i14 vs 49er etc...

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Re comparisons, as others have said, there's not much between a 14 and a 49er for speed. Those who've sailed both say the 14, being shorter and narrower, feels friskier (even with a t-foil). The 14s are allegedly more fun socially (none of those over-intense wannabee Olympic types). You need to decide for yourself if you like

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hi guys
your dead right, communication is key, especially in skiffs and that is why me and fergus are splitting up but me and paul have a fantastic sailing relationship and perform well together.
thats a good piont about the social side aswell because realy serious people suck the fun out of sailing we are really in it for the fun and the occaitional open (handicap racing-scottish skiffs opens) so if an i14 realy can keep up with a 49er and with the fantastic py advantage it sounds like the boat for us!
if we buy a fully sorted bieker 3 it should stay pretty up to date for a couple of years???yes???
we also love to change things around and try out new things o see how the boat sails best. something which is a real restriction in the 49er and 800!
ps the friskier and faster the better.
pps which is the hardest to tack and gybe???
cheers
tom

Originally posted by turnturtle Good point if Mum & Dad buy 1 x 700 and 1x Musto, the brothers would really have something to argue about- which unlucky git gets to sail the 700 this weekend....

If a mum and dad are buying their kids a musto and a 700 - they must be spoilt little brats!!!!!!! (not saying i would mind!!! i would obviously have the musto!!!)


Edited by 29er397

Have to emphasise the point that communication issues on skiffs are a major problem. If you are going to argue on the water, you won't do much sailing and a lot of swimming. High Performance skiffs don't give you the time to argue on the water so either address the issues before jumping into classes, start sailing with other people or go down the single-handed route. If you can't speak to each other when things go wrong, it will all end in tears............

Originally posted by m_liddell [QUOTE=bovlike] The guys in the class I have spoken to reckon £11k to be on the pace...

 

Sorry, but that's really not right. Good secondhand boats, with t-foils, are going for perhaps £4k - £7k. See

http://www.international14.org/index.php?option=com_content& amp;task=view&id=38&Itemid=29

for more on practicalities (incl, costs) of sailing 14's.

Re comparisons, as others have said, there's not much between a 14 and a 49er for speed. Those who've sailed both say the 14, being shorter and narrower, feels friskier (even with a t-foil). The 14s are allegedly more fun socially (none of those over-intense wannabee Olympic types). You need to decide for yourself if you like being able to change things on the boat or not. 14 rigs move on, although the hull designs are pretty stable at present - and re the rigs, if you're sailing regularly, you'll be getting new sails every so often (2-3 years for mains?) anyway...

RS800's are aimed at lighter crews, incl perhaps boyfriend/girlfriend combos. Nothing wrong with that, but again depends what you're looking for yourself

One last comment - if you two really can't communicate as helm and crew, I'm afraid though any fast skiff is going to be a problem!

Cheers

That could be because the guys who are capable of winning are quite willing to throw £11k at a campaign?

I think that untill you can sail the boat to the point of making no mistakes then the fine hull developments are the least of your problems. I don't doubt that in an ideal world the latest boats will be faster but I think that in a boat of that type as long as the boat is reasonably new and sorted the nut on the end of the stick is going to be the only one stopping it from winning!