Dinghy sailing
- Thread starter cisamcgu
- Start date
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Black Sheep
Guru
- Location
- Rammy
wayfarer or a grp enterprise (my preferred being the latter)
Mirrors are good and great fun, although as I'm rather tall i find i'm a bit cramped sometimes
was very cramped having 5 people and a dog in a mirror!
Enjoy your boat!
For future reference: You will pick up a decent complete GRP Enterprise for just a few hundred ponds. Spares are easy and cheap. Don't bother with a road trailer unless you are going to sail in a lot of different locations. I have a Bosun with a road trailer and two sets of sails which cost £525 about 6 years ago and have great fun in it (Bosuns are safe, but very spartan, a boat with seating like the GP14 or Ent are much more comfortable. I use a Bosun because I learned to sail in the services and they are, as already remarked earlier, almost bomb proof) Lots of choice out there. Wayfarers are good too. Avoid wood/marine ply! You want a 12-14 foot dinghy not made just to race. get one of those when you find the first one just too slow.
I use the Bosun on the sea too, so prefer the robustness. wayfarers have been used for long open sea voyages. How does uk-Iceland and back sound?? A 14 footer will certainly get you across the channel with care and the right additional gear.
Two points. Join a club and learn to sail properly, and make sure you can do capsize drills before sailing without other boats nearby (preferably a safety boat, too!). Buy and use the best personal safety aids you can. Good bouyancy aids for everyone in the boat.
Have fun!
PS. A lot of response from sailors. I wonder if people who bike are naturally attracted to small boat sailing?
For future reference: You will pick up a decent complete GRP Enterprise for just a few hundred ponds. Spares are easy and cheap. Don't bother with a road trailer unless you are going to sail in a lot of different locations. I have a Bosun with a road trailer and two sets of sails which cost £525 about 6 years ago and have great fun in it (Bosuns are safe, but very spartan, a boat with seating like the GP14 or Ent are much more comfortable. I use a Bosun because I learned to sail in the services and they are, as already remarked earlier, almost bomb proof) Lots of choice out there. Wayfarers are good too. Avoid wood/marine ply! You want a 12-14 foot dinghy not made just to race. get one of those when you find the first one just too slow.
I use the Bosun on the sea too, so prefer the robustness. wayfarers have been used for long open sea voyages. How does uk-Iceland and back sound?? A 14 footer will certainly get you across the channel with care and the right additional gear.
Two points. Join a club and learn to sail properly, and make sure you can do capsize drills before sailing without other boats nearby (preferably a safety boat, too!). Buy and use the best personal safety aids you can. Good bouyancy aids for everyone in the boat.
Have fun!
PS. A lot of response from sailors. I wonder if people who bike are naturally attracted to small boat sailing?
OP
OP
cisamcgu
Legendary Member
- Location
- Merseyside-ish
Currently it is homed at Crosby Sailing Club here, and we sailed it on the marina lake. Almost no wind at all this morning (luckily we brought a paddle), but it didn't leak and all the bits seemed to be complete and working.
The mast seems to lean rather too much forward, but this can be fixed I believe. Will try again tomorrow weather permitting.
Cheers
Andrew
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
A few years ago we used to sail a lot on Ullswater. Our first boat was a GP14 which had been owned by a racing enthusiast as it was well fitted out with all the stuff. I liked it and didn't find it too tippy for short sails however it is not really a picnic type boat IMO.
After the GP14 we bought a Westray which is a camping version inspired by the Wayfarer, not quite as quick but more roomy and able to cope with a blow with less dependency on the crew. Unfortunately not many were built. However, the other alternative we considered was the Drascombe range.
Drascombes are ideal for pottering and picnics, the best known being the lugger, quite a large dinghy with a modest sail area and stable, spacious hull. Like any lake surrounded by high ground the winds on Ullswater can spring up very quickly and be strong and squally so a Drascombe is a good bet for such conditions. They can take a good sized outboard and motor well if need be (not sure what the rules are on Ullswater these days) They've been around for donkeys years but unfortunately they hold their value so even old ones are not cheap. They are capable of making coastal passages and in the right hands, offshore sailing. Launch and recovery of Drascombes is quite straight-forward (when we sailed on the sea we had a Drascombe Coaster).
A good place to sail from is the Glenridding sailing centre.
Ooops, got carried away there, didn't notice you'd bought a Mirror! Bet you'll enjoy it though.
I've been
Black Sheep
Guru
- Location
- Rammy
the other great thing about being part of a sailing club is there is normally someone about who knows how to keep your boat at its best
for example, boats should be stored with the boyancy tank hatches open so that the air in them can't expand and crack the boat.
mirrors will happily store upside down on two lumps of wood to keep it off the ground.
the mirror, believe it or not was origionally designed to be transportable on the top of a Mini!!
fun boats to sail!
for example, boats should be stored with the boyancy tank hatches open so that the air in them can't expand and crack the boat.
mirrors will happily store upside down on two lumps of wood to keep it off the ground.
the mirror, believe it or not was origionally designed to be transportable on the top of a Mini!!
fun boats to sail!
Congratulations on your purchase!
Someone has already suggested that being a member of a club with the same class of boat is useful - if you want to race in the future, there's a ready made fleet to compare yourself with, but more importantly, owners will be happy to share advice with you (much like on here, with all things bikey!).
With that in mind, before making a final decision, take a look at the Royal Windermere Yacht Club (on Windermere, obviously!!!). They have a fleet of Mirrors and certainly used to host Mirror Open meetings.
The Lake District is a beautiful place to sail, wherever you chose to locate your dinghy - we have our boat on Windermere. ENJOY!
Someone has already suggested that being a member of a club with the same class of boat is useful - if you want to race in the future, there's a ready made fleet to compare yourself with, but more importantly, owners will be happy to share advice with you (much like on here, with all things bikey!).
With that in mind, before making a final decision, take a look at the Royal Windermere Yacht Club (on Windermere, obviously!!!). They have a fleet of Mirrors and certainly used to host Mirror Open meetings.
The Lake District is a beautiful place to sail, wherever you chose to locate your dinghy - we have our boat on Windermere. ENJOY!