Hiking singlehander (no kite)

depends  - will it be as nice to sail in light winds as a 300 and as fast as my 600 when its windy, oh and will its carry my 85kg competitively?

How would we know the answer till we try it?

another kiteless monohull for the masses... erm no thanks, not while the market is so skewed towards the indomitable Laser. Even if it's a blinder it won't get a fair shot, so don't bother.

Laser EPS
Tonic
Comet
Byte
Streaker
Vortex
Supernova
RS Q'Ba
RS300
Finn
Phantom
Solo
Int Moth
OK
Hoot
Harrier
Blaze
Lightning 368
Halo
Solution
Stealth
Canoe
Hadron
Splash
Europe


... I think there's enough alternatives to the Laser... all of which offer something nicer, better, improved blah, blah, blah. But while the knee wrecking sh*tbox is still put on the ISAF pedestal from cradle to grave, from the gravel pit to the open sea as some panacea of sailing experience, then ALL these other classes are pretty much not given a fair shot at an open market appraisal and they all limp along, some better than others stemming the flow of disaffected and disenfranchised ex-(laser) sailors.

It would be nice to be able to direct novice adult sailors to a singlehander that doesn't have the vices of the laser, but one of my key suggestions when I talk to people about buying boats is that they should buy something already sailed at the club they are at planning to join.  At Hunts we have a good few phantoms, lots of toppers, a good few solos and a lot of lasers, plus a fast growing set of europe sailors, so something for everyone. 

I think if there were to be a new single hander it would do well to address the training/holiday centre market, whre there is a need for a better single hander than the pico or laser as a 'grown up single hander'.  It would need to be a 'proper' boat, unlike the pico, yet equally low maintenance, easy to learn in yet also offering decent sail controls, foils etc, so the option ofr performance is also there.

If people could stick with the boat they learned in, ie if it had the credibility, unlike the pico, then it could do very well, especially with rig upsize/upgrade options.

Originally posted by Contender443 James you also forget all those die in the wool Laser sailors who love it for just one thing - class racing. And they will never change until they give up sailing that is.

And for those people the Laser is great- its natural forte so to speak. I just think it's not the boat of everyone, ergonomically or in simple handling.   Any boat where a newbie 'needs to learn to NOT hook their sheet on a gybe' is clearing suffering from a major design flaw... something 40 years of open development could have phased out if the dice weren't loaded against progress.

Secondly the 'myth' that an old kneewrecker is on a level playing field with the latest (not gone soft) boats with XD kits, rolled sails and reinforced kicker points is total BS- and again, loads up against newbies and low budget players... and why do we do this, 'class racing'... that's not class racing, it's protecting your investment through artificial aftermarket values- so you can still get over a grand for a boat that should really be worth about £200 on normal levels of depreciation. Don't even bother trying to justify the price of the new boats or equipment- what are they now, 5, maybe 6k with all the bits n bobs. If you're paying full RRP for a new one you can expect two things... 1) crap service (ask the SOuth Cerney boys) and 2) you're paying to fund IOC placement, one way or another.   

I look at the all-hallowed 'class' racing at our joint, all I see is a range of different boats all claiming to be 'equal' under the same sail insignia.... total b**locks, but if that's what floats their boat then long may they enjoy themselves in blissful ignorance.


Edited by rogue - 17 Oct 11 at 5:36pm