Hi m leaning to sail and have been looking for a boat to buy. All the boats like lasers look a bit small what is a good solo sailer for me to learn on. In the end id like to get something i can seep on. Thanks

These guys sleep out and tend to be singlehanded. It would be good to get down to a Raid event and have a chat and a sail as crew.



www.youtube.com/@SailingKateLouise

www.youtube.com/@brucedyson-smith459

Check out Valo's recent post here on his Explorer 16 makeover. Small,solid and nimble,and have a decent centreboard for ballast,so should stay upright ! Also right scale to solo,as everything of a manageable size/weight,and only need wee motor/electric . Griffin 17/Princess 18/Tropic 560 all in the same category + check out trailersailerplace .com.au .
Mason

Spacesailer 24 is a good starting boat. It has molded on keel so if you hit anything its robust. It has a proper closed in head if you have passengers on board and a small saloon for 4. You can also sleep 4. Two in V Berth and two in saloon.

Trailer Sailer Place is an excellent resource but also check out this Facebook group for a more visual experience www.facebook.com/groups/5540365149308152

A Trailer Sailer is an excellent starting point into sailing. Easy to rig and handle, inexpensive, fun and portable and a better platform to learn sailing being more tender than a keelboat so less subtle and more of an immediate need to get things done right, but without the fear of capsize. The thing about keelboats is they cost money to have them sit unattended at a marina in a pen or on a ball somewhere whereas a TS can sit on your driveway costing literally nothing whilst you aren't using it. As a 40 yo, unless you have retired through a win fall or similar, you'll be working M-F and only get a few weeks off per year.

Lots of great boats to choose from, from as small as 16 or 18 feet, up to 30 feet. Welcome to sailing. Not a bad idea to do a Day skippers course.

DM

Thanks everyone. I wasn't sure if a trailer sailer was to big to learn on. Thats what i wanted to get but thought I should get a smaller boat like a laser or something to learn on first. They just look like they are for kids.

+ as always mentioned in these threads,check out john crawford marine's trailer sailer archive .

Select to expand quote

azzmanthe said..
Thanks everyone. I wasn't sure if a trailer sailer was to big to learn on. Thats what i wanted to get but thought I should get a smaller boat like a laser or something to learn on first. They just look like they are for kids.

An old timber Sabre dinghy might be the better boat to sail single-handed. Cheap enough to put a match to if it does not work out. Much more comfortable to sail than a Laser [everything is more comfortable than a Laser]. Suits all ages. Lots of clubs in Victoria if you are from there! Older sailors often retire to Sabres. If you take to sailing then you can move up to OK Dinghies and the ultimate single-hander the Finn. Deep pockets are needed for top-line Finns!

Fleet is your friend. As you're a novice you may not be aware of the "fleet" concept.

Put simply this means that the actual design of boat you get isn't necessarily as important as getting into a fleet of similar boats.

If you can find a club where there is an active fleet of a given boat - lets say sabre, but could be anything then you will learn faster and have more fun (all other things being equal) sailing a sabre among other sabres than sailing a different boat that not many people have.

Reasons for this are:

1. You have lots of people who are at various levels of expertise whom you can ask for advice or simply copy what they're doing.
2. In a club with a fleet, there will always be boats turning over and the club members will, in general, try and help you get a decent boat that you can sail - because fleets always want more people to join in - because it makes it better!
3. You get an instant "tribe".

Then there's crewing in small boats - but again fleet is KEY! For example I recently spent a little time at RGYC (Geelong) and they have, for example good fleets of both Fireballs and Flying Fifteens - so whether you like to go fast with your hair on fire, or enjoy more gentlemanly sailing, you would be almost guaranteed to find someone who would like to take on a crew and give you an idea of what it's about

In short, find a club (harder in the winter) where you are made to feel welcome (pretty easy to suss out, just go down there on race day and ask if you can have a look around) and see what boats they sail.

Jon

And for the record, 40 is very young in sailing years. It's a sport that you can learn and massively improve at for many years to come.

You do not mention what State your in. If Vic. and a trailer sailer is your preference I would recommend looking up with the Sonata Yacht Assoc. They have over 100 members ,mainly in Vic., are very active .Lots of group family sails ,races , courses etc.etc.
Sonata sail boats range from 20 to 26 feet . Good Luck