I was hoping Andrew would pitch in here. I thank Andrew for the help
when I built mine.

David

Andrew Butchart wrote:
"imagineero" wrote in message
ps.com...

snip Hi David,
How do you find your minicup handles compared with other small dinghys,
especially to windward? Im a bit on the large side myself at 6'3" and
230lbs, so im wondering if this boat is quite big enough for me. It
looks to have plenty of flotation.

Shaun:

I'm a bit shorter, but around the same weight as you. I had my MinCup for
several years and had a lot of fun with it. I sold it a couple of years ago
though as it wasn't quite the right boat for me.

The boat is incredibly stable for it's design. In light airs I would
sometimes sail it while standing up. I quite liked the lateen sail for it's
simplicity and not having standing rigging (shrouds etc), made things easier
too. You don't see many lateen sails any more other than on a Sunfish, but
they were the favoured sails of Mediterranean pirates. They're still
commonly used on dhows as well.

While sailing it with other boats I have found that it doesn't point quite
so high as a laser for example, but it's not that far off. I was never as
fast as other "commercially produced" boats though.

To review the "cons" quickly though:
- You probably won't be able to build it for less than you could pick up a
used sailing dinghy such as a laser.
- My thighs would ache when sailing in light winds due to needing to crouch
in the centre of the cockpit.
- As a "full sized person", there's not a lot of room to bring a second
person. It was quite a tight fit for my son and I
- Even though it's pretty quick, you won't be winning races against a
production boat.
- With it's weight (135lbs), it's on the high end for a single person to
transport on a car-top.

The "pros" though:
- You can put the money into it as you can afford to so that might make it
more achievable for people on a tight budget.
- It's a great boat to learn to sail on, very stable and simple.
- The great fun in building any boat.

I sold the boat to make room for my new projects and because I built another
boat that didn't require quite the same amount of athleticism to sail.

If you're interested, you may want to check out the MiniCup FAQ at
http://byyb.org/pn761/index.php?name=FAQ&id_cat=5

I've got some pictures and what not at my own web site at
http://www.floatingbear.ca/MiniCup.htm One of my favourite pictures is
being out in about 20knots of wind with my son -
http://www.floatingbear.ca/sailingfi...ough_water.jpg

I hope this helps with your decision. Feel free to drop me a note, or stop
by the BYYB board

Andrew Butchart