if not most of the boats designed 50 years ago were bloody awful and have rightly disappeared into oblivion. The survivors are obviously best of the bunch, and are heavily updated, often using far better materials than were available back then, so in many ways only the hull shape and internal layout are 50 years old.

Then, even so, many of them have design features that it amazes me that people put up with. Boats which, when capsized, fill up with water so comprehensively that only hard work with a bucket will get them moving again, and only then if you can bucket the water out faster than its coming in again after stuffing items of clothing in the centreboard case. Boats with, instead of buoyancy tanks, the ineffective and high maintenance solution of air filled bags, and so on.

The other thing that they mostly have is construction features that make them horrendously expensive considering the amount of boat you get for the money, and often ghastly ergonomics.

[there, that should provoke a torrent of abuse]

On the other hand all boats are a compromise, and there are disadvantages to most modern designs too. For modern entry level boats the most popular material is moulded thermoplastic. This is not a perfect boat building material, although it is at least better than old school solid glass fibre, which is also heavy and has a poor service life. Its main disadvantage is that its not very rigid and fairly heavy, so it doesn't scale up well. For smallish boats like the Topper and the Feva I like it a lot, but boats up in the 14 ft plus size range tend to be a bit floppy and rather heavy. It is improving all the time as the technology develops. There is a definite snob attitude against the thermoplastic boats too, but they are getting better all the time. Beware of those whose prejudices are based on what the material was like 10 years ago!

On the other hand boats of that sort of size made from the best modern material, a sandwich of glass fabric each side of a foam core, are a lot more expensive and also rather more prone to damage from injudicious handling. Plywood, whilst a decent boat building material, is just not cost effective for production boats nowadays. That does leave the manufacturers with a bit of a quandary for larger general purpose boats, since both obvious choices of material have significant disadvantages!

All this means its horribly difficult to make categoric recommendations, which is why I say you need to jump in as many boats as possible. Fortunately you can exploit the evangelical fervour mentioned above, since its reasonably easy to get short rides from those who want to promote their chosen beast, no matter how flawed it is...



Print Page | Close Window

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Copyright ©2001-2010 Web Wiz - http://www.webwizguide.com