Good boat to introduce son to sailing

[James Coxon]

Hi guys, I have a 6 year old, who I am looking forward to introducing to our wonderful sport. I started in an Ent with my old man. Is a national 12 a good boat to start with. I am very experienced sailing high performance boats, but want to be careful to not put him off (obviously have to pick my days!). Also any advice on boats around a grand to club sail at the local pond would be appreciated.
Also is a big helm (88kg) and a small crew (but rapidly growing!) going to make life difficult!
Thanks in anticipation
 

[Neal]

James - I've got a Design 8 (3271) and have had two great years sailing with my son and daughter (7 & 9 now).  Weight wise I'm 88kg and weight works perfectly with both until gets windy and we don't tend to sailm then anyway.  Did the Nationals, Salcombe and number of opens with daughter this year and great & extremely friendly class plus 4/5 family teams competing with similar age kids.  Similar position as wanted to start sailing with kids (as I did with my Father) and nothing interesting apart from a 12 caught my eye.  They're a great balance for competent helm (lot's to play with) whilst kids gain confidence.   Believe there are a couple of FRP Design 8's currently for sale (3291 & 3294).
Neal.

[angus]

Definately a good choice not only is the boat idealy suited to a young crew but also it is a very friendly and helpful class with a number of young families travelling. You should be able to get a design 8, Crusader or Baggy trousers that will be competative at club level and in the Admirals cup fleet.
I got my first 12 when my son was 8, we had had a mirror for a couple of years before that but once my son had been in the 12 he refused to go back to the mirror. As for scaring them, the first time I took him out it was light winds and I did a capsize on purpose so he would know that to expect when we did it for real and for a while afterwards all he wanted to do was capsize, whci unfortunately I did rather too many times. He never got scared even once when he was caught under the sail.
Keeping them warm is important, a drysuit is probably a good investment.
Be warned all kids are different and my younger son never took to sailing.

[johnk]

I agree. There are two things that I would do. Get an old Mirror mainsail for medium wind sailing and make sure that the jib sheets can be led back to near the thwart so that the helm can help to pull them in.

[Simon moss (Guest)]

The 12 is a perfect start for the young ones. I sail in a crusader with my 7 year old and it's great fun. We do spend a lot of time talking about 'Pirates' and other things to distract me! I would agree with all the other posts. I would consider having a continuous jib sheet so you ca always get hold of it for an extra tugg and have it through the deck to a cleat so you can find it . Design wise Crusaders, design 8 are forgiving and competitive but also the vintage ones are great fun and possibly not as complicated Thomas and I borrowed one for the vintage champs and loved it.
have fun
simon and Thomas N3331

[alann]

I would recomend a 12 for sailing with children I sailed in 1520 with both my boys from the age of 5.They are lively enough to teach them proper sailing and the single floor boats are very good value for money.
Alan
107
1520
3388

[Jerry G]

Note Angus' comment about keeping them warm.  Don't insist on finishing a race if they are getting cold and miserable.  Its got to be fun!
About 1979-80 I bought an old Proctor IX to sail with my 7 yr old son.  We were river or reservoir sailing in the midlands but used to take it on holiday to the west of Scotland and managed OK.  Once he was a bit bigger and more experienced we got a Cheshire Cat, which was a competetive club boat in those days.  
Be warned.  Look 20+ years on.  He now owns a 25ft cruiser/racer and expects me to crew in the local race series!
Jerry G
ex N3500

[angus]

A word of warning regarding vintage boats, while they are good fun and can be lovely bits of furniture they can be very time consuming to keep on the water. Another problem maybe explaining why you are always last! I remember with my son with the Mirror he could not grasp the handicap system and always wanted to retire after one lap as all the other boats had disappeared off into the sunset. It was only after we did a few pursuit races that he got the idea and realised that Dad wasn't quite that bad:)

[Mike Liggett]

I would not discount a vintage boat - these have no "go faster" gismos and rely on traditional sailing skills to get the best out of them.  Granted they do require more maintaince than modern plastic designs but this very fact encourages respect for the boat, so often lacking in youngsters these days.  Maintaince can be fun and instructive and instills a sense of pride in their boat.  A vintage boat can often be obtained for little outlay and there are plenty of them sailing & racing.

[icecreamman]

Another point to remember with the vintage boats as Mike mentioned previously is the fact you can do more "head out of the boat sailing" which keep the small person happy as they will not have to pull that piece of strinthey at they do not know what it does.

[Jimimaxi]

Hi James
I have a Design 8 for sale, no 3294, Captain Flint, currently on the For sale list.
I purchased the boat as I was in exactly the same situation as you, my then 7 yr old son wanted to sail with me and i wanted something i thought could be competitive yet still nice and light for us to drag around the slip & boat park (Tried a L2000 for a bit, but was concerned about gaining a hernia). We sailed initially on lighter days and could regularly keep up with Phantoms on the right day. (Our boat has been fitted with loads of carbon so goes well and is nice & stiff.) I found the boat great fun for us both. I used to helm the upwind legs, but he did the off wind legs which really miffed some of the quicker boats as we caught up. I weigh 90kg,
They are great alround & the fact that they are so tweakable makes them great for us parents, especially as you are coming from a high performance background. Most Design 8's don't have any wood to look after which i felt was important to us as family time is at a premium, so no time and space to varnish/store over winter. 
My Son quickly noticed the Opi's sailing around our pond and now has jumped ship, hence our sale so I can get him a better Opitimist than his current one or Tera.
Definitly the right choice for you I'd say
Let me know if ours is of interest, I have lots of pictures i can send.
 
Regards
 
Paul

[John m]

Hi James
If not sailing with Mrs M i sail with my son Oliver.  He is now somewhat hooked.  I am 90kg and he is a little over 30kg and is now nine years old.  He also likes Opis, Toppers, quite frankly anything.  We have sailed the 12 together for the last 4 years, gently building things up.  He is turning out to be quite competent!  It is all about taking the opportunities that you have and not doing too much too soon.  
Like sailing with your partner, sailing with your child is a fantastic privilege.  A 12 is an ideal boat.  If you dont want too much work on a boat, 3294 would be an excellent purchase.
Do it!
John