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Black no sugar View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more
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Joined: 04 Dec 04
Location: Somewhere between Brighton and Lancing
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Posts: 3941 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Black no sugar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The Contender
    Posted: 19 Apr 06 at 12:47am
 oh I know what you mean!....  
Lancing SC
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29er397 View Drop Down
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Joined: 02 Feb 06
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Posts: 505 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 29er397 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Apr 06 at 3:53pm
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 )
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getafix View Drop Down
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Joined: 28 Mar 06
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Posts: 2143 		Post Options Post Options   Quote getafix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 2:01pm
Go for a Contender if you sail inland on anything but a big bit of water (i.e. like Rutland, Bala or Grafham) because having sailed both, the Contender is more forgiving in terms of throwing tacks and gybes in than a 600 (or IC) which both have "interesting" manners in the corners or the kind of gusty conditions you can get inland with wind through trees

One thing to consider though, the Contender boom is very low when you first get in - you'll learn to duck pretty quick

For your budget you won't get a decent Open winner in either class but you will get something that's a laugh and won't need sticking back together again every 5 minutes as long as you inspect carefully before parting with the folding stuff

If you can get an IC, without the A-kite at this dough, then go for it, they are blisteringly quick and really unique with the sliding seat.  Most 15-20yrs old ones are glass/wood or all-glass with the really recent stuff getting more exotic.  Mains last forever and you can probably get a decent 2nd hand jib from a top-of-the pile sailor if not up to scratch

Or a moth.... ?
Feeling sorry for vegans since it became the latest fad to claim you are one
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Isis View Drop Down
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Joined: 01 Sep 05
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Posts: 2753 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Isis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 2:06pm
Ignore me, Im just rabling on and getting confuzzled...


Edited by Isis
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Calum_Reid View Drop Down
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Joined: 09 Apr 04
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Posts: 59 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Calum_Reid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 3:09pm
To emphasise how low the boom is in the contender i will always remember the day Iain Renilson (ex class guru) showed me where he sets his kicker up wind. He didnt have his main sail up at the time but he pulled the kicker on to his rough mark and I nor he could lift the boom of the aft deck. it was locked solidly too it! Thats one hell of a lot of kicker!!
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ColH View Drop Down
Far too distracted from work
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Joined: 11 Jan 06
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Posts: 242 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ColH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 5:36pm

Yep. Really low. Wish I'd had a carbon boom on mine - would have reduced the pain a bit .

Col

 
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Contender 541 View Drop Down
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Joined: 05 Dec 05
Location: Burton on Trent
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Posts: 1402 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Contender 541 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 9:11pm

I find that the limbo technique works quite well when tacking mine.

From a kneeling and facing forwards beginning, start the tack / gybe and then lean backwards and place the back of your head where the tiller was.

WOOOSH there goes the boom straight over your nose.

Certainly encourages you to duck low enough that way!!
When you find a big kettle of crazy it's probably best not to stir it - Pointy Haired Boss

Crew on 505 8780

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Black no sugar View Drop Down
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Joined: 04 Dec 04
Location: Somewhere between Brighton and Lancing
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Posts: 3941 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Black no sugar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 06 at 11:17pm

Ahh that's a way to do it.. I've been trying to adopt the more traditional "kiss-your-a$$-goodbye" approach, swiftly followed by the Starfish position (sprawled flat on the cockpit floor while the legendary eye-at-the-back-of-my-head watches the boom do what booms are supposed to to (I used to be a teacher, after all).

Coincidence of vocabulary: isn't "boom" a pretty adequate word for it, evocative of impending pain, when it comes to a Contender?
Lancing SC
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Contender 541 View Drop Down
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Joined: 05 Dec 05
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Posts: 1402 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Contender 541 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Apr 06 at 7:59am

I kept finding with the KYAG approach that I always missed my head, but often got hit on the back or bum.

On a couple of occasions I have managed to get trapped between the boom, the main tower and the tiller extension.  Messy and very quickly wet
When you find a big kettle of crazy it's probably best not to stir it - Pointy Haired Boss

Crew on 505 8780

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combat wombat View Drop Down
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Joined: 16 Jan 06
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Posts: 345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote combat wombat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Apr 06 at 2:11pm

Your not selling it to me!

Only joking, I can deal with low booms, I guess releasing a bit of kicker + mainsheet before the tack might help!  Thanks for the opinions everyone, my budget is really very small (having boat a new boat and negotiating the purchase of a house in London...) so even the cheapest 600 might be too expensive.  An IC isn't a bad idea, steep learning curve though!  Moth's also interesting, but probs out of my range.  I'd thought about a Blaze but I've got enough rack assisted hiking on the B14 and wanted something different, plus again not enough cash!

I'll be inland on averagely small water so the Contender could be the way forward.  If anyone knows of a really cheap IC though I could be tempted!   
B14 GBR 772
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