Looking for advice on buying a dinghie

Mr.Baracas

I recently completed a sailing course and now looking to buy a dinghie. I did the course in a lark but was hoping to find something a bit more spacious. I dont really fancy the laser either as i would like to continue to learn in something a bit more slower and safer. All advice would be greatly appreciated as this is the sum of my knowledge regarding dinghies .

Mr.Baracas

I recently completed a sailing course in a lark and now I am looking to buy something similar. I am looking for something a bit more spacious and not quite as fast as a laser as i want to continue to learn in a more managable dinghie.I would appreciate any advice in regards type of dinghies and best place to buy.

JamesM

Mr.Baracas wrote:

I recently completed a sailing course and now looking to buy a dinghie. I did the course in a lark but was hoping to find something a bit more spacious. I dont really fancy the laser either as i would like to continue to learn in something a bit more slower and safer. All advice would be greatly appreciated as this is the sum of my knowledge regarding dinghies .

I started my sailing in catamarans. I could never understand why anyone would want to sail slowly when you can have an exhilerating sail in a boat suitable for beginners. Check out www.catamaran.ie - this is not an advt - just common sense

ballooba

Do more courses. I have been sailing for 8 years and I would still not go out alone. You need to have a crash boat or other vessel with you when you are out. What if you have an accident or the wind dies down etc? You're better off to do the courses where the supervision is provided.

If you are intent on buying a boat you would need to get advise so as not to buy a lemon. A lot of people sell their boats off once they crash them.

Also look into Laser Picos. They're bulletproof.

JamesM

Join your nearest sailing Club and you will be covered. Check out www.sailing.ie for the most suitable club for you.
Jim.

kmick

Beginners boat is a Laser 4.8 or radial much smaller sail much easier to handle. Look on http://www.laser-ireland.com/ for a good one. If you pay less than 3 grand euro in my experience the boat you get may not be very good. Forget about pico its too cramped if you are over 5 foot. Also could tey crewing for a while in something like an Enterprise. Also something like a RS would be good for beginner.

JamesM

Mr.Baracas wrote:

I recently completed a sailing course and now looking to buy a dinghie. I did the course in a lark but was hoping to find something a bit more spacious. I dont really fancy the laser either as i would like to continue to learn in something a bit more slower and safer. All advice would be greatly appreciated as this is the sum of my knowledge regarding dinghies .

You have a lot to think of before just "Buying a Dinghy".
Where are you going to sail it ?
Are you going to tow it or roof-top it ?
Are you going to sail it solo or with a crew ?
Have you somewhere to keep it at home ?
Others may think of other questions !
My advice would be, as I said before, find your nearest Club and see what they are sailing. You will almost always find that sailors are very helpful and will give you advice.
By having your boat based at a club, it means that the boat will be rigged with the mast up, and you can quickly take every opportunity to sail, no matter how short the time available. If time is restricted and you have to tow a boat to a launch site, take it off the trailer and rig it, you will probably end up not going sailing at all :mad:
Go for it ! It's a great feeling - just being out there.
Jim.

ballooba

Probably better off crewing for someone for a while as was suggested above. Perhaps you're not into the whole racing scene though.

Western Cruiser

A Wayfarer comes to mind !

The Irish Sailing Association www.sailing.ie will send you out a nice free booklet if you ring them. It lists all of the Clubs and Sailing Schools in the Country.

If like me you are not into racing small boats around cans, why not get involved with the larger cuisers as crew? There are plenty of crew positions available for beginners at yacht clubs around Ireland. Once in with a crew even starting as No. 5 on the boat, you'll soon get the hang of it as well as gaining a nice new bunch of drinking buddies and possibly even some delivery trips to sunny places !