What Dinghy would be best for me for Racing?

S

SenetorMagenut

New Member
Hi. I'm a 175cm male 60kg. I currently sail a Pico as I'm training and gaining experience, but they are very slow and bad racers. I was would like to know what is the best racing dinghy that I could get. It would need to be practical to be sailed by 1 and or 2 people. Also it should be ok to drag it onto a beach. I'm know roughly what boats may be good, I just cant find their performance info anywhere so I hope you guys can help!

Thanks for you help!
 
Well you have posted this on a Laser forum so we will have to say Laser!

Given your weight a radial rig would be indicated.

But how old, are you growing / gaining weight / where will you be in a year or two.

Now the biggest determinant is what boats are sailed around you? Get a boat that you can compete against local club competition!
 
Hi.
I'm aged 13 so growth is definitely something to take into account. In a year or two I will be 15 so I will be much nearer adult height and weight then. At my club we race Laser 2, Radial, etc. There really arent eneough dinghy racers at my local venues to divide races into seperate models so we use general classes instead. I would "like" the ability to go 2-3 handed if I want (I'm intrigued by Spinnackers although I've never used one).

Thanks for your time!
 
Jumping from Picos to a radial is a big jump I would suggest trying a laser 4.7 and also buy a radial rig for those light air days. I weigh 132lbs(61kg) and still race 4.7s competitively at the internatinal level.Also the pico is a more depowered boat and even I cant hold a laser radial down properly in more the 14-16kn. Also dragging a laser isnt the best thing for the hull a dolly would keep the hull in good shape. At 175 cm You are at the top end of height for sailing a 4.7 but in the heavy air that I have experienced when sailing in ireland I would of loved to be your size.
 
Do alot of people race i420s around you? because the laser 2 is a dying class worldwide.....plus the i420 is a blast in all conditions it just takes a good bit i experience to sail well....
 
What about Laser 1? Am I too small for that?

I'll put this question bluntly- What is the fastest racing dinghy for my size? It can be one or two handed.
 
Young people (once upon a time I was one) tend to be obsessed with speed. But what others are trying to tell you is that for most of us competition is more important than raw speed. A Laser is pretty slow, honestly, but it will teach you so much and the competition is great, generally speaking.

No, you are not too small for a Laser; as has been suggested earlier in this thread, you could start with the 4.7 rig (quite popular in Europe) and you could move up as you get bigger. Remember, Laser skills transfer very well to other dinghies.

What boats are others, your age, sailing/racing?

PS: If you have a nice Laser, you don't want to drag it up the beach; use a dolly/trolley instead.

PS #2: I am not familiar with Laser sailing in Ireland, but Annalise Murphy certainly knows her way around the track, especially once it gets windy.
 
Hi.
I was thinking about a radial but to be honest it would be boring. I don't like the idea of only one sail (it drives me nuts in the pico because the jib is useless).
I have downloaded the manuals of most of the laser boats so I'm going to take a look at the specs. Are you able to sail the multi person boats (Mainsail, Jib, Spinnacker) with only the mainsail and maybe the jib for single handed days?
Thanks,
Patrick
 
If you are interested in getting a boat with a spinnaker but want to sail single-handed too, why not consider something like the RS-100?
 
Thanks for introducing me to RS!!!! Their boats look great on the site (better than laser). Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that in the laser forum.
 
Could anyone tell me where I could find information about what weight and height sailor is best for a dinghy? I cant find that info in the online brochures.
 
SenetorMagenut said:
Thanks for introducing me to RS!!!! Their boats look great on the site (better than laser). Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that in the laser forum.
Click to expand...
No, you may say that. The RS-100 does look nice, but it's roughly (!) twice as expensive as a Laser and the class is small in Europe and essentially non-existent in the USA. But if you have some boats around your neck of the woods, and you can afford one, go for it.
Upwind, an RS-100 isn't any faster than a Laser, but downwind with the asymmetric kite, it is. Not a good boat for a light-weight youngster though. And be aware that an RS-100 won't stay on its legs if left unattended.
 
Im going through the list of laserperformance and rs boats and im getting rid of the ones that wont work. Ill post my results soon.
 
Ok. It would be nive to have your opinions on the following dinghys.

Bahia
Club 420
Club FJ
Laser 2000
Radial
Vago

I find it hard to tell the difference between some of these models so hopefully someone can help me out. I am put off the Radial because it only has one sail. Do they perform as well as some of their counterparts with jib and spinnackers?
 
Considering your size, age, and what you are looking for in performance, why wouldn't the 29er be on your list?

The ISAF youth worlds were hosted in Dublin this summer, A few weeks ago. The 29er was the high performance class of the event, and there were something like 40 of them competing.

It might be a handful for you and a crew initially, but it's something you could grow into, and there is world-level youth competition. If you 'd like some quick inspiration, check out some of the Olympic coverage of the 49ers. The video so far is awesome, and the medal race is coming up in a day or so. The 29er is the training boat for 49er type skiffs. It's not for the timid, though.

Whatever you do, you might hitch a ride on some of the boats you are considering, as a crew. Check at some local clubs.

Check out some 29er video, too. Used boats can be very reasonable.
 
SenetorMagenut said:
Ok. It would be nive to have your opinions on the following dinghys.

Bahia
Club 420
Club FJ
Laser 2000
Radial
Vago

I find it hard to tell the difference between some of these models so hopefully someone can help me out. I am put off the Radial because it only has one sail. Do they perform as well as some of their counterparts with jib and spinnackers?
Click to expand...

For some fast quantitative comparisons of different classes of boats, you might want to peruse a couple of the Portsmouth rating lists. Boat classes are assigned a handicap-type number for adjusting time - generally, the lower the number, the faster the boat. Here is the US Sailing version of the rating list: http://offshore.ussailing.org/Portsmouth_Yardstick/Current_Tables/Centerboard_Classes.htm

You might also look at the UK-based list (for example on the RYA website) which will include your Pico. (You will note right away that the US comparison listing is on a 100 point scale while the UK listing instead uses 1000, but the comparison idea is the same.)

But nothing beats actual sailing to see which you enjoy the most. Boat owners are always looking for crew.
 
SenetorMagenut said:
Thanks for introducing me to RS!!!! Their boats look great on the site (better than laser). Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that in the laser forum.
Click to expand...

The RS100 is fun but, it loves to be upside down

plus you can just about get 2 brand new lasers for the price of 1 RS100
 
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