Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Optimist (dinghy)Optimist (dinghy)For children from about seven, nothing has a bigger network behind it. The Optimist is a 7 ft 9 in single-hander designed by Clarke Mills in 1947, and its class is for sailors up to age 15, so a child can start, race and grow up in the same boat, with a World Championship that draws more than 60…0
  2. 2RS TeraRS TeraThe RS Tera is the junior boat a child can manage alone, ashore as well as afloat. The polyethylene hull is 2.87 m long and weighs 43 kg, light enough for youngsters to launch without an adult hauling the launching dolly. Two rigs make it last: the Sport, with a 3.7 square meter reefing sail,…0
  3. 3Laser PicoLaser PicoThe Pico is a sailing-school favorite because it is so flexible: one or two children can sail it, or a single adult, and it has a small jib that teaches crewing and sail trim even though it adds little speed. Designed by Jo Richards in the mid-1990s, the 3.5 m hull uses a tough thermoplastic…0
  4. 4Topper (dinghy)Topper (dinghy)More than 49,000 Toppers have been sold since Ian Proctor drew the boat in 1977, and that number is the reason to buy one: used Toppers are everywhere, cheap to run and easy to resell. At 43 kg and about 3.4 m, it fits on a car roof, and a single mast and sail keep rigging simple for a young…0
  5. 5Mirror (dinghy)Mirror (dinghy)The Mirror is the classic two-person family dinghy, and with more than 70,000 built since its 1963 launch, used boats are rarely hard to find. Jack Holt drew the 10 ft 10 in hull around a simple stitch-and-glue plywood method, from an idea by television DIY presenter Barry Bucknell. It suits a…0
  6. 6RS FevaRS FevaThe RS Feva is the usual next step for two young sailors, or a parent and child, who have outgrown solo junior boats. The 3.64 m polyethylene hull carries a mainsail, jib and a 7 square meter asymmetric spinnaker as standard, so it teaches teamwork, crewing and downwind sailing in one package. It…0
  7. 7RS ZestRS ZestThe RS Zest is built around a nervous first lesson. A thwart gives a beginner crew somewhere to sit instead of scrambling, the 6 square meter mainsail roller-furls and reefs when the wind builds, and the polyethylene hull shrugs off a clumsy landing on the boat ramp. At 3.59 m it has room for two…0
  8. 8RS QuestRS QuestPick the RS Quest when a whole family, or an instructor and two or three pupils, want to go out together. RS developed it with the UK Sea Cadets to replace their aging training fleet, and its wide 4.29 m hull is about as stable as dinghies of this size get, with a self-draining cockpit big enough…0
  9. 9Wayfarer (dinghy)Wayfarer (dinghy)The Wayfarer is the adult beginner's boat for going somewhere, not just around the buoys. Ian Proctor designed the 15 ft 10 in dinghy in 1957, and its size, stability and seaworthiness made it a sailing-school staple; three adults fit comfortably for an afternoon, and with a boom tent two can sleep…0
  10. 10Hobie WaveHobie WaveFor families who sail off a beach rather than from a club, the Hobie Wave is the catamaran to start with. Its 13 ft twin hulls are rotomolded polyethylene that Hobie calls nearly indestructible, and the hull shape provides the lift, so there are no daggerboards to forget, jam or snap on the…0