If she does fb, the page Dinghy and dinghy bits for sale is also a good  place to look. 

I will let other better qualified people comment on what boat to actually get .

If she was good in 29ers she should be ok at finding a boat once she knows where to look!

I agree that Apollo Duck it probably the biggest dinghy marketplace but ebay and Facebook are worth a look too.

Laser 2000 is a decent shout. 

The children will be pretty small right now and the last thing you want to do is scare them.  Maybe a bit or of pottering off a beach on a sunny day might be a good introduction, in which case a good S/H Mirror with rowing option would provide a good Swallows and Amazons experience.  You could up the boat in the garden to add to the experience. 

But are any of those builders making new Ents? Not that the class reports state. One of the more dead national classes for sure. 

Im sorry but have you been at the sherry? 

Its been 20-25 years since the Ent was any sort of force in the dinghy world and it is now lingering. It's a shame, but every niche the Ent appealed to once upon a time is now occupied by a class that does it better. 

That said, this is why you can buy a boat capable of winning open meetings for a few hundred pound and shoudn't under any circumstances spend more than £1000 on one.

Laser 2000 - why would anyone who didn't specifically want to race one want to buy one? The Wayfarer is bigger, a GP14 lighter, and both cheaper along with several other classes.

Re the enterprise comments, neither are correct in my view. And like with a lot of things in life , the truth is somewhere in the middle . 

Well, round here it's dead. From what I gather apart from a handful of stalwart clubs its dead

The fleets at small clubs have collapsed, they are lucky to get off one hand, never mind see double figures at an open meeting and its close to bottom of the list when you discuss what to buy, largely because the boats are either wooden and require maintenance or plastic and falling to bits rather than any inherent fault in the class itself.

I still think the Ent has a place, but talking it up as the biggest doubleheader in the world is false - they haven't even had for a world champs for years. It's up there with the advice to a newcomer to buy the fastest boat they can cos they'll be able to keep up with good sailors in slower boats. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but this is being factually incorrect and using incorrect facts to give poor advice.

But, as I alluded, this means you can get a really good one for not a lot of money - but it'll be wooden. Could be why they are seeing a bit of a comeback at champs level, lots of ex rockstars coming back for another go. In the 80's and early 90's it was a huge class.

By the way this isn't intended to be a character assassination on the ent class, but it is about giving accurate advice - one or two of us haven't done that.

Of course the class is nowhere near what was, ( as are a lot of classes ) but it’s not dead either . It still has a niche that no other more modern boat fills . A two sail boat used on smaller inland water.

To get back to the op . Would I suggest a ent for the sea or open water , no but it the op’s sister was thinking of sailing at a small inland water racing py, it has to be worth a shout. Much more fun than sailing a 2000 ( big heavy thing) or a RS200 where by the time you have the spinnaker up it’s time to take it down again .

Nice to see Mr P has changed his post to sound a little more rounded 

2019 PY sorted by number of returns. The Ent certainly isn’t dead as a club racing boat. I think anyones view can be distorted by what people sail where you sail, I didn’t see an OK or Solo for 40 years, two most active fleets at my club. 

I get wound up by bad advice or untrue advice, particularly when its on something important that could lose someone to the sport if it goes wrong. This thread is the second time in the last few weeks this has happened and this will be my last post on the matter as I think the OP has his answer.

But whilst I do think the right Ent is actually quite suited to the role (Subject to an active racing scene not being relevant), I stand by my advice.

 

7 different classes in the top ten with good local sailors in Ents out of the top ten, you need another hymn book iGRF 

Sail boat data has Mirror at 7.000 should be 70,000……

420 56,000 …..

Snipe is at 31,000……

While Ent very respectable 27,000

All needs to be considered with a large pinch of salt and some classes issue blocks of numbers that don’t get built 

Formatting all to cock sorry 

Back to the Snipe...it is only two Olympic rotations ago that the Snipe very nearly replaced the 49er - I jest not, but in terms of global footprint, they have the numbers. Ask why the 470s are still at the Games and you have the same answer. We're actually quite small beer in the numbers game....

D

Vaurien 36,000 

4th RS200 6036—— 5th RS400  5967——- 10th  Merlín Rocket 3151 —— 11th Ent 2835 ——- 

Gives an indication of club level activity. 

obviously only UK

Didn’t make it too clear but  https://sailboatdata.com/" rel="nofollow - https://sailboatdata.com/  for anyone else that wants to look up themselves 

Oh well Happy new year , you tiny whiny atom of  human vileness. 

Based in Winchester, there would be a huge choice of clubs within a sensible drive.

First choice to make is perhaps pond or sea?

Then what do you want from a club?

With small kids it's likely to be about learning.

Choice of boat should be well down the list.

No one boat will do everything for a family.

What club boats can be used?

Sailing school boats hired?

Choice of boat is most likely going to need to change as kids grow, but I'd be thinking more about things like Pico or RS plastic equivalent thing. The smallest thing the adult in question plus one child can operate in will be easiest for the small child to learn?

Likewise choice of club may change over time.

Lymington springs to mind.

I know someone who sails there, lives not ever so far from Winchester.

Maybe it's easier for the kids to start younger inland though?

OTOH, a 40ft Benetteau would take the whole family....

A big however is that for southern kids is that with so many events and squads available many don’t sail very regularly at their home club once they reach a certain level. 

I think that's the reality of sailing on the actual ocean. It's a serious business taking responsibility for other people's sprogs in a more hostile environment. You've got more weather, tides, waves, other water users etc etc. But lots of families do teach their kids to sail in the Solent region, there is a lot going on, but it's spread over a large number of clubs. A lot of us just join one (or more!) of the nearest clubs as driving around the area is not much fun.So a lot of the clubs are very focussed on their long tem local members and it's all a bit opaque to anyone from the wrong side of the A272. The Northern Reservoir is equally an alien environment for those of us who've grown used to living within a pushbike ride of the sea.

Enough of that drivel, I looked at this thread because I'm wondering if there are any sensibly priced Lasers for sale that I'm not seeing? I've had the same one for 4 seasons and it's starting to feel like an excuse for not winning! What with covid and the class builder politics, not many nice ones for sale?

Our training is run mostly Saturday morning with club racing in the afternoon. This allows the instructors to race if they are not knackered.

Our only issue at present is lack of Dinghy park space, but we are working on that. We also have a brand new clubhouse.

Originally posted by 423zero Probably production issues similar to cars, people are hanging on to them.

I'll need another car this year as well.

At least with the Laser, I've got the option of buying the same thing as before, just not knackered.

That’s a bit cruel lol,  it’s more like buying a 60s America muscle car . Loads of performance in a straight line but a bas@@rd to get round the corners 

Re shortage of boats . I think it’s mostly in the second hand singlehanded market. Covid has caused a lot of people sailing two man boats to buy singlehanders as second boats and it’s sucked the market dry. A friend of mine has just sold his solution and wants a winder solo . Everyone he has been interested in , has sold before he could get to see it . 

Have you ever tried to get a Marina round a corner 

Re shortage of boats . I think it’s mostly in the second hand singlehanded market. Covid has caused a lot of people sailing two man boats to buy singlehanders as second boats and it’s sucked the market dry. A friend of mine has just sold his solution and wants a winder solo . Everyone he has been interested in , has sold before he could get to see it .

-------------
Spice 346 "Flat Broke"
Blaze 671 "supersonic soap dish"

I was going to compare the Laser with a Royal Enfield, but even they've got fuel injection now.

I did once own a Marina estate, in strong winds it was dodgy in a straight line, never mind the corners.

That'll be the carbon top mast 

Yes we are all different, at least we’re not playing xxxx. I got my Laser by putting a wanted add on the ILCA FB page, got a nice boat that was not advertised and sitting unused. I do think there is a major shortage of boats at the moment and lots of people are now doing the wanted route, best to be very specific, what you want, age, sail number, region, budget etc. Good luck 

Originally posted by Oli if its for the whole family to go together a laser stratos or similar, if its just a couple at a time then the 2000 is a good shout.

It's a heavy old bus with big sails to pull in, for kids under 10?

OTOH there were a few couples having good Wednesday evening racing in them lasr time I saw any on the water.

    If you find a buch of like-minded people, it doesn't matter much what the boat is.