single or double hander
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=4415
Printed Date: 06 Aug 25 at 11:33am
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Topic: single or double hander
Posted By: Argent
Subject: single or double hander
Date Posted: 22 Jul 08 at 9:56pm
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I am thinking of buying my first dinghy. I am looking for a boat that can either be sailed single handed or double handed for the times when I want to sail with my children. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
------------- Argent |
Replies:
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 22 Jul 08 at 10:58pm
The big question is how old and big are the children, and do they just want a trip round the bay or to race? There aren't really any boats that do both single handed and two handed racing well, but there are a good number of singlehanders that have plenty of room for taking under 11s for trips round the bay etc. |
Posted By: radixon
Date Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 9:04am
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It also goes to where you will be sailing, and where will the boat be stored? What the launching facilities are like. If you want something you can pull up a beach and not worry about then a rotomoulded boat will be better. the Laser Pico, RS Feva or Topper Topaz range may fit the bill to sail yourself and also take a passanger without been too much of a hassle weight wise. ------------- |
Posted By: Chew my RS
Date Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 12:46pm
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Thanks for thinking of the NS, James. It's certainly one of the best two-man dinghies to sail single handed. A Dart/Sprint 15 is also good one or two-up. As Jim says, it depends what the kids want to do. ------------- http://www.sailns14.org - http://www.sailns14.org - The ultimate family raceboat now available in the UK |
Posted By: Argent
Date Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 8:37pm
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My children are quite young at the moment so they just want to sail with daddy without really doing much. I was thinking about the Gull Calypso as it seems quite versatile for my needs i.e. can be used single handed for the times when I just want to sail by myself, but capable of taking the family out on a cruise for the times when they all want to sail (2 adults, 2 children under 6) Has anyone had any experience with this boat or a similar one? much appreciated with all the advice so far. ------------- Argent |
Posted By: HannahJ
Date Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 9:45pm
Mirror: brilliant for teaching the kids, you can sail and race it single handed, and the kids can sail it with each other or their friends when they're a bit bigger. Have a look at http://www.ukmirrorsailing.com/ - www.ukmirrorsailing.com : you can find decent starter ones for not very much, and the forum on there is good if you want to ask anything. Alternately pm me and I'll help if I ca.n
------------- MIRROR 64799 "Dolphin" The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist hopes it will change; the realist adjusts the sail |
Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 10:12pm
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There's a wealth of small family boats that can be single handed or double handed with small hands holding the jib sheet. Starting small and getting bigger: Laser Pico Mirror Topper Topaz (though it's not well thought of .. on these pages at least) RS Feva Topper Vibe But you won't fit two adults AND two children in any of them. You probably need to go up to RS Vision or Laser 2000 sized; these are still single handable as you can reef mainsails and furl the jib away - obviously they don't go so well like that, but it gets you off the beach. Frankly, the gull (calypso or otherwise) seems rather dated. It will take ages for you to get the hang of the conventional spinnaker whereas an asymetric spinnaker you can pop out as soon as you feel confident. My own first boat was a laser 2 into which we crammed anything from just me to me and three small children. Fast and fun but not exactly a picnic and cruising boat  .------------- Javelin 558 Contender 2574 |
Posted By: ASok
Date Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 8:54am
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I'm often struggling for crew in the Dart 18, but I love sailing it single handed. Great feeling the size of boat and power - wouldn't recommend it for you at this stage though. What I would say is that I find moving it around on land and launch /recovery a pain by myself. I'd recommend going for something light and easy to use by yourself with the flexibility of being capable of handling kids or friends.
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Posted By: Fans1024
Date Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 9:20am
| A Miracle? Slightly larger than a Mirror, which would be too small for 2 adults and 2 kids. The problem with the L2000 is it weighs a tonne, so you may struggle to pull it up the beach. |