O'Pen Bic

Originally posted by Philsy Originally posted by k_kirk My bad. Wanted to say Feva. OK, thanks. I guess a Feva is one stage beyond a Pico. Would you agree?

I've never sailed one but it does look like a better investment. Hulls look and size fairly similar. Feva S (non-batten main) allows reefing so first season she could sail the Feva S version which would be similar to sailing a Pico alone. When ready or when you're with her she could add the jib and gennaker. You could get her the battened main at some point as well and turn the rig into the XL version. I see it as a long living investment + good racing in the UK from what I read. I think its a good boat to grow out of Opti with.

Having sailed all of the above I agree with Mike and the other comments.

The Pico is good for cruising and the occasional racing with a few Opens. Cheaper than the Feva and popular for Sailing Schools

The Topper, available as the cheapest boat, good for racing and crusing, the circuits are similar to the Oppi.

Feva good doublehander, best with the XL rig with genneker. Only sailed one twice but more enjoyable but not the cheapest.

The Open Bic looks ok but with a "windsurf" sail looks more of a racing boat than a cruising.

If you are able to test sail (check out the Topper/Laser/RS Websites) then you will get more of an understanding of what would be suitable.

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Originally posted by Philsy Originally posted by HannahJ How about a double-hander? Can sail with a friend then. Gosh, she'd never stop chatting Too small for a Feva, so a Pico, perhaps? The Pico is the boat I wouldn't go for, and the reason my son really lost his confidence. To cut a long story short, they have to much buoyancy so the board is really high when you capsize. For a small kid - 30 kg it is hard to get on the board after a capsize. After a lot of trying his strength gave up, and because of really bad rescue cover ended up getting rescued by another sailor. His sailing confidence really suffered after that. Apart from the buoyancy issues the sail shape is rubbish and there is a massive lack of feel from the boat. About the only thing going for them is they are indestructible. I'd lump the Topaz in as another boat I'd never recommend. I can't comment on the Feva, but the kids at my club enjoy them. For a crewed boat I'd be going for a Mirror.

The pico is a good boat in my opinion AS LONG AS THE SAILOR IS BIG ENOUGH. It is not a good choice for kids still at opi size hence choices like the tera etc. I've lost count how many times I've seen pushy parents send kids out in these when they have no where near the weight/strength to handle it. The pico has 5.1 sqm main and the laser radial 5.7sqm (yeah I know the sail is cut differently) which is something to consider.

With kids the number one goal is never do anything that could out them off sailing!

I doubt anyone will keep such figures..as 'fall-off' is almost impossible to track. With kids becoming adults they'll always be some fall-off as other sports, alcohol, sex and drugs become alternativa attractions. However if your experience of 'sailingf' is crappy club level handicap racing then I can't see much enthusiasm for keeping up with it when you are 16/17/18, and want to play football, go out with your mates etc.

OTOH if you experience of 'sailing' is going away for a weekend and having good fun racing competitively against other kids, and having fun in the evenings catching up with (dare i say it 'real' friends rather than school friends), add on top of that loads of really good quality coaching to help you improve, then in my view you're less likely to drop out than the club handicrap racer.

One of the unique things about our sport is that it's not just a 90 minute game that you drive home afterwards. This makes it a lot more social than playing football/rugby etc and you find at many levels (from optis upto to keelboats), it's the socialising after racing thats at least as much fun as the racing itself. Most clubs that I've sailed at just don't generate this kind of 'evening fun', as even with a 2 day event most people would go home rathen than 'go out' on their home patch. Yet when you go to an open or a champs the socials are usually great fun whether you're 13, 33, 53 or 73.

I''m convinced my nieces are 'hooked for life' - despite competing attractions of horses and drama classes, which I think it great - and largely down to making friends with the other kids they've been racing against. .

Lots of useful comments - thanks.

I think maybe we'll stick with an Oppy, but need to get a better one. Gosh,
they're expensive for what they are, though!