Best Dinghy for a Sailing School?

[Teknav]

Zodiac Cadet Compact 300; 9'10. Using an 8-10 HP outboard, you can attain a speed of 10 knots. Four passengers max capacity for this dinghy; two well equipped SCUBA divers. Zodiacs are pricey but are built to last. Many navies use Zodiacs for shore patrol.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Zodiac Cadet Compact 300; 9'10. Using an 8-10 HP outboard, you can attain a speed of 10 knots. Four passengers max capacity for this dinghy; two well equipped SCUBA divers. Zodiacs are pricey but are built to last. Many navies use Zodiacs for shore patrol.

Maybe I am confussed.... Teknav are you on the right thread? The orginal question was about "Sailing Dingies"

[OneBoatman]

Originally Posted by gbam

Hey,

I'm interested in seeing what everyone thinks would be the best learn to sail dinghy for a sailing school.

Requirements:
1.) Must be mass produced
2.) Must be able to handle intense learn to sail smashed into pier conditions
3.) Needs to be easily sailed under main alone
4.) Needs to be easy to repair

I haven't been able to find it but I'm ideally looking for a small dinghy with main jib and spin that is able to sustain the beating of a sailing school (IE not a 420). Something that doesn't require having a jib on it to sail.

Thoughts?

OneBoatman says:
The best dinghy for learning to sail is with little doubt a Blue Jay. At 13.5 ft they have above average stability and are forgiving to mistakes for those learning to sail. The class association is still active. They handle well without a jib. I sailed my Blue Jay alone in 20-25 knots of wind across LI Sound in 3 ft seas alone with a single reef in the main, no jib. My wt is 145 lbs, a distance of roughly 15 mi as the crow flys, considerably more over water. The Blue Jay is also designed to carry a spinnaker and can, in a pinch be sailed, with either three or four persons.

[Teknav]

Whatever happened to the old style dinghy? It was a wooden row-boat with a pair of oars.

[Suijin]

I think you should focus your search on small, one sail boats that can be single-handed by a novice. Not only are they less expensive to purchase and maintain, and are economical and easy to store, but they provide beginning sailors with the simplified, solo experience that teaches them the principles of sailing in a relatively unchallenging vessel. They have a sheet in one hand and a tiller in the other and learn how what they do with one has a direct and usually immediate connection on what they should be doing with the other.

A Flying Scot is much too big a boat for this purpose. I've been sailing one for 20 years and while they are great boats they are not a great choice for someone to learn on for the simple fact that they require experience to single hand. For intermediate sailors, yes, for beginners, no.

If you're teaching kids up to the age of 15 or so, then the Optimist is your first choice. For adults I would suggest the Laser Pico.

[Jammer Six]

El Toros.

Forty-five years later, I'm still sailing.

How else would you measure success?

[Talbot]

I am surprised that one of the questions that no one has asked is

Where will the school be located - lake, river, estuary, open sea?

The answer to this will affect the design requirements.