Musto Skiff weights

Done it in a new thread, how easy, I mean just to get it round the cans in most winds, not to sail it well enough to championship standard.

And if someone has to tell you 'special rigging techniques' sorry bottom of the pile, below 5..

10 is good in this survey.

What would be excellent is Fast as well as Easy which of course we all know doesn't yet exist.

You sail a cherub, nobody cares what you think.

And TT, agreed, but what we need is a scale of 1-10, 

1 being the most difficult bloody near impossible and 10 being easy peasy lemon squeezy even an ageing female contender sailor could do it..  (Or contrary French bird  ) 

I think I shall start it, and y'all can add and alter to your hearts content, mine is obviously my own somewhat arrow experiences.

So I'd put the MPS as a 1 as it's the most difficult thing I've sailed.

I'd rate the Rs100 at say a 4, with the Blaze @ 6 the Alto about the same, the RS500 a 5, the L3k a 7 with the 8,9,10 for stuff like lasers toppers and other plastic beach toys..

How does that sound?

I think you're missing my point, which was if it(the MPS) was easier, by now after ten years it would have attracted more helms, there would have been less wastage, as it is they attract us (helms) we find out what a pain it is to sail, then give up or move on.

Taking as a comparison, one I'm sure will also have a fair amount of wastage as soon as something easier comes along that does the same job, the RS100, the perception was that it is easier and exciting, it got a fair bit of hype here and its' first nationals barely 6 months into its production cycle achieved 43 boats. I'm sure next year will be more but already it has some wastage including the bloke it was designed for. Now the MPS took 7 years to achieve that number. I'm sure the RS100 will exceed it by next year ad it could go on to be 'massive' if your view is that massive is that sort of figure.

My own view is that any nationals less than 100 entries is pathetic and one could hardly boast of it as any great achievement in winning it.

 

This is the way I see it, please, please, please DON'T GET A 49er UNLESS YOU HAVE A DECENT AND COMITTED CREW! In your initial problem description you said you were struggling to find a crew for the 29er, the 49er will just make things worse as you are throwing a much more difficult and scarier boat inro the equation. I know numerous paople who have bought 49ers thinking they'll pick up a crew and it never quite works out like that and they are stuck with a boat they struggle to sell. The most important piece of equipment on the 49er is the crew!

 

In the same instance, I know quite a few people who have had 49ers and sold them to sail mustos and haven't looked back. The MPS is a really good boat, I'm not a class rep or anything like that, just making the call on my experience. These guys are still raving about their boats 4-5 years after. What I'd do is buy the Musto just now, learn the skills for the boat and then once you've mastered it, look for someone to sail 49ers with, maybe crew or helm for one of these people who have bought boats and negated the crew factor. In a few years time, I wouldn't be suprised if you're still very focused on the MPS and the 49er idea has went out the window. I don't think you'll get bored of the MPS, the 800 on the other hand will most likely seem very tiresome in a short ammount of time if you can sail a 29er well. There's not too much difference in speed, I've seen MPSs trample over 800s across the water, however with the MPS you don't have the crew requirement and they are probably a much more involving boat to sail.

 

Your initial idea of the Musto skiff was the best, just go with it! I'd be encouraging you as much for the 49er if you had the crew factor sorted out but don't even think about it. I wouldn't see the MPS as a compromise because you can't get a crew, I'd view it as an equally good alternative. Any of the RS alternatives come up really short compared to the MPS as well in my opinion. Just to complicate things, if you must get a double hander, which I think is a bad idea, the 800 is the better option as you won't struggle as much to fill the crew sized gap at the front of the boat.