Newbie.. Some Advice

[PatCollier]

Hi
I am very much a newbie so apologies for any idiot assumptions..

I have sailed dinghies, rya level 2, so can rig, sail, etc... But don't have any bigger boat experience.... I also have the powerboat 2 .... I have reasonable awareness of tide, drift weather etc having kayaked dinghy sailed surfed and small boated in and around Ramsey Sound in Pembrokeshire for many years..

I am thinking of taking a plunge into the larger craft and really like the Bayraider 20, my thoughts are that it can be sailed solo, can take maybe 5?? And it looks forgiving for a novice (ballasted) but can be effectively upgraded by taking away the ballast...

We are now living half our time in Solva , which dries, so think this is ideal..

I would really welcome any advice or thoughts even if it is... "don't be a fool, go and get more experience , do a dayskipper first.." any advice welcome

Regards

Patrick

[Colin Morley]

Hi Pat, I am happy to help you in any way I can.

Please feel free to ring for a chat, any time you like about anything you would like to know about the BR. My phone is 07591647097.

Colin

[Mrs Chippy]

Hi there
We moved from dinghy sailing (12 foot 6in gaff rigged cat boat) to a Bayraider and looked at both the BR20 and BR17. Depends on what you want to do, as always. We landed on the BR17 and are glad we did. She is easy to launch, handle and trailer single handed. We can launch her off pretty basic boat ramps and even off the beach into very shallow water. We found the size of the BR20 a bit overwhelming, including for storage. The BR17 is also very light and easy to tow and trailer, meaning we can sail easily from a range of places (in and around Auckland NZ). The water ballasting is very straightforward and yes, you do basically get two versions of the same boat with and without ballast. Of course the BR20 would give you a bit more range and more space.
Check both sized boats out before you make your decision would be my advice.
Good luck
Linda

[Matthew P]

Mrs Chippy! How nice to hear from you! Could you show us a picture of your boat?

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Graham W]

Patrick,

Concerning the worth or otherwise of doing an RYA qualification, have a look at this thread http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,667.msg4033.html#msg4033

As long as you plan ahead (like I failed to do in an F6 yesterday), a plain vanilla BR is simple to sail solo. If you get bored, you can always modify the sail plan to make it more complicated.

[Mrs Chippy]

Hi Matthew
Here's Trixie - undergoing sea trials in Tasmania before being shipped over to NZ last year. There are two Bayraiders here as far as I know - one BR20 plus ours, both beautifully built by Denman Marine.
Cheers
Linda

[Jonathan Stuart]

Patrick,

While the BR (17 or 20) may be a larger boat than you have previously it certainly doesn't need "big boat" experience or training. You sound more than experienced enough to handle a BR and anything you don't know is probably best learnt through more experience with the boats.

Mrs Chippy - I echo Matthew's comment and welcome back to the forum. We feared the burgee saga may have scared you off!

[Peter Cockerton]

Patrick

Great boat, always feel safe in her, fun and forgiving. Easy to rig, launch and recover. The only pain you will get with her is the admirers delaying your launch/recovery.

It takes little effort to maintain her and keep her looking prestine due to the sensible amount of timber used and the wood finish the yard uses.

Look at the various mods that have been documented here on the forum some are really useful and help with sailing her. With your dinghy experience on open water you will find the BR20 easy to sail.

They hold their price as well and don,t seem to hang around for long when posted for sale on the forum.

My preference is the GRP version.

Peter Cockerton

[garethrow]

Patrick

To give some balance to the choice of boat debate - have you considered a Storm 17, also comes as a19' version. Double ender with associated advantages - the one draw back being a lack of a planning hull.

Regards

Gareth Rowlands
S17 Gwennol Teifi

[John Perry]

Hello Patrick, how exciting, I would do nothing but encourage you to take the plunge! (So to speak…) I have been a dinghy sailor most of my sailing life, mostly self taught and I suppose slightly 'agricultural', though always an enthusiastic participiant in club racing, I have recently taken delivery of my BRe. Very manageable and well behaved, I have not felt at all that it was a step too far. The best indication has been that my son (who is a senior RYA instructor and very capable dinghy sailor) has been very enthusiastic about my decision and when he sailed Moireach, he was genuinely impressed by her behaviour and thought it an excellent choice for 'dad'.

I am not necessarily advocating the BRe, but many of the Swallow Boats give you transportabilty off the back of the trailer and a great sailing experience (at least so far so good); which is what I was looking for.

Best of luck with your decision-making

[Rob Waller]

If you're mostly going to be sailing single-handed I would make sure you test getting the sails up on your own. I find sailing my BRe on my own a doddle but it feels like a crisis every time I start out with no one to hold her into the wind while I wrestle the mainsail up between the lazy jacks, and it is very reluctant to go all the way up. I've wondered whether the BR 17 might not have been a better choice for the single hander. This summer I've given up lone sailing for that reason, which is a real pity.

[Graham W]

Rob,

If you have some way of fixing the tiller amidships (using a tiller tamer or just a piece of rope) and also centre your mizzen, the boat should weathercock into the wind, which then allows you to raise the mainsail at your leisure.  It's the same when you need to reef or unreef. If the underlying problem is with your mast track being sticky, I'm sure I've seen a forum thread about that somewhere.

[Rob Waller]

Thanks Graham. Actually I am persevering and I've just bought a Tiller Clutch (http://www.wavefrontmarine.com) which is remarkably simple... I've had a brief test under motor but one makes constant adjustments when you steer into the wind. I'll report back in due course.

This winter I think I'll have my sail cut down in size a bit so there's room for a downhaul lot tighten it. It just doesn't like the last 6 to 10 inches and I've tried the silicone spray etc.

I'm aiming to get to one of two rallies next year and I'm looking forward to seeing other people's rigs.

[Julian Swindell]

I've found it is much easier to raise the main with the motor in neutral. The tight mizzen will keep you head to wind, but if the motor is on, it always drives you across the wind before the sail is right up. Choose a place where there is lots of space down wind, fix the filter and mizzen central and put the engine in neutral and you should be fine. I've also found a small winch is a godsend for hauling up the last 6 inches.

[Peter Cockerton]

Rob

Have you discussed the issue with Matt, if you can,t raise the main sail to the top of the mast allowing you to correctly set the sail the answer is not to reshape the sail. If your new car had a sticky piston you wouldn't modify the firing control. 

Get it fixed by the builders.

Peter Cockerton