Blaze Class for Sale

Originally posted by PeterG I suspect that sailors at clubs with shingle and a break tend to be more helpful to each other - you have to be, you can't winch a boat up the beach single handed, if the break sets in then you're likely to be very appreciative of help when you land, and most people respond to that by helping others in return. No bad thing.

That is exactly true, however there are times when someone has to land first in order to be there to help the rest ashore, and that obviously falls to the race leaders, the same launching, the good guys help the not so adept off the beach, to make sure they don't roll on the way out, the point being there are not always enough hands to handle the weight. The sea can also be very daunting to those not used to being beaten up by it and they can act in stupid ways born of a defensive attitude, so it does foster a very tight club, getting folk to walk out to the end of a rock groin to fetch Rogers Hornet back to the beach was a particular example.
   We windsurfers are a selfish lot, this born from years of only having ourselves to look after, so it is refreshing to be part of something like this and each and every converted windsurfer will be there in the forefront of any boat fishing exercise, unfortunately our minds are still writing the youthful checks our sport requires, yet sadly our body is now the age of the sport we are now engaged in, so its 'Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to physio we go!'

car top it on your own - check

Very neat - shame there's no side view so you can see where the roof bars are. If I loaded like that on my car I'd be pushing the boat/trolley over the trim on the top of the rear door, which probably wouldn't be a great idea. Does that car have a roof bar or roller right at the back of the roof?

Points of information ...

The Blaze hull most certainly IS all of 51-53kg when mouldings complete, joined and trimmed without fittings, foils, wings, or corrector weights and it has been so for many many years.   The wing system is around 8kg, the centrebord 3-3.5kg, fittings and lines maybe 2.5kg.  

Sure there are some older polyester hulls that struggled to get down to the class minimum hull weight of 72kg (hull fitted out with all controls, lines, centreboard and correctors) ... They will struggle even more over time.  If not washed out regularly with fresh water and then dried out periodically many polyester hulls WILL become 'porky' - one of the main reasons for using vinylester or epoxy today by many classes. These hulls were not necessarily like that when first produced (!) ... and the earliest ones are now approaching 20 years old.

If I sailed a 20 year old Laser it would not be reasonable to expect it to be as 'crisp' as one produced in the last year either.  But an early Blaze it can be made pretty competitive if you are prepared to sort it, treat it to a decent sail, and sweat a bit of that middle age spread off it.  All Blazes ever produced have been foam sandwich and do not tend to go soft as a result - so if you are on a real budget get an early one in reasonable nick and talk with the CA on what you can do to improve it.   

And if like GRF your only Blaze experience is in a relative 'clunker' ... try/find a decent one next time ! (it is a bit of the 'old girl friend' syndrome there btw - for some reason he KEEPS talking about her) .. only joking ... )   

Cirrus

It's precisely because the market isn't controlled by any professionally structured regime so it's left to well meaning foolishness. Recommending bloody Lasers, it's going on here, right now and until it stops the whole charade continues to be perpetuated.