The Contender

nothing to do with weight - all technique! at 9 stone i beat (twice) a 12 stonish guy in his newer boat (i borrowed his old 1) in a force 5ish and he is very good. i dare say he will read this - im guessing he was having an 'off day' but never the less i am still proud of myself! lol.

i have 2 agree though if iu wasnt sailing a 29er with my brother i would probably be in a contender or maybe an rs600 for the extra challenge in lighter airs especially (i couldn't be doing with any stability )

King George SC has quite a few Contenders, so there will be people able to give you a few tips, possibly sell you some old kit etc.
I used to have one as my second boat (early 90s Rondar) which never broke on me - only problem was that at about 10 stone I tended to get blown away the moment any decent breeze got up

Great boats, really good fun and stable, good in a blow.

Only big downsides are the weight of the thing...you'll be dragging something the weight of a Fireball (heavier if old!) up slipways on your own, and also getting under the boom in the tacks.  You have to let the kicker off a bit if you don't want to get stuck if you are wearing a lot of kit (say drysuit and woolies, harness and BA).

Mine was an oldie and a bit of a pain to sail to start with, however I brought the fit-out  up to modern standards (c/board cleat and controls to gunwales, cunn/outhaul cleats on fordeck with elastic take-ups, and split bridle kicker to trap wires) and it made a massive difference to sailability.  Also make sure you have plenty progrip...makes a difference.

Last thing, learn how to eskimo roll!!!

Cheers guys.  I'm currently based in Liverpool at West Kirby SC but I'm moving to London in September to start Law School down there so I'll be looking in summer for ones around the South, probs moving to King George SC, north London.  I've seen a crazy yellow and black one for £600, hull looks sound but sail and mast are old and defo not competitive! 

Sail number is K-sixtysomething, I take it thats pretty old? (double figures...)

James you may be right about boats coming on the market, I'm going to hold out for a bit as a result (cheap ones will get cheaper if the market gets flooded...) but I reckon Contender is the way forward. 

whereabouts are you .My mate bought one a couple of months ago for £300 admitedly it was pink but a contender is a contender is a contender really for that price i'd love a bonezzi but a bit out of my price range at the moment .And I think the class may be going epoxy soon too.So if you stick at it there may be some good boats going when all the top guys upgrade!

 

There are a few cheap ones on the class website at the moment check it out

http://www.sailcontender.org.uk/option,com_classifieds/catid ,0/searchadv,/type,0/limit,8/limitstart,8/