I used to race a victoria and now compete with a fairwind. However, the stretch of water we sail on has trees on 3 sides and suffers from really variable winds. The fairwind loses out to victorias and northwinds in the lighter gusts and therefore I’m thinking of getting another yacht.
My club is considering creating a separate 1m class and I’m keen to get into this, but can’t afford to go for models in the range of the marblehead. There will be Voyagers, ETNZ’s, and an Estelle in the 1m class and I’d like to get something similar. I’ve been looking at a few boats and would like your opinions on them.
ETNZ - (I know it’s smaller, but because of it’s performance, the club will put it in the 1m class). I was impressed with this boat, but have heard the parts quality is poor and I have seen a few break in stiff breezes.
Seawind - The info I found on this yacht seems to push it to the top of the list, but I haven’t seen one in the flesh, so don’t know anything about them.
Voyager - When I bought the fairwind, one model shop told me the voyager didn’t sail as well as the victoria. We have one in the club and it did seem to go fairly well.
Storm 100 - This is a nice looking model, but I cannot find a lot of info on it.
Alternatively, if I stay below 1m, I’m going to have to get something to sail in slight winds. I’ve been looking at the Northwind 36, but have heard that it could benefit from quite a few modifications.
tony
welcome aboard
as for your boats. i dont know much about etnz. i have heard alot about them. and not much stuff is bad. the only thing that i have heard is the sails are not top notch . they are very good. you can just improve them
As for the seawind. I have one. and i like it. lite winds. strong winds. it does not matter. you cannot do much about changing it, if you want the boat to stay in the same class. BUT if you can do a change. the sails are a very good place to start. also poeple have a problem with pitch poling. mine does not seem to have that muc of a problem. but then again. i put everything as far back as possible. batteries reciever. all behind the servos. that could have solved the problem
the voyager. i have heard some good stuff. but alot of bad stuff. from the hull warping in sun light. the sails dont need to be changed( THEY HAVE TO BE). i had a friend who got one. and he said it twice. before he got soo ticked with it. he gave the transmitter to a kid. then walked away. he gave the boat to the kid . he never wanted it back
never heard of storm . so you have to take your chances there
hoep this helped
i don’t know how much you are wanting to spend… but, you could build something like a US1 or an IOM…
Conversely, if you are willing to do some parts upgrading an ETNZ might do ok… i don’t pay much attention to “factory” boats, as i prefer to build my own, but the ETNZ is supposed to be a good boat as they go.
Personally, i shy away from the looks of the seawind, there is just something about it that looks really un-graceful.
You might also look at some of the Victor boats… the Soling 1M is very popular in the states…
The RG65 is a smaller boat that seems to be gaining a lot of popularity, especially in Europe. I was lucky enough to sail with a group in Buenos Aires and the boats are very light and responsive.
Wow the RG65 look cool, reading the rules seam almost anything goes exept length of hull, sail area and hight of mast. Looks like you can have as much fin length or overal weight. Has any one seen any radical designs?
A.B., they are cool. In the group I saw/sailed, nothing too radical except most were made from balsa not carbon. All light as a feather. All had the thinnest mylar sails, A & B rigs.
Fireant, FYI… in my lastest email from the friend who builds them said…“Europe has many countries with this “new” class; Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Poland etc, and now, England has 6”.
Barett - look at RG65s. They are what used to be called ‘half-Marbleheads’. With the radio control gear of 1980 they were not attractive in trms of performance but with modern electronics, some Footy technology, etc, they should really sail like baby Marbleheads - which defibitely meand ‘proper yachts’ as you and I understand them.:zbeer:
Thanks for the info. I looked at the Solig, but couldn’t find a UK supplier. Money is a bit of a factor as I’d like to keep the fairwind as well.
I researched the RG65’s and these seem to be more of a class rather than a single design. Nice looking boats, but no local supplier. I presume the UK owners imported the kits in.
Last year, I was offered a IOM boat which I think was called a Wotsit. That’s the closest visual match I found. However, I would have had an unfair advantage in the racing and elected to stick with the fairwind. The owner wasn’t in a hurry to sell it, so there’s a chance he might still have it.
I’ve just looked at the Robbe Windstar which is also available in the UK. looks like a nice boat. Something to ponder over the holiday.
Fireant…“I researched the RG65’s and these seem to be more of a class rather than a single design. Nice looking boats, but no local supplier.”
Yes, the RG65 is certainly a class. Seems as though you are leaning towards a different or bigger boat but I sense some interest by others. There’s a forum that looks just like ours… and on it there’s a list of RG65 owners in the UK, just in case you “get interested” in the yacht later.
Well I got my new yacht. It’s a 1m and came with 2 sets of sails and 40Mhz FM radio. I’m not sure what the hull is though. It has a sticker on it for Tony Abel, but I don’t know if this is relating to the winch. The previous owner did not know the design.
The RG65 is really a class for builders and racing sailors more than a kit boat class for general pleasure sailing. As such, those kits that are available tend to be built by craftsmen in workshops rather than churned out by the hundred in some far eastern factory and with a higher price tag. http://spirit65.rg65.com/descargas/precios.pdf is the price list for a kit available in Spain. The first at €330 is for a complete kit less radio, the second at €220 is for the complete hull only without mast, booms and sails.
As Yar mentioned, there are also some complete boats available in Argentina and Brazil and they are likely to be more economically priced.
There’s also now an English speaking user group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RG65SailboatsUS/ with plans for almost all the popular designs most of which can be easily built for a fraction of the cost; the “Palo de Agua” and the “Jif65” especially so.
PS only after posting did I see your last post. It seems to be an International 1 Metre design and should give you years of enjoyment.
