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Kite or no kite?
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Punky View Drop Down
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Posts: 90 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Punky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Kite or no kite?
    Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 12:53pm
Reasons not to get a kite boat:
1. On a small lake you will half the leg hoisting and dropping
2. Kites need replacing regularly and cost lots of money
3. For £1500 the boat will probably have naff system that makes hoisting, setting, gybing and dropping harder than it should be.
4. You stand far more chance of cocking up a gybe and swimming.
5. You stand far more chance of trawling the kite during recovery and either tearing it or going very slowly.
6. The crew (your g/f) will get calluses on their hands from rope burn.
 
The Albacore makes most sense especially if you have a fleet there, otherwise you can pick up a perfectly decent Tasar for that sort of money (but they aren't the best small lake boats either), or an Enterprise (doubt that would get you a foam one though) or N12, Graduate or Firefly or a Graduate (but 23 stone is on the heavy side for all these because they are small boats).
 
You could buy a boat with a kite and just not use it - that opens up Merlin Rockets and Scorpions but they would be wood and relatively high maintenance probably.
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iGRF View Drop Down
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Posts: 6499 		Post Options Post Options   Quote iGRF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 12:50pm
Originally posted by JimC

[
I think we can say categorically that isn't true for everyone,


Echo that!

If that were true I'd be looking for a Miracle.

Can you imagine it?
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JimC View Drop Down
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Posts: 6662 		Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 12:31pm
Originally posted by PeterG

It's always going to be far more fun sailing in a class fleet than competing on handicap.

I think we can say categorically that isn't true for everyone, otherwise there wouldn't be so much more handicap racing than club racing.

However if you don't have strong feelings about what sort of boat you want to sail there is a lot to be said for having a boat that is sailed in numbers at your club. You know it probably suits the water, you know there'll be backup available and a good number of other advantages.
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Posts: 823 		Post Options Post Options   Quote PeterG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 12:18pm
Far more important, in my view, than the type of boat is do other people sail them? If there's a fleet of Albacores at the club I'd say your decision is made. It's always going to be far more fun sailing in a class fleet than competing on handicap.
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Null View Drop Down
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Posts: 745 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Null Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 11:55am
Albacores are great boats, we have a fleet at Tewkesbury.  however in my opinion and having owned cheaper boats you will be outclassed by the modern Ovi's.  Even the old wooden woofs seem to struggle now!  Thats not to say don't buy one, it would be good to cut your teeth in something like an older composite porter, which would still put you on the line if you sail well.  For me i wouldn't touch a fosrite for anything other than cruising.  If you upped your budget by £500-£1000 you would get a very, very nice boat that would be more than capable.
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kneewrecker View Drop Down
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Posts: 1586 		Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 11:17am
Good points above- scratch that 12, get an Albacore if there's a fleet of them!
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Posts: 403 		Post Options Post Options   Quote GybeFunny Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 10:47am
In my opinion a kite on that small a lake is only good if you can fleet race other boats of the same class as you will quickly get frustrated at getting destroyed on handicap by the non-kited boats. It sounds like you dont have a fleet of spinnaker boats so I suggest joining the biggest fleet there, you will learn much more sailing in a fleet than you will being the only boat in your class. If you join a fleet you will be able to track your progress as you get nearer to beating "Bob and Sue in the blue boat" and after a year you may be able to beat them in a few races, whereas if you raced in the only N12 you would be miles behind them one week and miles in front the next as the wind suited the different boats, how would you track your progress then?

I fleet raced an RS200 on a small puddle and enjoyed some really close sailing, there is no way I would have sailed an RS200 on that puddle if all I was doing was handicap racing.


Edited by GybeFunny - 10 Sep 14 at 10:48am
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Ian29937 View Drop Down
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Posts: 409 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Ian29937 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 10:20am
There's a fleet of Albacore's - no brainer, great boats,
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Posts: 1586 		Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Sep 14 at 9:21am
N12 - no brainer, great boats.  
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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: 10 Sep 14 at 8:38am
See if you can borrow one of the Albacores for a couple of races in different conditions to se if you get on with it.

So long as there isn't an arms war going on a the club with buying new ones, a £1500 Alb with decent sails should be able to compete on such a small pond.

Otherwise, an Ent would suit, but for £1500 I'm not sure what decent GRP boats you'd be able to get - the wooden ones were much nicer until recently.

There are National 12 designs which take 23 stone easily, so worth a longer look there, too.
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