asudy
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by asudy on Aug 22, 2011 10:07:16 GMT
Dear All, An E-boat has just popped up here in Hungary on a classifieds page. I have been looking to buy a boat for Lake Balaton for the last half year and I was intrigued by the ad. I was hoping to get some feedback from e-boat owners on their experiences with this class. I would like to use it for day sailing around the lake (75km in length) with a family of 6. Specifically I would like to know more about the handling, stability and maintenance of one of these. Here is a link to the album of the boat in question: picasaweb.google.com/102476883211883925782/EBoatThank you for the answers. Regards, Andras
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Post by martin on Aug 22, 2011 17:15:32 GMT
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asudy
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by asudy on Aug 23, 2011 13:56:43 GMT
Thanks Martin.
I saw their website but I found no forum to address the group as a whole. That is why I tried to find sailors here who have had experiences with the class previously.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
Regards,
Andras
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george
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by george on Aug 23, 2011 17:00:16 GMT
Andras,
I'm afraid the E-boat class association and the Yahoo user group have been a dead loss for me, but there are a few active mini tonner types with Eboats, including me.
Roughian is an IRC maxed GRP version, though sadly the guy who maxed her didn't tell me all I should have known when I bought her so she is not quite as quick as her current rating, but then I should have measured the sails more closely so I've only myself to blame. If her rating was to be redone tomorrow we could get it down by a few points and she'd be a potent weapon. We had an issue in the recent Mini Ton Cup so couldn't compete, but we've had success in club handicap and IRC stuff and if we were not ready to move onto a more serios Mini Tonner, we'd be really looking forward to next year.
The good things are pace, space and value for money. These are quick boats for their size with a huge sail area. A standard e-boat has more canvas than say a Hunter Sonata and much less displacement, meaning they can be rapid.
You can pick up E-boats cheaply (I'll sell you Roughian with all her bespoke sails and a roller coaster trailer) for £3500. The real boon with this design over Sonatas or one off Mini Tonners though is the lifting keel which means you can go for a shallow mooring and save a fotune. Plus in the winter, you can just take her home and save even more money, both on hard standing costs and on travel to and from the boatyard.
The downsides, well they're tippy. If you have too much canvas up she'll bite your legs off as soon as look at you. We always sail aggressively and the slightest error or lapse in concentration puts us in broach country. On the other hand, she's so solidly built, she tends to get away with it (touch wood). Another downside is that the accomodation is a bit dark, with no light in the cabin and the keel box taking up a lot of room. I dare say a Limbo or a Sonata is a nicer place to have a cup of coffee, but then their forepeaks are not so large, so its give and take.
I know a guy who cruised an E-boat from Penzance to Le Trinite and back woith four adult men. I can't see any other obvious signs of insanity in him and the owner of that one sailed it accross the Atlantic, which says something for the design.
Enjoy.
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asudy
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by asudy on Aug 25, 2011 6:10:36 GMT
Thanks George,
That was a pretty exhaustive answer. Just what I needed. The E-boat sounds extremely fun to sail. We don't get a lot of strong winds here, most of my sailing is done in 5-10 and sometimes 15kts but very rarely above.
This info will help me in deciding between this and a couple of smaller boats.
Again thank you for your help, Martin and George.
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Post by markbyrne on Aug 28, 2011 17:03:34 GMT
Hi all
I got a e boat at the end of last year and have had a lot of fun sailing and raceing it but need some newer sail's if you have some or no of some going can you let me
thanks
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