Drew Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 I am thinking of buying a 5.8 to sail (see boats for sale)with my 11 year old boy followed by two other boys. We currently race a 30' tri so speed is important. I believe the 5.8 is ideal for a family race boat because of many affordable boats out there, good floatation, weight carrying easy to sail etc, etc. However i am worried about the amount of work the crew needs to do and the heavy Jib loads. Would it be possible to change the sail plan to a self tacking jib and larger main.(ie f18 plan). It would be important not to change the speed of the boat or we would wreck the class like the spinnakers did. Because all the full on racers have gone to f18 an opportunity exists to develop family racing in this class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nacra-maricat australia Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Hi ,Yes i agree the 5.8 is a great value for money boat. We have just sold a 10 year old boat and still got over $9000 for it.This is the advantage of having a one design class. we have no plans to change the 5.8 at all. We are still selling new boats and the class is coming back to where it was. There are many tricks for making pulling on the jib allot easier,i am sure your son will grow soon and the 5,8 will be very easy to sail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooD Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 You could always get one of the older style jibs that are smaller and use a wire bridal instead of the foil. I always felt the wire bridal was nicer to look at anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_garlick Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 My partner is 60kg, low upper body strength, and has no problems with the jib (which has 2:1 purchase). Its a great boat, particularly for couples. We don't want the complication of a spinnaker (otherwise, there are some red hot bargains for F18's). The class is really coming alive again, there are 4 5.8's racing at Ballina regularly. I've just bought a Farier TT720 to take cruising, so I was curious why you sold the trimaran. We love to race the 5.8, but want something a little larger for coastal cruising. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REV YUKKA II Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 NO WE DON'T WANT TO CHANGE THE CLASS. one of the reasons the class is good is that you have a min crew weight of 140kg which means you can sail with two adults and be competitive, if you want to sail with a light weight crew maybe you should look at a tipan 4.9. i do sail in our handicap races at windamere with my 35kg niece who is 8 years old and she manages the jib. we have ended up in a couple of blows and although she may not be able to crank it on she always gets it cleated. i run my cleats on the stay wires so i can then adjust them myself whilst skippering on trap. down wind she plays the jib by hand and seams to manage allright. having good gloves is a must, also make sure the trap handel is not far away from the dog bone so your son can get in and out on trap with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado Posted September 7, 2006 Report Share Posted September 7, 2006 Great boat and one of the quickest boats around on a 2 sail reach.... Plenty of cheap ones around and even the old ones will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. They also have a vintage division in their class championships. You won't be disapointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_garlick Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 We manage the sheets like this. Up wind, partner pulls in jib-sheet and cleats. I can give it another reef in if I want it really hard. Partner then manages down-haul which we use to de-power going up-wind. We have a 12:1 down-haul, which she can apply well. She likes having the sense of control to bring a hull down if she feels a little 'excited'. I can always uncleat the jib if needed. I tend to hold the traveller in my hand, and depower with that if necessary. Downwind, partner usually sits on the downwind hull and plays jib to keep both tell-tales streaming. We're starting to get the hang of taking the apparent wind down with us (wild-thinging), the loads on the jib sheet for this are light. Regards, sTeve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmessee Posted September 8, 2006 Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Get the 5.8 dude. You will not regret it. If I did not have so many commitments with children over the weekends I would have tried to convince my daughter to sail with me on one. They are just sensational and you will handle it easily with your son. I used to sail mine one up in 15 knots or less and not have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted September 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2006 Thanks for all your advise.I will proceed when I have sold the Tri advertised in the for sale section. This would be a good project for you Wassa!!I would swap it for a new boat. Steve, I love sailing the tri and its stable platform. However racing is often a little disapointing as it is dificult to get the close racing you get on monohulls or Nacras. You are either going twice as fast as other boats or they are going twice as fast as you. They do however make Morton Bay a small place. We often sail to Morton for lunch etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.