UKC

I've recently moved and now own a driveway (woohoo!). Quite fancy getting a wee sailing boat, and trailer, that I can take the family on short, 1 day, sailing trips.

My mate recommended a Wayfarer but they seem incredibly expensive.
Can anyone recommend any other makes, or even sites I should look at to gauge how much I'm going to have to spend?

In reply to gourd: Your cheapest option, no matter what model you settle on, will be second hand one from a private person. Join a sailing club, my dad has bought three boats now through his tiny club's contacts, and sold the first two through it too.

In reply to gourd:

My dad bought a small boat at its taken over his life. Spent a fortune on doing it up and reality is that he hardly ever uses it.

You can charter a boat lots of times for the cost of ownership.

It's also worth chartering a boat to see how keen the family are as well as yourself.

In reply to gourd:
my father used to sail a GP14 - always said to be a dependable family boat

In reply to gourd: Definately go second hand. Wayfarers are exceedingly large and heavy boats. Ideal for up to 6 people but still large and heavy. Enterprises are supposed to be a little more agile and you can certainly race them. If you really want a "trail your finger in the water" affair, go for a Mirror. Not really suitible for more than 2 at a time or 1 and 2 little uns they are stable in all but a hurricane and a great introduction to sailing.

In reply to Anonymous: We have a GP14 too, great boat but heavy to launch on anything but a good slip (however this depends a lot on what kind of trailer you have, mine is a two part affair, and the trolley that goes in the water is terrible).
Definitely get involved in a club, there will always be boats for sale or just to borrow and you can try before you buy.

Cheers,

FT.

In reply to Fume Troll:
funnily enough, although it was my father's hobby and we were a bit unwilling all those years ago, I now feel a bit of a hankering to sail with the kids

In reply to Jon Dittman:

Ahhh Mirror dingy's,. brings back happy childhood memories, great little boat...

Always liked getting 3 in a Topper in high winds too!!

In reply to gourd:

Hi, where are you thinking of sailing and what age are the kids? Rather than a dinghy something like a Leisure 17 might be a good choice.

In reply to gourd:


As others have said, it's probably going to depend a lot on what sort of sailing you want to do. If by day trips you mean a day messing about close to the shore, then a small dinghy (like the GP14 mentioned earlier) would be ideal, and shouldn't set you back too much.

If on the other hand you want to travel somewhere on a day trip then you'll want somthing a bit more seaworthy (and perhaps an auxilliary outboard). A wayfarer would be OK for this (and I know a couple of people who've gone very far offshore in one), but somthing with a bit more ballast would be better.

My absolute favourite day boat is a Devon Yawl. Very sea worthy with a big heavy centreboard and two masts, which gives you a lot of options if the wind gets up. They are very hard to get hold of though, and they are't cheap. Drascome also have a very nice range of good seaworth boats tthat have a very traditional feel to them, and might be a bit cheaper.

Mark

In reply to gourd: I used to sail Enterprise dinghys (which Jon mentioned) and my parents still have one, though they don't sail it much as they have a larger boat which takes up all their time (fixing it, rather than sailing it it would seem). Enterprises are great, I suspect you could get one second had locally for between £200 - £800 depending on condition.

Mirror dinghys are fun too, but I've always seemed to end up dropping the top spar of the gaff rig (can't remember what it's called) on people's heads when i've sailed them.

In reply to JimR:

Probably just lochs in Scotland (I'm based in Glasgow) to start off with. But wouldn't mind trying out a few trips out to some of the islands. I think the first thing I'll do is a course at Strathclyde Loch and then join a club. Maybe take the kids out on a day trip and see how it goes. Don't fancy anything too big as I know they take up a lot of cash, and time.

In reply to gourd:


A boat that is suitable for the former, may not be suitable for the latter. It sounds like you've already decided on the best course of action. i.e. spend a bit of time sailing someone else's boats so that you have a better idea of what you're going to need.

Mark

In reply to gourd:

BTW, this site may help with getting an idea of the prices: http://www.dinghyshop.co.uk/

Mark

In reply to gourd:

build a skate ramp dewd

In reply to gourd:


Noah?

Andy

In reply to gourd:

PS, we had a solo which was nice but it got snmashed up by a kak trailer.

Fex.

In reply to gourd:
>>Anyone own a boat?

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=195303

Although it appears to involve substantial quantities of gaffer tape in the construction.
:

In reply to net:

the gaff

In reply to Anonymous:

I'd skip the dinghy bit and go for a small trailable yacht

Corribee
Hunter Europa
Snapdragon
etc etc


You'll be surprised how much is out there

a good little site for advice from some scots (one of who's got a McHurley22) chaps is

http://www.bluemoment.com

good luck

In reply to erikb56: That'd make sense wouldn't it.. hm...