I highly recommend the laser over the sunfish. It has a lot more room to grow and have fun in. If your daughter wants to race, she'll likely have more access to laser fleets than sunfish. But the big thing is safety. I haven't sailed Sunfish much at all, but it seems to me one bad capsize and the hull will fill with water. If it is like other boats I know like that, you can right it and limp back to shore with the hull submerged, but it can be tricky and exhausting. In a laser, the boat rights easily and sails away like nothing happened. I very much like a boat that can sail away from a capsize with no assistance from another craft. A laser, in fact, dumps any water in the cockpit when it tips over. So it rights dry. Before bailers were common, some folks would tip them over just to get the water out. Consider watching your daughter from shore and seeing her tip over. Do you want to be worried that the hull will fill with water and be unsailable, or do you want to know she can right it and sail off as if nothing had happened. the laser has a huge fun factor beyone the sunfish I think.
Totally enough room for her and a friend. I took a college buddy out once on a windy day and it was just fine. Crowded, but fine.
Agreed on the mast step test. Fill it with water and if the level doesn't go down, you have a solid mast step. If it does, walk away or offer much less knowing you have a repair coming. My first laser had a leaky step, it was fixed and sailed like new.
Regarding the Flying Scot, good family day sailor, but in college we sailed them for an invitational and called them Flying Sidewalks by the end. Not a very jazzy boat.
I highly recommend the laser over the sunfish. It has a lot more room to grow and have fun in. If your daughter wants to race, she'll likely have more access to laser fleets than sunfish. But the big thing is safety. I haven't sailed Sunfish much at all, but it seems to me one bad capsize and the hull will fill with water. If it is like other boats I know like that, you can right it and limp back to shore with the hull submerged, but it can be tricky and exhausting. In a laser, the boat rights easily and sails away like nothing happened. I very much like a boat that can sail away from a capsize with no assistance from another craft. A laser, in fact, dumps any water in the cockpit when it tips over. So it rights dry. Before bailers were common, some folks would tip them over just to get the water out. Consider watching your daughter from shore and seeing her tip over. Do you want to be worried that the hull will fill with water and be unsailable, or do you want to know she can right it and sail off as if nothing had happened. the laser has a huge fun factor beyone the sunfish I think.
Totally enough room for her and a friend. I took a college buddy out once on a windy day and it was just fine. Crowded, but fine.
Agreed on the mast step test. Fill it with water and if the level doesn't go down, you have a solid mast step. If it does, walk away or offer much less knowing you have a repair coming. My first laser had a leaky step, it was fixed and sailed like new.
Regarding the Flying Scot, good family day sailor, but in college we sailed them for an invitational and called them Flying Sidewalks by the end. Not a very jazzy boat.