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Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Above 16 I think I'd be OK with that. 14 > 15 concerned and I think I'd want to be in a rib near by. Below that, I don't think so. But it does depend on the child. Also another reason for a higher boom than current. Kind of my point really.

I thought some people would feel that way; interested to hear the views of other parents.

Regarding the other comment above I fear the media makes us very worried about freak occurances, people have died whilst dinghy sailing and we should all learn from that to reduce the risks but because of the media is bored with road safety these days everyone seems to forget about the number of road deaths, and for the current copy of children the risks of heard disease as a result of inactivity is probably bigger than a dinghy entrapment.

Originally posted by Guest#260 Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Above 16 I think I'd be OK with that. 14 > 15 concerned and I think I'd want to be in a rib near by. Below that, I don't think so. But it does depend on the child. Also another reason for a higher boom than current. Kind of my point really. I thought some people would feel that way; interested to hear the views of other parents. Regarding the other comment above I fear the media makes us very worried about freak occurances, people have died whilst dinghy sailing and we should all learn from that to reduce the risks but because of the media is bored with road safety these days everyone seems to forget about the number of road deaths, and for the current copy of children the risks of heard disease as a result of inactivity is probably bigger than a dinghy entrapment.

less bothered about entrapment due to harness, but it is a risk, and a risk that so far hasn't got any data for young children sailing a trap boat. And hopefully never will. But there are potential issues there. More to do with the increased capsize rate, which in turn increases fatigue and the potential issues that come with that. As well as the increased potential for injury in the capsize and the increase in risk due to frequency. In my view it isn't the fact that you have a harness that increases the possibility of entrapment but the increase likelihood of capsize due to instability and then close contact with all sorts of clutter in a capsize. For instance a young girl had to have her hair cut out of the kicking strap at Lymington a while back, so I heard. Hence I would be looking to design a boat where the crew has no mobility issues to start with, especially for a youth trainer.

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Originally posted by Guest#260 Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Above 16 I think I'd be OK with that. 14 > 15 concerned and I think I'd want to be in a rib near by. Below that, I don't think so. But it does depend on the child. Also another reason for a higher boom than current. Kind of my point really. I thought some people would feel that way; interested to hear the views of other parents. Regarding the other comment above I fear the media makes us very worried about freak occurances, people have died whilst dinghy sailing and we should all learn from that to reduce the risks but because of the media is bored with road safety these days everyone seems to forget about the number of road deaths, and for the current copy of children the risks of heard disease as a result of inactivity is probably bigger than a dinghy entrapment. less bothered about entrapment due to harness, but it is a risk, and a risk that so far hasn't got any data for young children sailing a trap boat. And hopefully never will. But there are potential issues there. More to do with the increased capsize rate, which in turn increases fatigue and the potential issues that come with that. As well as the increased potential for injury in the capsize and the increase in risk due to frequency. In my view it isn't the fact that you have a harness that increases the possibility of entrapment but the increase likelihood of capsize due to instability and then close contact with all sorts of clutter in a capsize. For instance a young girl had to have her hair cut out of the kicking strap at Lymington a while back, so I heard. Hence I would be looking to design a boat where the crew has no mobility issues to start with, especially for a youth trainer.

Would a similar argument be leveled at the 29er v 420?

Or does being a double hander change things?

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow I think a double hander does change things, for the obvious reason. Certainly from a parental point of view. The 420 is a much more stable design. The 29er is more unstable but allows high levels of crew mobility to counteract this.

I think there is an argument for safety in numbers ...

It's like teaching your kid to ride a bike, isn't it?  You don't start them off with a state of the art racer.  Instead, you get them a little trike, then a 'proper' bike with stabilisers, then a little kiddy bike, then the real thing.

So in a boat you start with a learner boat, then something a bit more sophisiticated, then they learn to trapeze in some thing nice and stable.  if they get on with that you put them in a racing dinghy with a helm and then, if they get on with that and show competence and talent, plus a good deal of common sense, then you let them go out in the light weight skiff.

Obviously no kids should sail anywhere without responsible supervision and safety cover.  I'm not a parent, but I am an SI and a club race coach - would I let a youth sail the light weight skiff?  Yes, of course, provided they had been through the learning process outlined above and I was satisfied they were competent sailors, the conditions were right and there was good safety cover.