Father/Son Dinghy?

29er?

i say that as it then leads you on to the option of sailing one competitively when you are readya nd such like.

you will also get all you are asking for a trapeze, assymetric spinnaker and you will be around the right weight, if not on the larger side.

i would however, advise a trail sail first as they are not always to everyones expectations as realistically they are tippy, when launching and going slowly( before starts and such like) and take a lot of getting used to.

if you want to talk about it more pm me

tom

 

The 29er is a lovely boat - it doesn't carry weight too
well though and at 75kg (me) and 50kg (son) I spent a lot
of time crouched in the bottom to stop it heeling over on
top of me. Got to stand up I guess; not really a sit
down sort of boat.

It's not specifically a youth boat though, dad son pairs
do sail it .. but they have to race it against super fit
RYA trained teenagers, which can be a bit daunting.

I ended up with a Vandercraft V3000 which is a bit
sparkier than the slightly overweight Laser 3000 it's
based on, but still easy to sail. A good number of the
circuit racers are dad / son pairs too.

My kids have grown up now, so short of a crew .... but
it's single handable too!!

If you're pretty good and confident as well, laser 4000s
are amazing value at the moment. Adjustable racks and
weight equalisation mean at 120kg all up you should be OK
( though dragging a heavy boat up teh slipway with extra
lead weights in it can be a pain ).

Originally posted by Mister Nick My Dad is a very good sailor, I think he could have gone to the Olympics when he was younger if he had tried to.

I wished my sons would believe me if I told them that!

Still, I've got the best chance yet of going to the Olympics in 2012, with it being in Weymouth

Re are there 4000's about, a few for sale on the class association website, also on or two in the classified on this website,

you can pick a boat up relatively cheaply, and as you grow you'll be able to stay with the boat, weight equalisation means crews from 120kg to 170kg are competitive,

seems like an ideal boat for you at present, but i'm biased,

There's a 29er for sale at my club that was on the for sale board for a LONG time and is now gathering moss on the beach; no-one sails them on our lake and the yoof were put off by the competition.  A real shame as they're a fantastic little boat.  So nearly bought one once........ but you need a reliable crew.  The V3k can be sailed with a novice for a crew or without a crew at all.

A 2nd hand 4000 can be got in good nick for under £2000; they're heavy and look a bit dated somehow, also "a bit" hard to sail to handicap - but good fun.

 

PS: what became of Hector's Vortex?!

 

Edited by NickA