Mirror / Echo / RS

I am trying to pick a boat based on the following criteria.

1) Under 70 kgs - I have a bad back and sometimes will be wheeling it to the back yard.

2) High Boom - Bad back.  Wrecked it once ducking deep under a boom.

3) Solo - Most of the time, I will be single handed.

4) Family - Occasionally, I (87 kgs) will be taking a child or two. A jib or spinnaker would help reduce their boredom.

5) Reasonably Dry Sailing - Water around here is cold for most of the year.

6) Racing - Probably not, but speed is nice.

7) Under $7k.


I narrowed down my options based on local supply (CL, RS) and used boat activity.

1) Mirror - Good sized fleet around here (Ontario, Canada).  Real slow.  Spinnaker.

2) Echo 12 (Kolibri, Koralle Jr) - No fleet activity.  A touch bigger than Mirror.  Equally slow.  Spinnaker.

3) RS Feva XL - Some fleet activity.  My teenager may get a kick out of it.  (Then again, he may just go back to his Wii. )  I have read that I would be too big for this boat.

4) RS Q'Ba Pro - No fleet activity. Teenager.  Me too big?


I know that my size would slow down the RS boats, but slower than a Mirror?  Is it true that the RS boats would be unstable with this much weight?  Any guidance would help me in this decision.

Have you looked at the RS Vareo?

Like a pantomime villain, here is the Captain Morgan that you summoned...

RS Q'BA: Not sure if 87kg + A. N. Other would work, it should be OK, as the Q'BA has a Design Category "C" (it'll take the weight of 3 people, non-sailing). There is no spinnaker, but the jib is optional. I understand that RS have remodelled the Q'BA now, so that there is more cockpit space for a crew in front of the mainsheet block (which can be relocated for single-handed sailing). Your weight will be fine in the Q'BA, but do bear in mind the fact they are not (usually) fast. It's a modern design, and does serve several purposes, but it is best as an simplistic single-hander, which can be adapted to sailing with smaller crew. I did my back in and found the Q'BA to be a good choice from this point of view, and yes, the boom height is fine. The Q'BA could be well worth a look.

The RS Feva: Good fleets, but much more of a youth boat that seems to perform best with two youths/lightweights. I've seen adults single hand them, and they just seem slow and somewhat unstable. I'm not knocking the Feva, but as an adult singlehander, they seem to be poor performers (and I gather, not at all rewarding to sail).

The Mirror is possibly the best bet - you have fleets there, they are pretty dry (which could be useful if you intend to mainly potter about in Ontario). Even if you don't race the Mirror, you have at least got a knowledge base and possibly some fellow cruisers around there to exchange tips with. The boom should also be OK, and there is definitely space for a crew.

I don't know the Echo, either - but none of the other boats are particularly fast. However, they all provide sensible speeds for cruising/having fun.

how bads your back?

Mine isn't great... and after hiking hard it kills me.  Even in the Mirror with my son. I'm just over 70kg he's 40kg. If you want a bit of speed and stability with a high boom I would of thought a Catamaran would be the way to go. Lightweight would mean you'd want to go for something like a Catapult.

from there website:

• The design is unique:- a strong, stiff aluminium frame supports slender inflatable hulls.The light weight, only 95 kgs (210 lbs) makes Catapult sensationally fast for a 5m (16ft–4in) boat.

• It hit 17.03 knots at Weymouth Speed week with peaks of over 20 knots.
The light weight allows this performance with a 10 sq.m. sail area, so that it is easy to sail and remains forgiving of mistakes.

• The hull shape (with maximum draft well aft) make tacking quick and predictable, in contrast to other cats

WEBSITE LINK