Starter Sail Boat

[Rob]

I would suggest a Sunfish.

They are very simple to operate, can easily be turned upright after capsizing, even by a child(ask me how I know!), and they are unsinkable.

The boat has a huge enclosed air pocket that provides buoyancy even if the cockpit is completely full of water.

In addition, the cockpit is self bailing, meaning that you unscrew (by hand, no tools needed) a small fitting on the cockpit floor, and the water completely drains out once the boat is underway and on plane.

I think it's a fantastic boat to learn the basics on- I learned when I was 9. It definately teaches you how to sail, how to tack and jibe, etc. The rigging is quite simple, which does mean that you would have more to learn if you upgrade to a bigger, more complicated boat, but that also makes it easier to focus on the weather, wind and waves for now.

After the Sunfish, I moved on to more complicated sailboats, hobie cats, and windsurfers, and I can honestly say that some of my best memories are from those first few years with the Sunfish. Every time I see one on the lake, it brings a smile to my face.

Since the Sunfish design has been around for 40 years or so, finding a used one, not to mention getting spare parts or repairs, should be easy. Again, its a very simple boat, so there isn't much to maintain. I don't remember breaking anything in the dozen or so years that we had ours, besides replacing lines and occasionally scraping the centerboard or the rudder on the sand as we came in.

The boat will hold two adults, but I think that two kids is probably the perfect cargo for a Sunfish, as it's not that big of a boat (easy to haul out though). After my dad taught us the basics, my brother and I went out together for a season, and the next year we took turns going solo, mostly because it was more fun since the boat went faster.

We left ours on a mooring all season. You don't even have to cover it.

It can be a wet ride, as you are very low to the water, but as I said, the cockpit is self bailing. I found that the Sunfish handled very well, even on the roughest days. We sailed mostly on the Broads. On the calm days, I would wait for the Mt Washington to come around just so I could get hit by the wake!

Other people on this forum may be able to suggest another type of sailboat, but if I was looking for a good boat to learn on, especially for kids, I would definately get a Sunfish.


Rob

[madrasahs]

I should buy a Sunfish: just throw it in, sail around, pull it on shore. No rigging delays -- just go. (Sailfish -- very similar boat -- older, cheaper, smaller rig. They're around!)

The Laser sailboat is also simply rigged -- faster than a Sunfish, popular, and relatively cheap. It will not bore a teen, and...faster is safer.

I found my Laser too "tender", as they say. (Really for kids -- lots of moving around for stability/speed).

Browse the sailing magazines. There's one (Modern Sailboating? -- not Sail) that puts many silouettes of the various boats that will fit your requirements. Look near the back. From that page, you can access the various websites for those boats.

Keep in mind that there are several colleges that offer scholarships for sailors -- and that sailing is a credited activity of the U. S. Naval Academy.

I'd search the Internet (using a New England limit in the search).

Most boats larger than a Sunfish (still an excellent choice) come with trailers (that you could sell), and some kid/owners would be happy to drive from Maine or Massachusetts to "unload" their boat to a Winnipesaukee buyer. (How I bought my sailboat -- sight unseen).

Good luck.

Learning to sail -- and sailing -- teaches balance, weather, physics, aeronautics, important knots, mechanical advantage, and "anticipatory boating".

(I just made up that term. Important, on Winnipesaukee -- "to anticipate")

Competitive sailing, available on Winnipesaukee, intensifies learning.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thanks for the good advice. I appreciate it!