A trend toward smaller boats and singlehanders?

I'm just curious, but why does everyone seem to think that they have to go to smaller boats to singlehand?

I know plenty of people who single hand the bigger boats. Aside from capsize recovery, I see no disadvantage to single handing a bigger boat.

If I'm really pushing the boat hard, it's during our Sunday fleet races. We always have a crash boat on Sundays, so I've got plenty of help getting it back up.

I have tried to find the perfect boat but have not. At present this is where I am.
It is an old Tiger Shark twin trap 18' boat the rig of which I have cut down by five feet for one man use.
Boat weighs 110 kilos, mast is only 25 feet and easy to put up and down solo and beats an H17 square top on all points of sail and I am not even trapping on it yet!....have not found other, faster boats to test it against yet....am about to fit a code X hooter.
It is very happy to take a second person for cruising.
Sails are by Chip Buck, thank you Chip..they are great value.
I know it is not a class racer but it is fast, it is easy to move around and it is a blast and with the brand new sails it owes me under 2K and nobody wants to steal the mast! : )

Hi Ryan

Bigger boats have alot more sail area... and that means a lot more horsepower in heavy air... throw in a HUGE spinnaker... and you need raw weight and muscle

I sail solo and using a spin in even light air takes 3 hands .... <img src=

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Interesting discussion. I am going the opposite direction as I do not want to sail alone. And since all up crew weight will be at least 380lbs and we want to race somewhat competitively, a bigger platform that is not as sensitive to weight is our choice.

I'm definitely part of the trend if that's what it is.
Started moving up to bigger mono hulls from keel boats. Then I noticed I was doing more work fixing things than I was sailing. The birth and winter storage were also expensive, adding nothing to the fun of actual sailing. Besides I can confirm from my experience the sensation of sailing is inversely proportional to the size of the boat!
I bought an old Nacra 5.2 because my budget was very tight, but I probably should have bought an old

A

class because the beach handling is so much easier. Up to now i have spent less on repairs of my old 5.2 than the new stove on my old yacht cost me...

Dennis

Apart from capsize recovery, there is no way I could be competative on a F18 or Hurricane 5.9 in the force 4 or 5 we regularly get here. Even a Spitfire would be a bit much downwind in 25 knots of breeze.

Class rules are a big factor. In F16 there is no minimum crew weight. Also, lighter boats are easier to move around on land.

I cant imagine buying a boat because of their class rules or because they are easier to move around on land.
The difference between a 120kg or 150kg boat is too small to notice.

Lack of crew and more TOW would be big factors for me, unfortunately there is very little competition with singlehanders (Apart from a few A-cats maybe).
Lack of competition is the reason why I sold mine anyway.

You'll be surprised !

My own F16 (homebuild) is 120 kg and I can even tell the difference between my own and the newer 107-110 kg F16's when handling them on land. Especially when putting it on or off the cat trax singlehandedly. The difference between lifting some 50 kg at the bow with one hand or 70 kg is significant.

Currently the F16 sailors are the only ones at my club who walk up their boats on the incline to our

harbour

all others use the electric winch. The difference between a 107-110 kg and a 150 kg in tipping it over to get to the top of the mast etc is also significant. Downside of course is that in a good blow the wind can blow it over alot easier as well. When in doubt I just flip my boat over on the beach and have it lay flat.

But I understand your other points fully. Provided racing is a big consideration for alot of sailors

Wouter

Andrew, I sail a 15' Sea Spray

Gotcha, thanks

My 5.5 weighs about 182 kg (400lbs) without beer! double that with beer! <img src=

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Andrew,

I suppose I'm just used to light air. We're lucky to see more than 12 knots of breeze at Hueston Woods.

Hello Mary,
I think the trend to singlehanded boats has kept the Isotope Fleet alive for some time. The other reason is that we tend to be too ugly and mean to take on other crew. But after some contemplation who would want a winey crew on your boat in the first place. Anyway Isotopes are still rocking, 32nd nationals in two weeks.

Ohh and what about these Hobie chix??? I may have been born too late.

J.P. Ayers
Isotope 186

LOL

Yes in 12 knots you can single hand just about any cat... in 20... its like riding a bronco. I single handed my cat in 18-20 (mph) friday and sat... i need a massage... (but instead i will go out and sail again today).

Its only supposed to be around 10 knots today (since a front has come through) so i will get to rig my spinnaker... but even at 10 knots... after 30 minutes with it up... my hands will be cramping and hurt.... (I LOVE IT)

After I passed 70, I found it a much harder to find young girls for crew so I had to go the singlehanded route. At 135 lbs and veticaly challenged, the only high tech boat that I can get on and off the trailer, rig and get to the water is the A class. The down side is, now I seem to get a lot of bad decisions from my crew.

Chicks still dig you, Gordon! <img src=

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This trend, if true, would seem to help promote the F14.

The F14 must be cold to sail as I've travelled everywhere this winter and still havn't seen one <img src=

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I heard they have been sold and on the way to WA. Replaced with Blades.

Darryn
Mozzie
1782

If there is a trend towards single handers, do you think there will be more incidents of deaths related to cold water immersions and the inability to right the boats ala Sven Schang? I think the A cats and H14's/Waves should be okay, but what about the F16 class and so forth with a little bigger stick? I personally think most people going single hand are seasoned sailors, but we could have an influx of newbies on sinlge hand boats that may not know the dangers of sailing alone.

One factor that contributes to the rise of single-handers is that the cat sailing community is aging and as we age, we are less likely to have willing crews.

The older we get, the more curmudgeonious we become. That in itself limits our crew possibilities substantially. Family members that can or want to sail with us have long since gone on to more comfortable persuasions. Friends that we used to be able to drag along are now often in retirement homes or have bowel problems.

Yes there are many great young cat people coming in and they generally go straight to the next hot boat when they get serious. That helps bring in enough new blood to keep things interesting, but as a whole, the fleet is shrinking rather than growing.

Single-handing is becoming a necessity for a lot of us and for many diverse reasons.

I love the A-cats but have a Hobie 16 and would rather keep it than switch. I think the 16 is a perfect single-handed boat…easy to transport, rig and sail.

It looks like we will have 5 or more at Hatteras next weekend.

I would never consider this as dangerous…just another challenge.

We have a rule in the F16 class that you MUST be able to right the boat, and you may be requested to show that you can right the boat.

Scooby, sounds like a good rule, but I bet there is no manufacturer that would deny a sell because the chap couldnt self right. I understand the racing end of it, But I also havent seen that rule enforced at any events around here either.
I didnt mean to pick on the F16, just a boat that I see as an up and comer with the single handing crowd, and might be a little big for some of the skiipers to self right, but I could be wrong. What do you F16 guys say. Can you self right in any condition? Can A's be self righted in every condition by all of thier skippers?

Last year I asked the same question to a long time A-cats sailor who sails F16's as well now.

His reply was that the difference in righting is not that big and that both can be hard to right in no wind when you are a lightweight sailor. But in general both were fine.

I have yet to fail righting my F16 singlehandedly in ANY conditions and I have been foolish enough to flip her in drifter conditions. I not a lightweight sailor but I have failed to right other brands in similar conditions with the exception of the A-cat.

I think there is no cat design out there that say a 55 kg sailor can right in absolutely no wind and no waves. It all ends somewhere. I do believe there is ample evidence that A-cats and F16's are the two most easily righted singlehanders on the market today with possibly the Swell Shadow thereabouts as well. I find the Hobie 14 to be harder to right then my F16 for example.

I think the lightweight F16 skippers (below 70 kg) and the guys just above the threshold (70-75 kg)are currently using pillow cases as a small waterbag when they have an alu masted F16 and that seems sufficient for the most challenging conditions (no wind, no waves). F16's can be ordered with carbon masts and quite a few have done so. An F16 owner at my club weighting 72 kg (measured at the F16 GC event of 2007) doesn't and have righted his boat singlehandedly unaided in all times he flipped it. He is now a 3rd season owner and sails reasonably often and quite on the edge (solo trapping under spi etc).

Personally I challenge anyone to righting a Hobie 16 or even Hobie 14 in no wind and no waves. I at 88 kg (194 lbs) have a mixed record in these conditions. In some wind and waves the whole procedure comes increasingly easier. But then again so to does righting the F16's. In a blow I only hang leasurely from the F16 D-striker or righting line, somewhere halveway between upright and flat on the horizontal.

Wouter

I accept your challange... what do i win when I am victorious?

Alright, Mr. Scott. That was entirely uncalled for (as I try to eat mt sandwich) <img src=

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That's just wrong andrew.

I can right my FXone with a bag. It comes right up once its orientated correctly. I don't think I could do it without the bag unless it was really blowing. I'm 160lbs, or 72kg

Ehhh, righting a boat also includes getting back on it and sail away !

Wouter