Hello to everyone here at seabreeze,

Just wanting to know a little info on the flying fifteen boats as I'm new to sailing and want to know if this boat will have me out of my depth. I have some experience with sailing but its pretty limited as much as a crewing course over 3 days and a couple of 2hr 14ft catamaran hires.

I would be using this boat for myself (adult approaching 40) and my son who is 8 for a bit of weekend fun and to learn to sail. Not sure if I will race it yet as I'm not sure if the class is still supported here in Perth.

I am pretty confident on water (spent time crayfishing on the southcoast and surfing) and don't mind a bit of excitement. My son however, even though he had a ball on the surfcat (did quite well helming it while I worked the sails), to be honest would still be new to water and I don't want him having a bad experience to early that might wreck his confidence.

I thought this boat would be good as its pretty much the only boat I've come across that's for a two man crew apart from surfcats and it is not a full keelboat yacht.

There's a boat at a pretty good price at the moment that I'm looking at. Is there any problems with this type of boat that I should be looking for when I go to view it. I will be getting the guy to rig it and put it in the water before I will buy it.

cheers in advance
Simmrr

Hi Simmrr

If your in Perth/WA the Flying Fifteens are a very strong class although as Jack points out it has its needs re launching and may not be completely ideal for you and your son.

An alternative is the National 125 Dinghy, which is very strong in WA (Larger fleet than the alternatives mentioned above). Its light and easy to sail with the additional benefits of a spinnaker and trapeze when your ready for a bit more speed.

Many of the fleet are sailed by Parent/Child combinations and we run a JAM (Jib and mainsail only) division for those new to the class.

There are fleets at East Fremantle, Nedlands and South of Perth Yacht Clubs (and also sailed at Esperance and Maylands YC) and there are good secondhand boats for sale at a reasonable price.

We are also hosting the 2015/16 Nationals so there is alot going on at present.

checkout www.125assoc.com or Facebook Us on: National 125 WA Association

The flying fifteen is very strong in WA but as others have said not really suitable for a kid to crew on. They are also pretty expensive to maintain.

The 125 is a good option with strong fleets at SoPYC and Nedlands.

If you have done some cat sailing you could also consider the Hobie 16. Your son is a touch on the young side to crew on a windy day but will grow into it much faster then a flying fifteen. The Hobie fleet is based at Nedlands and is one of the biggest fleets of boats in WA. They are also fairly inexpensive and very tough.

I hadn't thought of the boat launch being a problem.

My thoughts were it would be like dropping a motor boat in the water and away you go after a little rigging up. Are there public boat ramps able to be used for this sized craft and deep/steep enough or is it a limitation of club ramps? I want to join a club but I wouldn't mind having the options of launching from different areas.

Its probably something I need to seriously think about. I don't want launching to be too much of a drama/chore that I get turned off myself. Until the young fella gets strong enough to give me a hand it will be just me doing the lifting and shifting solo.

The other options you have presented are pretty interesting as well and are definitely something to consider given the advice that the f15 is probably not the best fit. I need to way it all up and come to a decision.

Ramona said..

When my kids were young I had a Flying Dutchman to fool about with. These boats are often easier to handle in the right conditions than some of the so called training dinghies. Never sailed a FF but raced against them and was seriously tempted. Life is too short.

Something else to drool over!

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321600827177?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Now that seriously is not a boat for an eight year old even though I love them, that huge overlapping genoa could be a bit of a handful.

Not sure if they are still up but if you went to Ian McCrossins surgery in town he had a lot of FD pictures on his walls, I guess three times world champion will do that.

One other thing to consider is for your son to stay interested in sailing there needs to be other kids around his age to hang out with as well.

Its a good idea to go and visit the clubs sailing the various boats you are considering and see what the vibe is like. Often the club and people in it make more difference to how much fun you will have then the actual boat you sail.

waheed said..
One other thing to consider is for your son to stay interested in sailing there needs to be other kids around his age to hang out with as well.

Its a good idea to go and visit the clubs sailing the various boats you are considering and see what the vibe is like. Often the club and people in it make more difference to how much fun you will have then the actual boat you sail.

simmrr said..
Hello to everyone here at seabreeze,

Just wanting to know a little info on the flying fifteen boats as I'm new to sailing and want to know if this boat will have me out of my depth. I have some experience with sailing but its pretty limited as much as a crewing course over 3 days and a couple of 2hr 14ft catamaran hires.

I would be using this boat for myself (adult approaching 40) and my son who is 8 for a bit of weekend fun and to learn to sail. Not sure if I will race it yet as I'm not sure if the class is still supported here in Perth.

I am pretty confident on water (spent time crayfishing on the southcoast and surfing) and don't mind a bit of excitement. My son however, even though he had a ball on the surfcat (did quite well helming it while I worked the sails), to be honest would still be new to water and I don't want him having a bad experience to early that might wreck his confidence.

I thought this boat would be good as its pretty much the only boat I've come across that's for a two man crew apart from surfcats and it is not a full keelboat yacht.

There's a boat at a pretty good price at the moment that I'm looking at. Is there any problems with this type of boat that I should be looking for when I go to view it. I will be getting the guy to rig it and put it in the water before I will buy it.

cheers in advance
Simmrr

Yeah well spoken waheed, I think that's a very good point. Thanks to everyone and I'm glad I joined and posted on here.

So today I decided to go and view a Hobie 16 after having fun on the windrush 14 's I hired from Funcats. Bit surprised at how big they really are and to tell the truth was a bit overawed by the size. There is no way I could rig the 9m mast solo even though I'm used to hard yakka and being totally stubborn when comes to asking for help. The difference between the hobie 16 and the windrush is chalk 'n' cheese. The only way I could see owning one would be to have it at a club full time and rigged up permanently.

Decided also to not go for the f15 after some deliberation but instead go down a different pathway. I think my dreams of grandeur needed a little reality check and I should start with something a little more manageable till my son fills out a bit or finds a friend to race with. While it is for my enjoyment too the real reason I want to do this is for him and my own dreams should take a back seat. So I'll keep you all posted on what goes on and we will see where it takes us.

Interesting comment from Stone re 125s being a handfull for younger kids, there has been a few changes since the 90s...firstly kids are growing much more quickly and are very capable by 12-13 of the complete crew requirements....it's really about the skills.
Also, something that 125s are now running to help the adult/child combinations (and those new to racing) transition is the JAM (jib and main only) division where they start with the Open fleet and sail a shorter course against other JAM fleet entrants. This has been a terrific innovation and we now run a Jam regatta during the season as well during the State Championships. What is even more important is that there are people doing the same thing....sailing with their kids and enjoying it. Once you have sailed a 125 together you can then sail anything else together too with the skills acquired.

Join the fun Stone, we would love to have you and any ex 125ers back in any division
Facebook- National 125 WA Association
Www.125assoc.com

If you want your 8 year old son to learn to sail and ultimately sail with you take him down to the local yacht club to the optimist learn to sail program where all the other 8 year olds are learning to sail. Then find out if any clubs have a mirror fleet sailing and join the other fathers sailing with their 8 year olds. Anything else is unrealistic and will not happen.