Good Beginner Boat

What is a good boat for teaching my 3 daughters, now 8,12, and 14 to sail- in the sound and near shore on the NC beaches near Emeraldi Isle, NC- there are a couple hobie 16's near us and seem to do OK- I have sailed for 35+ years since I was 12-on hobies aqua cats a couple rides on Columbia 24's and other larger charter multihulls- but I want a forgiving beach cat. There is a 86 Prindle 16 in our paper for about $2000 is this a good choice?-it is supposed to be in good shape with an OK trailer Thanks for the advice-

a prindle 16 would be an excellent boat for beginners. No boards to worry about, plenty of floatation for you and your girls. $2000 is a bit steep for an 86 though. Depends on the condition of the trailer really. If you're going to be on EI, make sure you get some beach wheels so you can launch right off the beach. I tried to do it last time I was there with just a trailer, and it was a pain dragging my H17 down the beach with me and my slightly weak upper bodied girlfriend. Beach wheels would be the ticket.

There are also lots of ramps on the sound side that I noticed. They look good for launching, but I'm not sure about coming back to the same spot. Seems to me that it would be a pretty narrow margin of error or else you'd end up t-boning a seawall or beaching your boat on a concrete ramp.

I sail a lot out of beaufort. When I can't use my friend Dick's place to launch (otherwise known as the unofficial pretend hobie dealer in Beaufort) then I go down to the fish factory docks at the end of front street, put the sails on the tramp, paddle over to carrot island (about 100 feet from the docks) where I can beach on sand. I put the sails up there and shove off usually going out the east side, considering theres less to get in the way of your rudders in that direction.

Depends on how much you want to spend. A Hobie 16 is your cheapest option, but has drawbacks:
1. 4 people don't fit well on an H16.
2. It isn't very forgiving in wavy and harder wind.

The best family boat around is the Hobie Getaway. It is forgiving on all points of sail. You can easily fit 4-6 people. A 2-person crew in medium to heavy wind, the Getaway is just as fast as a Hobie 16. No boom, furler for the jib, built in coolers, same weight as a 16.

The Getaway has been around since late 2000 so used ones are hard to come by, that would be the big drawback.

thanks for the warnings about landing in the sound- we have friends who windsurf from their soundside place

Also, if you venture out in Beaufort inlet, or the sound, be mindful of your currents and wind conditions. If there is not enough wind to get you back into shore, and the current is rushing out the sea, then you'll get helplessly swept out. (don't ask me how I know this) :P

A well maintained Prindle 16 is a good option. I would try to get that boat+trailer for 1500,- . Other alternatives are indeed the Hobie 16 or nacra 5.0

Wouter

I hear there are quite a few G-Cats in that area. Try to find a G-Cat 5.0M. I think that would be the ideal boat for you and your daughters, as it easily has the room and bouyancy to sail well with all of you aboard. Plus it's a super-simple boat, which helps when it comes to maintenance and repairs.

Otherwise the Prindle is an excellent choice. Around here it would only go for ~$1000 tops, but then it's a buyers market in my area.

either the wave, or a h-14....just get something small enough that your kids can enjoy themselves (or with friends).

Sycho:

I've been sailing in the waters around Beaufort (right next to EI) for about 2 years now, and have never seen anything but hobie around here.

A Prindle 16 should be a good boat to start with. It is easy to sail, no centerboards to worry about, and a easy to work kick-up rudder system. It has enough hull displacement to sail area ratio that it is a difficult boat to pitchpole unlike the other "brand". The only problem you will have is it might be difficult to trim the mainsheet for a 14 year old girl unless you change the blocks out to a 7 or 8 to 1 3" blocks to allow them a larger mechanical advantage. Cat trax are a must !!

Paul Nardone, Jr.

Thanks for all the notes especially about tides-I have seen a supercat and liked the looks- one complaint about the prindle is rudder kickup is individually controlled- does anyone know about kickup on a supercat?

If you can keep the mast up and keep the boat on a beach a Prindle 16 is just about perfect as a first catamaran. The best first sailboat may be a Laser dinghy though. A Laser would be less intimidating when your daughters are sailing alone for the first few times and you would not have to worry about them being able to right the boat on their own.
Once they can sail - get them the Prindle.

I got my first Prindle 16 when I was about 15 - and loved it. If mishandled by an invincible teen a Prindle 16 can in fact pitchpole violently. I proved it singlehanding in a good breeze (once). But then boys will be boys and girls will be...smarter.

The Prindle can carry 3 kids and a cooler of soft drinks and sandwiches. It is beachable and the kick-up rudders are robust. The external hull to deck joint and narrow rockered hull bottoms make it easy to pull up on the beach without wheels. I would recommend the mainsail with reef points - had to use them a couple times when the wind picked up and I was miles from home. Would also recommend a cell phone in a waterproof bag (ziplocks do not work) and a GPS. That way they can call home and let you know everything is OK - and tell you where they are.

Another good choice is the old Supercat 17 if you can actually find one. I think they draw slightly less than the Prindle and have more hull volume. They also have no boom. I have never sailed one from a beach through.

Definitely get them the Prindle 16 once they can sail. They will not get bored and beg you for a waverunner. Prindle 16s ought to run $1200 to $1600. Maybe the one in the paper has extra equipment.

-colin

Having been through this already with my two kids I'll share a couple of perspectives based upon what I learned.

Our boats, on which both of the kids have spent time, include a H17, a H16 and a H14 turbo. All are fine and my daughter and son each enjoyed themselves in light to moderate winds. High winds and too much speed (even though Dad was having a ball) can spoil an otherwise enjoyable experience. Each at one time or another endured high and frightening winds on their own and both walked away from sailing for extended periods of time. I found rebuilding confidence and overcoming fear (especially with my daughter) can be a slow process.

In retrospect, I would have spent more time having my kids engaged in making the choice in boats. There are a lot of them out there to try out first. I would also make simple and easy as a first priority. I came up from a Sunfish through an M16 and a C-scow and then into a H14 uni. Sometimes it is easy to forget that my first boat was my true beginer boat and it worked because it was so simple and forgiving.

Guess a first choice to try out today would be a Hobie Wave. It wouldn't be the fastest on our lake but I would sure feel much more confident allowing 2 or 3 youngsters to have the run of the lake with it on their own. Suspect 3 young girls would find it cute also.

Anyway, one Dad's perspective. Best of luck with your search.

Tom G

PS. Mary, if you read this maybe sharing some of your perspectives on the Wave would be insightfull to all.

I love cats because of the speed- a laser sounds like a better starter boat though now that you mention it- since it is easy to right and doesn't pitchpole-you can still get 2 or 3 on it if the wind is up and it doesn't sink- there is the rigging time since we may not be able to leave it on the beach.

Check the Escape brand out. You can find used ones. Looked at a Rumba this summer for a friend for his kids. Furling main and practically dummy proof in design in near new great shape was $1200.

You can probably find an area reseller or scan some of the used boat websites. The hyperlink site below has some good background and intro materials.

http://www.kayaksandpaddles.co.uk/canoe/kayak/uk/shop/escape.htm

Good luck, Tom G

If it were me, I would look very hard at a Hobie wave. relatively inexpensive new, pretty bullet proof, won't turtle, easy to tack and sail, not intimidating to most women.
If at some point your daughters want more a Mystere 4.3 or Dart 18 if you can find one would be a great choice. the Mystere is inexpensive new and has all the gofast toys of a bigger boat, just in a 14 ft package.


Good Luck
Eric Anderson

Just some corrections the Hobie Getaway is not as fast as the H16 not by far, yet is truly a great family boat with loads of room and high buoyancy hulls for great carrying capacity. I have booth a H16 and a Getaway. The H16 is by for my favorite but the Getaway can carry a lot of people. Now if you want the most stable boat in the world get an Access Dinghy 303 or 2.3, each boat can carry 2 people and you don’t have to worry about them capsizing. Check them out at www.sail-s.com in the CART section.

I would definitely say that if you are going to teach the girls to sail that maybe one of the 14ft cats would be a better option. after everything is said and done the 16s are speed machines and can be downright brutal for someone with no sailing experience (even if they are crewing) I sail a 14ft cat (paper tiger) and it has scared the [email]s@$#[/email] out of me on several occasions.

I think a getaway would be perfect in the type of conditions you are going to be subject to. Make sure to equip the hobiebob at the top of the mast and teach them how to right the boat and you'll be good to go.

If you want to read up on the Mystere 4.3 go to Mystere Owners Web Page There are a few used ones for sale in Ohio although that would be a solid weekend of driving for you to pick up.

Talking about Laser, do you have the Dart 16 over there. It may be called a Laser Cat. It has a reefable main and a furler jib. www.lasersailing.com. The teenagers here love it.
Dermot.