10 Year Avg Turnout for UK National Championship; Laser 81, Solo 77
2011 National Championship; Solo 95, Laser 81
And before Tillerman puts up his hand and says yes, but..... yes, I know there are no Solo dinghies in North America, or Denmark, or South Africa, or the Phillipines or......
But, in dinghy mad UK, these are certainly intriguing numbers. Any UK readers of Earwigoagin that want to shed light on how the Solo class, designed by Jack Holt in 1956, is hanging with the Laser? I would be very interested in hearing what the Solo Dinghy is doing right.
I've posted about the Solo Dinghy before; a vintage video here , and an amazing heavy air photo here .
Meanwhile here is a very well done promo video for the Solo dinghy
Rupert Whelan added a comment which directly addressed some of my questions...........
"The Solo (also known as the SoSlow or Slowlo) isn't fast, but gives fantastic close racing. I owned one a few years ago, but it was old and bendy, and I decided I could get a better boat for the money (a Lightning 368, another UK only boat) but the modern version is very stiff, is bomb proof thanks to the highish minimum weight, has a powerful fully batten 8 sqm sail and is raced by many of the top sailors in the country. In light winds it will leave a Laser behind, but once hull length comes into play, the Laser will sail away, especially in waves. As for Lasers and speed, there are plenty of faster singlehanders over here, but none have caught on in the same way as the Laser or Solo, so speed obviously isn't all - we set ourselves boundaries in order to get fair, close racing at a cost we can afford, otherwise we would be over in Namibia with Paul Larsen and his Vestas Sailrocket trying to hit 60 knots..."
Wow! Never heard of them! Are they faster than Kirby's?
ReplyDeleteDoc,
ReplyDeleteNope, the Solo Dinghy isn't faster than the "Kirby Sailboat formerly known as the Laser", it's somewhat slower but I'm not sure by how much. So being top of the hill in speed among the hiking singlehanders isn't a factor in the Solo Dinghy's popularity.
I will tell you a story. Back in the days when I was a roughneck in my 20's, Trophy Wife and I and three other guys started our Laser fleet on Lake Puddingstone. Probably because I was (rumored to be) sort of abrasive, other like-minded sailors settled on another boat to invest in, Capri-13's. They bought four of them. They had three times as many lines as the Laser, or seemed to me. I told them to show up for a showdown the Spring Regatta. They did. The wind was up. Those Capri's washed up on the shore and against the dam, 1,2,3 & 4. Three of the five Lasers finished the first race before the Park Rangers closed the Lake. Turned out that the Capris were slower than the Lasers, and their fleet never took off. Later, I heard that the builder reduced the length of their masts.
ReplyDeleteLasers are great boats. Fast boats. One-designing aside, I always wanted speed. What, I always asked rhetorically, would be the point of dragging the 2nd or 3rd fastest 13-foot boat around on a trailer when you could always have the fastest. I was always looking for a Banshee or a Force-5 to challenge.
But that great day when my fleet beat the imposter fleet 3-0 stands out for me! It may be abrasive for me to say that, but that's the way it is.
Doc,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The Laser is still a very quick dinghy in it's own right. But as I mentioned in my "Classic Moth vs. the Laser", there are characteristics other than speed that someone may find more compelling in choosing a sailboat. I've had a great time in some very slow dinghies (and I've had a great time in some very fast dinghies).
Me too, T-Man!
ReplyDeleteFWIW: My bucket boat and next boat will be be a 30-Foot Laser and I'll name it Fast and Furious.
There's also the Streaker, another Jack Holt designed boat...and it's sailed in the Philippines. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how many great boats there are around the world that are unknown outside the areas where they are sailed.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteThe Streaker started off as another stitch and glue dinghy but you can now buy a fiberglass version. I like the fact that the hull weight is 110 lbs.
I agree there a lot of good local classes spread around.
I almost became a Solo sailor.
ReplyDeleteTOH Tillerman! My blog seems to tread many times on a path you've already blazed. Tillerman in a Solo, one of your alternative universes!
ReplyDeleteThe Solo (also known as the SoSlow or Slowlo) isn't fast, but gives fantastic close racing. I owned one a few years ago, but it was old and bendy, and I decided I could get a better boat for the money (a Lightning 368, another UK only boat)but the modern version is very stiff, is bomb proof thanks to the highish minimum weight, has a powerful fully batten 8 sqm sail and is raced by many of the top sailors in the country.
ReplyDeleteIn light winds it will leave a Laser behind, but once hull length comes into play, the Laser will sail away, especially in waves.
As for lasers and speed, there are plenty of faster singlehanders over here, but none have caught on in the same way as the Laser or Solo, so speed obviously isn't all - we set ourselves boundaries in order to get fair, close racing at a cost we can afford, otherwise wewould be over in Namibia with Paul Larsen and Vestas Sailrocket trying to hit 60 knots...