Vago as a first boat?

I've now owned our Vago for just over a year. It was our
first boat and to be honest I still think it was a good
choice.

Here are a few points;

It's marketed as both a single handed and double handed
boat which to a certain extent it is. However you need to
be pretty good to sail it well singlehanded and pretty
much need to be able to trapeze otherwise it's a hard
hike in all but the lightest of breezes. From a layout
point of view it's definitely a compromise when single
handing.

I'd agree that it's a bit buoyant on the bow (or heavy at
the rear) which means in light winds the helm would be
sat where the crew would normally be and the crew is
generally asleep on the foredeck (I think there's a few
classes like this though). Having said that, in the
really light winds it's quite competitive.

A lot of people say the Vago is quite tippy. At first I
thought it was too but like most things you get used to
it and now I don't think it's tippy at all. However, the
sides do flare out quite a bit and the boat can lean a
long way over without actually capsizing.

The Vago training weekends run by the class association
and Sail Laser are very good. The GBR 49er crew Mark
Askwith ran the course last year and was excellent.

We sailed both the Laser 2000 and the Vago before
purchasing the Vago and to be honest the 2000 just felt a
bit dull compared to the Vago. The wife really likes the
trapeze so the Vago was always on top.

There's not a lot of them about which is a shame when it
comes to club racing but the RS200 is almost the same on
PY (double handed) and the 2000's are always a boat to be
picked off.

I'm not convinced the plastic boats are that much more
durable than GRP ones. They definitely dent easier and
like mentioned before they are more difficult to repair.


I'm glad I bought it as a first boat. I've learnt a lot
with it and have still got plenty more to learn. I'm sure
we'll upgrade to something more 'acceptable' in the next
couple of year (RS800 tops my list at the moment) but
even then I may keep the Vago in the park for those days
when you really shouldn't go out but we're really glad
you did!

The standard sail is only smaller than the XD at the top
but that obviously helps with the depowering. With the
standard fully reefed the sail ain't much bigger than a
Pico sail!

I wouldn't worry about it being tippy. As I said, you'll
soon get used to it and wonder what all the fuss was about.

Trapezing is where the fun is at, especially trapezing down
wind with the kite up!

I sailed a vago single handed the other day, we took a vago and my 700 out, both singlehanded. I started in the 700 but the wind died a bit so the guy in the vago asked to have a go in the 7.  He jumped out of the vago and climbed into the 7, and i did the same into the vago, but in the very light winds the vago actually capsized on top of me while I climbed in, so not only is it tippy, but floats high enough to cause this problem too!  I weigh 80kg and the guy in the vago weights 56kg and can manage the XD rig with jib and kite single handed in up to about 18knots.  The vago felt so dull and wasnt nearly as nice to trapeze from as the 7! There is a big step out onto the side which I didnt like at all! When single handed in marginal trapezing conditions the lack of a foot bar inside the hull for stepping out with made it more difficult than the 700!  I didnt enjoy my single handed vago sail, but that was after stepping out of the 7 which is quite a leap down the performance scale!

Originally posted by laser193713 I didnt enjoy my single handed vago sail, but that was after stepping out of the 7 which is quite a leap down the performance scale!

I agree, the Vago isn't the easiest single hander but then
I wouldn't fancy two up in a 700 either - especially as a
first boat

Edited by ellistine

Originally posted by zailor Well im asking alot so its going to be a big compramise and the vago covers most bases.Its a swis army knife in this case.Does everything okay but does nothing well