What do people think of the 59er ?

I sailed a 59er at the weekend.  Fabulous boat, I couldn't believe how well it went.

As I sail a 4000 normally I thought you'd never get apparent wind sailing if you didn't have the righting power of a trapeze.  I was wrong the 59er hull is so easily driven that it will plane upwind and you get apparent wind sailing downwind.

The erie thing is the speed of the thing through the water and so quiet.  However I can't say its a boat for the fat and unfit - quite the opposite.  Its as tippy as a 4000 and goes faster if you sit it out hard.  Its fully powered up at the top end of a 3 and that's with an amazingly flat main. 

Downwind you'd need to be beefy and strong to get a lot of weight over the side to sail the thing at all high with the kite.  That kite makes it good for windward/leeward courses though.

I'm impressed by the ergonomics, design and quality and have to confess it makes the 4000 seem like its bashing its way through the water - the 59er glides.

I look forward to sailing it sometime in a blow or in the light stuff, but in a 3 to 4 its great.

By the way I've done quite a bit of sailing 400s - the 59er is a very different sort of boat.  I think it probably does qualify as a skiff.

Originally posted by Isis Originally posted by redback think it probably does qualify as a skiff. Can opened, worms everywhere...

Please no not this again, lets leave it there!

I myself also sailed a 59er at the weekend and i did quite like it.  Its really nice to hike from, by far one of the most comfiest boats to hike that ive sailed.  
However there's no way you can get the maximum efficiency of the rig through hiking alone.  Stick a trapeze on it and it will certainly make a great big boys 29er!

Doug

If I remember correctly (which I usually don't) the 59er was initially marketed for people who used to trapeze and now consider themselves too old/unfit/unwilling to dangle off the edge of a wire, so yes, put a trapeze on it and it will be faster and may be easier to handle but that's not what it was designed for.

Originally posted by redback I think you have to be fitter to sail a non-trapeze asymmetric than a trapeze one

Yes and No. For many people there comes a time, as you will probably learn as the years go by, when the old muscles slow up a bit, the leaping out of the boat slows down, you get cramp in the calves, and a trapeze boat does become an unending struggle of aches and pains. And it doesn't matter that much what you do in a trapeze boat, its pretty much a constant level of effort. The only way you can get any kind of break is slow down the tacks, only tack on big shifts, not do the last race. Not many options...

By contrast in a sit out boat you can sit out a bit less, conserve the old muscles, and just put in the extra effort straight legging right out of the boat for that critical bit off the startline, but sail at about 85% the rest of the time. Sure the young and fit have got that extra 15%. But you've got old and cunning on your side, and old and cunning often beats fit but naive...

Crewing Cherubs and RS400s at the high end of my 40s I found that whilst 100% in a 400 might be more effort than 100% in a Cherub, 85% in a 400 was an awful lot more practical and probably even faster than 85% in a Cherub...

Edited by JimC

Originally posted by glewis If I remember correctly (which I usually don't) the 59er was initially marketed for people who used to trapeze and now consider themselves too old/unfit/unwilling to dangle off the edge of a wire, so yes, put a trapeze on it and it will be faster and may be easier to handle but that's not what it was designed for.

Yeah you do remember correctly and this was against really what Frank B aimed it at- it was a spinnaker hiking boat for more excitement/update to the tasar philosphy

It was going to be the 39er but somehow some smart alec decided to 'market' it for older, probably less suitable owners.

 

Maybe it was something to do with Ovi's making a nice little penny on B14 production and not wanting to cannabalise the class?

For general UK inshore racing it is probably the 'skiff' which takes the most weight of all the current SMOD assym's.