Sailing Boats

Advantages: Vertually indistructable
Disadvantages: Hard to have more than one person on board unless you like getting wet

The Topper is an excellent youth boat. It is the perfect progression towards sailing larger single handed dingys when you get older. It is now even better than when I sailed it. You can now modify it to have a centre main sheet which again aids the transfer to more powerful boats in the future. It is great for people new to the sport and can take the battering of children or the not so in control sailors. I for one have had 12 people on it at once ...
...and help. Unlike on the Topper where my Dad has spent many days cramed under the kicker. Children can also go out together which can boost in some cases confidence. On the Topper you usually end up with one person on the nose of the boat, which can have some comical consequences of the boat nose diving as we call it, where it gets pushed under water. This in itself became a reason to want to go out on the Topper. My brother and I have managed to ... Read review

Advantages: fast, fun, maneuverable
Disadvantages: Some people have difficulty putting up the sail/mast on their own.

...7.06m squared area whilst the Laser Radial has only 5.72m squared and the Laser 4.7 sail has even less with 4.70m squared surface area, the smaller sails allow lighter people to handle the boat in a good wind . The mast is in two pieces and I know some people who have trouble fitting the mast, it can be considered quite heavy by people like my mum and my sister who always need help with it. The boat can stay afloat with up to 158.7kg so it should ...
...websites such as the International Laser Class Association found at http://www.laserinternational.org It has also become the Olympic high performance dinghy class, a long way from its first inception by designer Bruce Kirby in 1970. A relatively new addition to this class of boat is the Laser Pico, designed by Jo Richards in 1995 it is constructed of different material to the original laser. It makes a brilliant alternative to the original for children ... Read review

Advantages: fun, fast, great in light winds, well designed
Disadvantages: light, can be expensive, manoevrability with outboard

...have never looked back! Our Beneteau First 211 was just over a year old when we bought her. She was fitted out with many accessories e.g. spinnaker and pole, teak rails, yacht club upholstery. She is a beautiful boat with a spacious cockpit, well designed cabin (4 berths (1 double, 2 singles), small sink (no running water), small gas cylinder stove, cabin toilet under double bunk). Mainsail and furling genoa, tiller rather than wheel. She has an ...
...badly in that it was too low on the bracket and therefore was very difficult to use to manoeuvre and also got swamped very quickly. The outboard is now higher on the bracket and much easier to use. As the boat is very light (only approx 1 tonne), she gets blown around quite a bit and can be very difficult to manoeuvre on the outboard in strong winds, especially at low revs. Takes a bit of practice but we are now much more confident. Sailing wise, ... Read review

Advantages: speed and grace
Disadvantages: cost

...as the hulls of my Hobie 16 sliced through the clear blue sea leaving perfectly cut water closing in behind them. This is catamaran sailing. Exhilarating, fast and furious. Another small wave, adjust the tiller round up slightly, lean back and up we go, yes clear airtime again and crash we come back down, the lee hull submerges but pulls out in a flash and we carry on as before. As we come into the surf close to shore we ride down the wave front, ...
...sun and sailing a free Hobie 16 was daily entertainment. These catamarans are built for the surf. They are a two-man, twin-trapeze speed machine, capable of about 25 knots in ideal conditions. Designed in the sixties by a surfer, Hobie, they are simple to rig, and having a characteristic banana shaped hull they have no centre board. The rudders have a patented kick up mechanism that is robust and simple, the idea of these design characteristics ... Read review

Advantages: Great fun - independant sailing for small pople
Disadvantages: most available are racing spec

We have a fleet of 12 french Newmarine Optibats - they are modern rotomoulded boats, well thought out and repairable. The quality of build and fitting out is good - although we have made some modifications for centre use. The boats can easily accomodate two youngsters for teaching and recreational purposes - they have integral buoyancy, chuncky daggerboard and rudder, with the vulnerable points protected against grounding damage. Skin fittings ...
...worked around the nature of the rotomoulding process and materials - unlike some of the earlier models on the market. The material is stiff and repairable with a hot air welder, the rig is light and durable. The boats are fitted with lifting straps at each corner which helps with manhandling them on shore. ... Read review