Hello!

[Flounder]

Hello all, I have not long been sailing, but long enough to aquire a Bonito. It worked, ish. Then, as much as I needed a hole in the head, a really nice Mirror arrived ta Flounders Fields. I have been getting to grips with this while my boy's play in club toppers. The Bonito recently moved on and I am now tempted by a Minisail. Should I?

[trebor]

Hi, I started with an Aquabat ( very similar to minisail monaco ) which I still have and sail every week, I also have a Minisprint, which is a type of Minisail see minisail.org.uk , I would suggest you try one, (in fact I would if possible try any type of boat you want) where abouts are you ?

[Rupert]

Minisails certainly sail better than the Bonito. If you are anywhere near Swindon, you are welcome to come and try one. Otherwise, there are a fair few round Southampton, Rob and others south of Brum and others scattered around the place, including Belgium!

There are plenty of bargain hulls around, but it is worth budgeting for a new sail, as they are usually rubbish. You can get one from R&J or Morgan sails for a little over £200, so allowing £100 for the hull, spars, rudder and centreboard, gives you a nice boat for a bargain sum - certainly less than £400, even allowing for new ropes and some new fittings.

[Ed]

I sold my Minisprint a while ago.....

but I happen to know that it is back on the market again.

It is in pretty good shape. I re-built the sliding seat and epoxy sheathed the foils. Yes, the sail has seen better days, there is a very slight bend in the mast and it could do with a slightly longer mainsheet, but it works just fine.

The new owner wants £150 for it, which seems pretty good value to me.

Lying in South East Cornwall, near Tavistock.

Drop me a line if you want to know more

eib

[Flounder]

Management wil lhave a fit but the Minisail is now mine! I should be able to roll myself up and sail it but it is mostly for my 14 year old. I'll post more info when I have it.

Thanks for the tips too!

[Rupert]

Excellent!

Where will you be sailing?

[trebor]

Welcome to minisailing, the class association is at minisail.org.uk

[Paul Rogers]

Hi Flounder. Welcome to the minisail world. There is also a minisail facebook page.
I see you are at the severn sailing club. Thats not far from me. Minisails ideally need a larger expanse of water than you can find on the Avon as they don't point upwind well but are the best fun you can imagine when on the plane in a blow. I sail my minisails at Sandwell Valley but have been considering moving a mirror to Severn sailing club.

[Paul Rogers]

The 2014 minisail nationals are being held at Whitfriars in early July. Rupert will be coaching the rest of us in how to get the best out of a minisail and an international contingent will be attending. Would be good to see you there. Its only about 40 minutes away from your club.

[Rupert]

Never thought of looking at your profile...

Yes, Severn SC is very close, just come down the 419 to the Cotswold water park 1st weekend of July. A day of coaching followed by a day of racing for the Nationals trophy. The more the merrier!

[Flounder]

Thank you for the welcome. Life has been rather hectic so only collected the Minisail yesterday. It has sail number 5089 but I cannot see any ID on the hull. It's a bit tatty in places but overall looks well. Not sure about the whippy boom issue, the one with it would fit a Westerly!!

I'll have to see about coming down to Whitefriars in July, it's not far. I'm fairly new to dinghy sailing, just trying to keep up with the boys. I'm quite happy pottering in our Mirror, just as well as it is hard to get up a head of speed on the river. Pracice is what is needed.

[trebor]

The hull number is usually on a plastic ring around mast hole.