r/dinghysailing

I've been pondering on this a while now.

The only time I really feel I have enough power in my boat is when there's too much power which in my laser (standard sail) is about 20-25knots, and I depower it. I'm a typical weight for laser, 75kg.

In lighter wind, I'm always wishing I could get more power in the thing, keeping boat flat - tick, going fast - not so tick. Reaches and by the lee are OK, I suppose, and it's mostly close hauled where I am forever feeling underpowered.

Anyway, when it's windy and I depower the boat, it becomes very easy to sail while still having plenty of power, it's strange to me, because I would think when it was less windy, not depowering the boat should have broadly the same effect.

Made more concrete what I mean by 'very easy to sail', it seems like at higher wind speeds, you can get away with a very wide range of angles of attack of sail, and it still works fine so less accuracy is needed there, and the power in the sail itself is more consistent. Since you're going faster, steering becomes a lot more responsive and easier. In short, the more wind you have, right until the point it's more wind than you can manage, the easier it is to sail.

My conjecture is, I sail on a very small lake such that effectively the whole lake is in the lee of a tree or building, and I feel that when it is windier the wind direction becomes more consistent, and this probably explains it in large part.

The small lake I feel must have something to do with it, because on the instances I have sailed on a large lake on a moderate day, I've been struck by how easy everything was, with the sail essentially not needing trimming for a whole leg some times. I would still say I felt I was underpowered, but the power that was there was very consistent and so a lot easier to use.

Hi all,

Could anyone recommend the best beginner dinghy for me to buy and learn on? So far I’ve only done the Australian Sailing start sailing 1 & 2 course in RS Quests but loved it and want to continue.

Looking for something that can take 2 adults somewhat comfortably (combined weight around 140kg) but can also be singlehanded as needed. Want something that has a jib or the ability to have a jib but possibly can be sailed with just the main if singlehanded?

Don’t really know if this exists. So far just found a fibreglass Heron but don’t know if that suits or better options exist. Budget somewhere around $3000 AUD with a trailer.

I’m in Brisbane, Australia and would be primarily in Moreton Bay

Edit: For solo I’m 80kg and a bit over 6 foot.

I have an aft main boat, and I don’t love it but I love everything else about my boat.

When single handing it just feels really unnatural to face rear, and means that I can’t see the jib. I could keep battling to get used to it but frankly most boats are centre main and I’m used to sailing single handlers with that setup.

Therefore I’ve been considering conversion.

Before drilling any holes, I wondered if anybody has ever tested a centre main set up by just using a block hanging off a strap round the boom and a similar set up around the thwart with a block on top?!

Original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/dinghysailing/comments/1syhyzk/my_fat_butt_bought_an_opti/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Update:

It was an absolute blast. I will certainly go out again with the same setup. It was certainly no lazy boy, but the fun level was far greater than the discomfort level! In a weird body-mindful way, it was refreshing to bend and stretch in irregular ways... Is this why people go to yoga?

Lake sailing winds were light and did shift around, but it was very fun. I couldn't stop smiling.

I did capsize to a gust, and I did find it difficult to get back in. Luckily small inland lakes always have shore nearby :D which was my preferred recovery technique. I never gave re-boarding a true good try, because the beach was always so close... Something to do next time I'm out.

A Laser Pico, RS Aero, or RS Zest certainly look like more suitable boats for my situation, and I'm sure would sail better... Holy cow a used Aero costs more than my car! At that point I'll just buy a real boat.

Laser Pico may be an upgrade I'll look for, mostly because they seem more affordable, but I'm probably more likely to upgrade to a proper daysailer that lives at a marina, once the budget allows. In the meantime, more Opti sailing!

While a Sunfish certainly looks like it'd be a better experience than my Opti experience, somehow all the complete Sunfish boats for sale near me are more than I paid for my Opti... not sure how that came to be, but that's how I ended up with the Opti in the first place.

From the original post: "You can do anything you put your mind to. Don’t let all this negativity get you down!". My, my... the average user of this forum sure is a fun stopper. I thought sailors were supposed to be easy going!

https://preview.redd.it/8fu97ymm550h1.png?width=931&format=png&auto=webp&s=71f9f9507a4c54777526f490b1103dce69771876

I've been building Varea, it's a free web app that takes your Garmin .FIT files and turns them into useful tactical analysis for sailing and foiling. Wind direction calculated via an API call to a meteo service, tack/gybe detection with entry/exit speed, VMG breakdown, foiling ratio, start analysis, polar chart. No hardware needed, just upload the file your watch already records.
It's still an MVP so it's gonna bit slow in the part where it analyzes the data but I'll work on it if i get some traction, also I've just finished setting it up in english so if you find any mistakes or if you know of some features that would be useful please let me know!!
https://varea.vercel.app/

A while back I had to rewire my boat. I am not an electrician. 12V looked simple from the outside — small numbers, no shock risk, how hard can it be. Turns out you can melt a wire, blow the wrong fuse, or kill your battery in a weekend if you size things wrong.

A few things I wish someone had told me on day one:

• Wire size is about heat, not voltage. A wire that is "fine" at 10A can get dangerously hot at 25A even if the voltage looks normal on a meter. The fuse must protect the wire, not the device. If your fuse is bigger than your wire can handle, the wire melts first. That is the real fire risk on a boat or van.
• Voltage drop is sneaky. Long thin wires steal volts. Your fridge sees less than 12V at the end of a 5 meter run on small wire, especially when the battery is half drained. Then the fridge brown-outs, restarts, and your food gets warm. The fix is thicker wire, not a bigger fuse.
• Every load needs a fuse close to the battery. Not close to the load. The fuse is there to protect the wire from a short, and the short can happen anywhere along the wire.
• Grounds matter as much as positives. A bad ground gives you weird voltage drops you cannot explain. Same wire size for the return as the feed.
• Battery internal resistance is real. Cheap flooded batteries sag a lot under load. A "12V" battery can sit at 11.2V when your inverter kicks on. Lithium holds voltage way better, which is why people swap.

To stop guessing I ended up building a small drag-and-drop simulator for myself, just so I could plan the whole system before cutting any real wires. Drop a battery, a fuse, a fridge, some wire of a specific gauge and length, hit run, see what would actually happen — fuses blowing, wires overloading, brown-outs, the lot. It saved me from at least three bad ideas.

If anyone wants it I am happy to share. It is free, browser only, no account.

What did you all wish you had known before doing your own 12V wiring? Curious if I am missing something obvious.

Hi everyone! I am currently in a design class where we make products that would be beneficial for sailboats and dinghies. I am doing a cooler, and am trying to write up a “menu” of possible things you would have for a 2 day trip as one person (in order to figure out how big the interior should be).

So what would you typically bring in a dinghy? I know a lot of ppl just use prepackaged food so they don’t need a cooler, but say you do have one. What would you bring? Are there any amenities that could be included that would make your experience better?

I grew up sailing a Snark Sunflower and love how stable it was and how easy it was to get going and beach it and drop the sail. I would like to take up sailing again but I would like it to still be that effortless to get on the water. Does any one know of a boat that might work? I'm not interested in speed.

I’m 16 and been sailing since I was 4 I’ve sailed lasers in over 40kts of wind and race in firefly’s at a national level, do you think I can manage a moth?

Hi,

I’m just getting back into sailing. At 6’5» and 280 pounds what is a good dinghy to look for?

I joined a sailing club. They have 420s as part of their fleet. Is this a possible choice?

I have an 18ft sailing boat, when my outboard motor is up and Im under sail, the motor gets in the way of the tiller, as a result , I don't have a full range of the tiller, especially when turning to port. Does anyone have any suggestions?