with ‘capsize assistance’ built in

Whenever the sailing establishment refers to a dinghy as a ‘good training boat’, I always get interested. Often the expression is used in a patronising way, but in any case this might just be what the dinghy cruiser is looking for as it hints at more forgiving characteristics than is offered by the usual racing craft.

This recent offering from the Laser company is such a boat. At first sight what stands out is all the ‘go faster’ gear on board. There is a spinnaker chute, trapeze facility, and a host of sail control gear to play with, and from a training point of view it is obviously useful. Much of it comes as optional extras no doubt, so carrying it around is not obligatory.

First the vital statistics: 4.94 m (16’-4”) by 2 m (6’-7”). Sloop rigged — sail areas main 11.11 sq m (120 sq ft) jib 3.42 sq m (37 sq ft). There is single line reefing as standard. The dinghy comes in two hull configurations: centreboard at 190 kg (420 lbs) and drop keel 290 kg (640 lbs). The launching trolley supplied is equipped with a jockey wheel at the front. The design brief was to make the centreboard version very hard to capsize, but easy to recover. With such a beam this latter might seem difficult to achieve, particularly as the double floor above waterline level would probably promote inversion. However a clever arrangement of having self-flooding tanks in the gunwales/buoyancy chambers, which self-drain when upright has proved extremely successful. The drop-keel version with a lead bulb at the bottom of the keel has not needed this sophistication, as it is claimed that it is virtually impossible to capsize. From a cruising point of view the load carrying ability and space made available by the need in the original spec to carry four adults is an advantage. Nevertheless the boat appears to have no places to put things apart from the thwarts for the crew and an outboard pad for an engine. There is no decking but getting rid of accumulated spray should not be a problem with the self draining floor. Sheltered stowage is another matter.

To sum up: for the dinghy cruiser who believes that speed is important, this craft could be worth looking at. A few modifications and additions would have to be made to allow for the dry stowage of gear and supplies. This should not he too difficult as we cruisers have to undertake this task on any boat we buy. I think that either version could be someone’s ideal. I guess it could be a maturing racing skipper who understands the advantages of sophisticated sail controls and appreciates modern hull design. Would such a person be satisfied by a multichine sixteen foot dinghy with a W on its sail, designed nearly half a century ago?