Choosing a boat: Oppie, Topper or something else

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Oppie, Topper or something else

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Choosing a boat
Forum Discription: Ask any questions about the sport!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10774
Printed Date: 05 Aug 25 at 1:23am
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Topic: Oppie, Topper or something else

Posted By: about a boat
Subject: Oppie, Topper or something else
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 2:27pm

Hi,

My eldest wants to start sailing. She has a few "taster" sessions in an Optimist so knows what she needs to do ie pull the sheet to go faster, drop it to slow down, move her weight around and not bump into too many things. The rub is she is seven years old BUT 140cm tall and weighs in at 32KG (just over five stone). Anyone with kids will know she is very tall for her age. for example in wetsuit terms she wears 10-11 year old suits. And she will only get taller and heavier.

So should she go for an Optimist where she would not need to worry about being over powered but can just concerntrate on sailing techniques and then sell it in the next 18 months or a Topper where she will experience being over powered at some point, will be a bit wetter but she can grow into the boat.

Price is not an issue as they cost around the same second hand.

Thanks

Replies:

Posted By: SoggyBadger
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 2:43pm

Start her in the Oppie.

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Best wishes from deep in the woods

SB

Posted By: Contender443
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 3:12pm

What about an RS Tera, great little boats. If you get one with both Sport and Pro rigs then she can add the extra power of the pro rig without changing boat. This is an excellent little boat and is growing in popularity all the time.

Alternatively you could get a Topper with a 4.2 mainsail as well as the usual sail.

Ultimately sail what is sailed at your club. and the best boat for your local sailing water.

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Bonnie Lass Contender 1764

Posted By: about a boat
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 3:53pm

Optimist, Topper and Teras are sailed! To be honest I think I will go with an Optimist but I will ask at the club too. May be a good idea will be for her to have a go in both and see how confortable she feels with them.

The biggest issue with the Optimist (hence my question) was during her taster days she saw some boys go out in Teras and was full of excitment only for her little face to drop when realaity hit that she would be in a boat that resembled a washing up tub!

Posted By: robin34024
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 4:00pm

I would go for the topper 4.2 rig. she will probably still be overpowered if it gets breezy, but when she grows out of the 4.2, she can move into the 5.3.

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Posted By: kevg
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 4:56pm

I'm biased towards a Topper 4.2 and then the 5.3 but Optmists certainly have a strong following see:-

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/168423/1,175-pre-registered-entries - http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/168423/1,175-pre-registered-entries

Posted By: Contender443
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 5:36pm

Why not ask her what she thinks is best. I suspect she might go for a Tera, my then 8 year old did.

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Bonnie Lass Contender 1764

Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 18 Mar 13 at 10:41pm

The Tera is a great boat, and by the sound of it she has already seen them and liked the look. Mainly, though, she should be in what her friends are in, I'd say, as that way she will be having fun.

My daughter, who is 10 now, has had a Puffin for many years, mind, which no one else has one of. She far preferred that to the Oppie, as it had Mirror style tanks to sit on. Now getting into the Topper more, and unlike her brother, isn't a Tera fan. Her Godsister at a different club sails Oppies in a fleet and loves it.

Best thing would be to be at a club with boats the Juniors can use whilst she gets the basics right, then she will be telling you what she'd like from a position of knowledge.

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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686

Posted By: pondmonkey
Date Posted: 19 Mar 13 at 7:13am

She needs to speak to the kids who sail all three... buy the one with the group she thinks she is most likely to make friends with.

The boat is irrelevant at that age.

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Posted By: about a boat
Date Posted: 20 Mar 13 at 9:13am

Thanks all. I agree with all really. At least I know it will be an Oppi, Topper or tera!. But it will be what she wants rather than what anyone else wants which is key. And the reasoning of her judgement I doubt I will ever figure out!

Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 20 Mar 13 at 5:48pm

Originally posted by pondmonkey

She needs to speak to the kids who sail all three... buy the one with the group she thinks she is most likely to make friends with.

The boat is irrelevant at that age.

dead right. The parents who buy the kids the boat they think they ought to sail so often waste their money. I do think kids move out of oppies way to soon, but as James says, if she doesn't like it she won't sail it, whatever it is.

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the same, but different...

Posted By: ohFFsake
Date Posted: 01 May 13 at 12:52am

I've been through all of these issues with my two girls. Done Oppies, currently in Toppers and crewing in Mirrors; now talking of 29ers (Eek!).

As others have said, being in a fleet with friends is absolutely the top priority at that age; but if that still leaves a choice then I'd maybe have a little think about the venue. If it is inland and relatively sheltered with predominantly lighter winds then avoid the Oppie as they will spend a lot of time drifting around bored in a boat that won't go - a Topper will power up earlier and result in much more fun.

If it is a breezy coastal location then the opposite applies - the Topper will be a handful even with a 4.2 rig, whereas the Oppie will allow them to keep sailing in stronger winds and learn more.

And the Tera sits somewhere between the two. Not as powerful as the Topper but more easily driven than an Oppi, so probably suited to a wider range of wind conditions and crew weights than either of the other boats.

My eldest daughter moved up too soon, like they always insist on doing, and went into a Topper when she wasn't much more than 4 stone. Her first season involved a lot of swimming and not much progress but in the long run there's perhaps a lot to be learned from sailing in a boat that's massively overpowered for you. It turns you into a great heavy weather sailor as long as you have the enthusiasm and commitment to stick at it...

Posted By: doeywizard
Date Posted: 07 May 13 at 9:05pm

I started sailing in a tera with the sport rig on, i found this really fun an manageable and once i wanted to try something a bit bigger i invested in the fully battened pro rig which made everything more lively once i had got some experience. A topper you will most probably need a 4.2 and although the 4.2 fleet is quite big at the moment the tera fleet is growing quickly. I moved into toppers after a few years in teras and even now i am sailing lasers by far the most fun i have had in a boat was when I was sailing my tera. The main thing is to get a boat she will want to sail and enjoy.

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Topper 46148 for sale
http://sailingdinghies.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=276804