What boat to buy?

   What do you mean by 'costs less to run' ?

Like I said, the capital itself is not the issue. If I can buy a Solo and sell it 2 years later for £1k less, its the same to me than buying a Vareo, and sell it for £1k less

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MSaxp Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 01 Nov 15 Location: Swindon Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote MSaxp Report Post Quote Reply Topic: What boat to buy? Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 2:37pm
	What do you mean by 'costs less to run' ? Like I said, the capital itself is not the issue. If I can buy a Solo and sell it 2 years later for £1k less, its the same to me than buying a Vareo, and sell it for £1k less

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6661	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 2:29pm
	I think you have to go and sail them really, because different people like different things about their boats. The Vareo has the spinnaker which adds [extra interest/unneeded complication] (delete as applicable). I personally don't like sailing Lasers much (other than messing about in waves when I was younger and fitter) so I'm not a good judge, but its probably a better boat upwind than the Vareo. The modern foam sandwich Solo is undoubtedly a more sophisticated and thus rather more expensive boat to buy than the Laser, but various design features mean that it should cost rather less to run, so it probably all evens out in the long term.

MSaxp Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 01 Nov 15 Location: Swindon Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote MSaxp Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 2:15pm
	Thank you for the advice. My club does have proper double handed boats, so that isn't a problem. I don't expect the single hander to be able to comfortably accommodate loads of people but was hoping that it could allow for the occasional passenger. If I took that requirement out, would you recommend a different dinghy to the Vareo? The Laser seems to be not as good and the Solo seems to be expensive (a wooden one would probably mean extra maintenance work). maybe something else from the RS range?

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6661	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 12:07pm
	I don't think any boat really does that dual purpose bit very well. My advice is always to join a club where they have two handed club boats available to borrow/rent and use those when you want to take the wife out for casual sailing, and get the singlehander that best suits you for singlehanded sailing.

turnturtle Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 05 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2538	Post Options Post Reply Quote turnturtle Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 11:28am
	if there are Vareos actually active, then that boat fits your brief perfectly- for 2 grand you get a lot of boat for the money. Solos are expensive, but retain their value, so the true cost (depreciation) isn't as bad as initial reactions would have.... not sure I'd be too keen spending less than four grand on one though, not with any expectation that it will be competitive if you choose to sail it in any races. Plus for 2 grand you are almost certainly looking at a wooden boat... love it or loathe it. A Laser is what it is and you appear to have a good grasp already... no, its not comfortable. Yes it's cheap and relatively easy to learn to sail it. Yes you can take a passenger out on them for a jolly, but this might mean they have to sit on the foredeck getting a very wet arse while you trim with your bodyweight back a little. Its main forte is that it offers good racing against other Lasers and a very low cost of ownership. 2K buys a very good club boat. In fact, don't bother spending the full budget would be my advice! A Solo would be very cramped with the passenger, I'd not really recommend it for anything other than a very occasional summer drift in light winds. FWIW - you are doing the right thing in seeking out something that's already sailed at your club. Best of luck. Edited by turnturtle - 02 Nov 15 at 11:30am

MSaxp Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 01 Nov 15 Location: Swindon Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote MSaxp Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Nov 15 at 11:17am
	Hi all, One more of the many beginners asking the question. About to buy my first boat and don't know what. so any advice would be very much appreciated. I am 36, 5ft10, 11st and reasonably fit. Got my Level 2 a few months back and maybe another 20 hours or so on club boats for practice. all of my experience has been on Wayfarers and 420s. In terms of the requirements. I want a single handed dinghy but would like to be able to take my wife on board for some casual sailing. For now, I just want to be able to practice, but don't want something that will get boring after a few months. don't want a boat designed for pros only either. While I am reasonably fit, I wouldn't want a boat that is very uncomfortable to sail. Budget-wise, I was thinking of something around £2k but it can be stretched. Its not that I cant afford to pay more, its that I am thinking that its not worth for a beginner to spend a lot of money (on a boat that he is likely to damage as well). Looking at the club boats, most single handed seem to be Solos and Vareos, with a few Lasers. I was thinking of buying a laser to be honest (as I think Solos are too expensive), but the club instructors don't seem very keen on them (and they do look very uncomfortable) Any advice or thoughts welcome