420 vs J22

Originally posted by bferry

Originally posted by bferry

IMO I wouldn’t dream of launching/recovering the boat after every sail.  Its a guaranteed way to ensure that you will not use the boat often and abandon it at a later stage.  A swinging mooring is definitely the better option.  Otherwise just stick to dinghy sailing: less costly, easier to handle and more likely to keep you interested.  Alternatively, go for a larger cruiser/racer with marina berth etc if you can afford the time and money, although the experience would be nothing close to sailing a dinghy with a lightweight planing hull.

If you can afford it, dry sailing is a FAR better option. Anti fouling takes up an insane amount of time at the beginning of every season, and you still have to scrub the boat regularly because it doesn't work all that well. Plus you don't have to play that big a part in it moving the boat, you just make sure the yard knows you want the boat in and out on certain dates and they should do it for you. Where I sail, everyone has swinging moorings and they are a pain. You have to pay extra cash for a rib or dory or whatever to get you out to it, they tend to be very exposed in rough weather and you are limited to the boat to flake sails and whatever. Plus, if you rip a sail or something then getting it ashore in a 5m rib, with 8 people and all their gear on board is a challenge. Plus the boat regularly needs cleaning, anti fouling helps but by no means does it totally prevent growth. You need a scrub at least once a month to keep the boat competitive.