Selecting a new Dinghy

Thanks Jalani, I quite fancy the Catamaran, is the Dart 18 reasonably easy to handle and still fairly robust. We are going to wander around a couple of local clubs and hopefully pick up some more advice, also see what they are sailing. The only thing that worries me is that around our area we tend not to see to many catamarans sailing.

Thanks for the advice. We have just been down to a local yacht club and they had a great number of catamarans there so I think we are going to apply for membership.  We are on a Neilson holiday in Porto Heli soon so hopefully we can get some formal instruction on the dart 16 as our local RYA centre do not have catamarans. It would be nice if we could handle a dart 18 as there seems to be more choice secondhand. Also I have been told it might handle our combined weight better (need to go on a diet me thinks!!). I do not seem to be able to find much information on the Hobie cats, do you know the manufacturers web site?, are they as robust and easy to sail as the darts. I noticed in one of the reply posts tsomeone says I might soon get bored with catamaran sailing?, are they not as exciting and fun as dinghies? Thanks all comment welcome

Why do Larks seem unpopular at the moment? Cheap, kite, tough and can be hairy in a blow.

Originally posted by lostatsea Sorry didn't  mean to start any arguments, just wondered why someone would think you might get tired of catamaran sailing?. Found the hobie cat web site.  Anyone  know which Hobie cat is similar to the Dart 16/ Dart 18. Are they as good as the Dart's ie faster, more robust etc. Think the more I look the more confused I get!!. Thanks

The cat v dinghy argument is basically about what you want from a small racing boat

Cat Pros

• Fast
• Relatively stable

Cat Cons

• Not usable in restricted waters
• Not as tactical - Making a tack costs a huge amount of time so they tend to tack out to the lay line and come back to the mark with little regard for wind shifts etc
• Not the same seat of the pants feel to them when sailing them - some people may regard that as a plus!
• Can be tough to get back upright after a capsize.

Dinghy Pros

• Very manouverable - good for restricted waters.
• Huge range of types to choose from.
• The faster ones give a great feeling of speed - even if they aren't as fast as a cat.

Dinghy Cons

• More unstable than a cat - particularly the faster ones, may mean more swimming lessons!

There is no correct answer - you need to choose something that will fit your own needs and give it a go!

Originally posted by lostatsea I noticed in one of the reply posts tsomeone says I might soon get bored with catamaran sailing?, are they not as exciting and fun as dinghies?

Folk who are into catamaran sailing seem to get bored with Cat sailing about as fast as people who are into dinghy sailing get bored with dinghy sailing...

Lets face it, if you get bored with whatever you get, Cat or Dinghy, you can always flog it and get the other. Its not like getting married!

I've never seen any evidence that folk get bored with one faster than the other, and quite a few people do both. I have seen plenty of evidence that people can get equally fanatical about both and will delight in coming up with increasingly unlikely reasons as to why you should prefer their choice...