Hey all,

I'm on a fleet planning committe for a college sailing club in the States (Seattle,WA). Currently, we use Lasers as singlehand training boats, but we would like something more durable, i.e. something rotomolded. Given our requirement that a singlehand boat should have only one sail, we are finding that our choices are very limited.

So far we have only found one or two boats that fit our specs:

• Topper Topaz Uno Race
• RS Feva w/ XL mainsail only (no headsail)

We have ruled out Pico because, at 3.5m LOA, it's below our minimum spec of 3.65m.

So, any opinions on how a Topaz Uno Race compares with a Laser?

Is the RS Feva with the big main a possibility, or would there be too much weather helm? Anybody tried it?

I’m obviously going to be a little bit biased because I sail a Topaz Uno Race, but I have sailed Lasers and Feva’s whilst on holiday last year so at least I’m in a position to make a comparison.  The Feva is very nice to sail, the XL version sails very well and is a lot more ‘grown-up’ than a Topaz as its got a proper tracked mast etc however I reckon that it’s best sailed by two as the jib and kite controls are quite far forward. Our local water used to have two Lasers in their hire fleet however they found them too fragile for the purpose and have increased their compliment of Topaz Unos instead. Whilst the Feva XL that I sailed had a kite, the Topaz Race can also be upgraded to a ‘Race X’ spec (which I’ve not sailed) which adds an asymmetric spinnaker. I’m not sure what the price comparisons are like in the USA but I reckon Topaz may well be cheaper to buy and possibly cheaper for spares as well – I hope that helps,

Nigel

Thanks for your answers gents.

Any other comments on these boats and how they might stack up against a Laser?

Kevin H

I recently had a similiar dilema, find a single handed dingy, larger and mare capable than a laser but equally something that a rather average sailor could be challenged by.  Having considered all of the boats mentioned I elected for a RS VAREO, the Fevas (slightly bigger) brother.  It meets your requirement for I single sail but for training it is easy to get 2 (or 3) people in and allows for growth with a 'fun' sail up through the 'comp' sail and spinnaker.  It is also light enough for 1 person to haul out of the water!

Rgds

Pat

Aren't the Feva and Topaz essentially childrens boats?  The Feva in particular seems to be a modern Mirror.  The (full rig) Laser is for larger people.  I'm suprised you are comparing Fevas to Lasers, they seem to be aimed at different people.

If you're in the US, what about an Escape?

and i do not think you can relly call that vareo the feves bigger brother that the vishon i think as they are for to diffrent thing

vareo one man fast with out a trap racing

feve to get young people in to sailing and as a 2 man racig boat for kids

Think long and hard before ditching the Lasers in favour of a rotomoulded boat if durability is what you're after. You still have to look after a rotomoulded boat!

With a glassfibre boat, you can do repairs yourselves, and it sounds like from a sailing point of view, the laser is perfect. Be careful you don't compromise on the sailing performance just to satisfy your criteria for a rotomoulded boat, which in my opinion won't mean a whole lot less maintenance.

The Mirror isn't meant to be a childrens' boat...

Don't know what a Mirror is.

The Vareo is fiberglass.

We have already tested the Escape. We found the design flaw (apparently some stress point at the base of the mast).

We have a half dozen Bravos (rotomolded Hobie cat), and from a maintenance standpoint, they have been outstanding. On the other hand, we completely destroy a quarter of our Laser fleet every year. That means we buy 4-5 old Lasers every year. Typical problems include: foot through cockpit floor, massive delamination, hull/deck joint separation, etc. In other words, all our problems with Lasers are because of fragile hulls.

I am comparing Fevas and Topazes to Lasers because the Laser is our baseline for comparison, and the Feva and Topaz are the biggest single-sail rotomolded boats I can find anywhere in the world.

I wouldn't suggest that a 'rotomoulded' Topaz Uno Race is any kind of a substitute for a Laser when it comes to racing, however the Topaz is designed as a very durable boat for beginners. We own one so that my wife, who's a quite new to sailing can sail it with the standard rig, meanwhile I sail it with the race sail and I'm having a great deal of fun competing at club level. We can also add the jib and sail it with my five year old as crew.

The Laser is a great boat, it would probably be far more appropriate to my club racing, however there's always an element of compromise to choosing a boat and in my case it has to accomodate the needs of my wife, daughter and myself. I'm not in any way suggesting that Kevin H ought not to consider other boats as his choice is going to have to be a compromise just like my own situation. There's always an unhelpful element on this forum who are overly quick to criticise everyone elses choice of craft  - as long as we enjoy ourselves sailing, does it really matter ?

(it's only a matter of time before somebody suggests a Cherub ?!  )