Butterfly sailboat for a begginer?

[SteveO]

I found an older Butterfly sailboat near me for a good price. The fiberglass hull is faded but not damaged. The sails and accesories seem to be in good shape. I've never sailed before but wanting to learn to sail on a local lake and hoping this might be a good choice. It would be nice if it would be stable enough at the coast to sail in calm weather as well. I'm 6'2" and 240lbs. I'd be mainly sailing by myself. Would this boat be a good choice and what should I look at before purchasing? Any advice will be great appreciated!!
Thanks,
SteveO

 

[Old Salt Oz]

Re: Butterfly sailboat for a begginer?

Drop into your local boat club, perhaps for a nice cool drink, it will take no time to get advice on what type and size boats are popular and suite local conditions.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[cgBosun3]

Re: Butterfly sailboat for a begginer?

The Butterfly that I remember was a flat scow hull that was pretty stable to a point, then it was swim time!! It has a cat rig with a single main sail, so it is pretty simple. Your size is a bit big for her to plane unless its blowing fairly decent. it should be forgiving and still responsive to changes in trim and weight placement. Have fun with it!

 

[Incorrigible]

Re: Butterfly sailboat for a begginer?

Contact Windward Boatworks. They manufacture them and are pretty good people to work with...

 

[sloopy]

Re: Butterfly sailboat for a begginer?

The sailing club I run has two butterflies, they are great little boats and in my opinion "more sailboat like" then sunfish. However they are also a pain in the butt to move around.

What I like about the Butterfly (which makes it a pain) is that it has a stayed mast and a "modern"main sail system. However this means you will have to either install drain plugs or de-mast and tip over if you don't want water to puddle in the cockpit.

This would be a great boat to learn on.