Agreed

16 foot is going to scare the daylights out of him WHEN it goes wrong & it will go wrong at some stage, You'll end up with a son that hates sailing and is terrified of it aswell, so buy him a 16footer by all means if that's what your attempting to achieve

As you've asked this very same question on other forums and had a vast field of answers, they have all mostly been along the same vein..... 14foot is probably still a large boat for a 13yearold and a 12 footer is probably just right, it will then depend on your sons skills level, strength, & mental fortitude as to what to get size wise that's the right boat for HIM....






I'm leading my 12footer (sail# 3)out for a sail... I was 13 years of age and the oldest 'kid' in this pic was 15
My dad sailed a 16footer at this time and there's no way in hell he'd have even thought I'd be able to take his boat out....



EDIT: photo circa 1973