I am looking to buy a family oriented boat that will grow with my young family (boys of 5 and 2). Stability is a big issue for me and I am very keen on the Stratos keel which I hope will fulfill that brief.
While my boys are still young though, I will need to sail on my own to get good use from the boat (my wife needs to be introduced gently and in good weather!).
Does anyone out there in Stratos land have any experience in single handing the Stratos?
Should I sacrifice stability and go for something like the 2000 in order to have a practicable single hander?
My children are slightly younger than yours, 4 and 18 months. My 4 year old likes to sail with me but is of course fairly useless as a crew member. My boat is the centre board version and I prefer it to the Laser 2000, particularly for a young family. It feels more stable, has more space and I think it is faster as well. I can't comment on the Stratos keel as I have never sailed one. at my club I doubt I could launch one single handed.
I tend to sail single handed most of the time. With main and Jib I don't really have too much of a problem. Add in the gennaker and things start to get a little interesting. Add in a strong wind and the trapeze and things start to go wrong very quickly.
Apart from the obvious lack of weight I tend to find everything happens slower or at least needs to be well thought out. I'm not an expert by a long way but I'm getting better.
I have just bought a Stratos with a centreboard with the aim of sailing it nexy year when my two boys will be aged 6.5 and 4.5, although I think I will not get much use of the genaker with them, and I will also buy an outboard, just in case we can't get back easily!
I sail a Keel in Christchurch Bay ( W Solent ). With a novice crew it's almost single handed. Force 3-4 is not a problem, 5 is a bit too much. The Keel version is a very stable platform with everything happening slowly and predictably.
Thanks for the replies. It sounds like the Stratos is a good choice for a young family and reasonble to sail single handed. I have a morring so shore handling the boat shouldn't be a big issue for me.
On the subject of sailing with kids does anyone have any advice on safety. I am principally a yacht sailor and I would keep children under 7 or 8 clipped on with a harness at all times. What do big dinghy/keelboat sailors do for child safety?
Child safety is always going to be an issue. I would not use a harness on them simply because all dinghies can and ultimately will capsize. I would hate to have one of them trapped. Naturally my children wear proper life jackets with crotch straps so they are secure. For two little children I am happier with two adults to mind them. If they do fall in the chances are they will survive perfectly ok and I have heard of some as young as 3 even enjoying the experience. I do think a wetsuit is essential. Of course sailing in the right conditions is essential.
Singlehanding
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Posted - 06 Nov 2002 : 13:31:17
