The information here is intended to help you choose which boat to sail

There are many yacht classes sailed from the Club, but most are small dinghies. The most popular classes are listed below: Optimist, P Class, Starling, Sunburst, Zephyr, Laser and Paper Tiger.

Some other classes sailed from the Club include Phase II, Europe dinghy, Firebugs, Hobie Cats and a special training boat built by Tony Beasley, the Piccolo.

Optimist

The Optimist is a small, single-person sailing dinghy for children up to the age of 15. New boats are usually made of fibre reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built.

It is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 140,000 boats officially registered with the class and many more built but never registered.

The Optimist is also recognized as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation.

In addition to the 24 Opti's registered with the Club, we own six Learn to Sail Optis.

P Class

The P Class is a famous New Zealand class which has been the breeding ground for many of our top class sailors like Russell Coutts. It is not an easy boat to sail and is extremely competitive, which has enhanced the sailing skills of those who master it. Over recent years the numbers have fallen as the Optimist gains favour, but it remains a popular junior dinghy with a proud club history.

Sunburst

The Sunburst is a very popular and safe two-person dinghy. There are 26 registered at the Club.

Performance

The boat is 3.5 m long, carries main, jib and spinnaker, and while stable can reach a good speed “on the plane”. At Mt Pleasant, we commonly find that Sunbursts are, under many conditions, racing alongside Zephyrs and Lasers, and they are entertaining and in a 15 knot Easterly breeze exciting to sail. Perhaps more than any other boat, the Sunburst is suited not just for club racing, but for “messing around in boats” on family holidays – many a Sunburst has spent its Christmas holidays at Abel Tasman or some other spot, being used for exploring, picnicking, and even overnight camping.

Crew

The Sunburst is an ideal boat for parent-child, husband-wife, “two old mates”, or just about any other combination of skipper and crew.

Zephyr

The Zephyr is a small one-person dinghy, with strong competition nationally and on the Estuary.

There are twelve Zephyrs registered with the Club.

Laser

There are 90 plus Lasers in Christchurch of which about 30 are regularly sailed. There are 25 Lasers registered with the Club.

Lasers are an Olympic class and with a flat, rounded hull and large sail area, have been seen as a bit of a handful for lighter sailors. In recent years, the introduction of smaller sail configurations - the Radial and 4.7 - have provided for women's racing and lighter weight sailing. We now use Lasers at the Club for adult learning, as they have simple controls, and we can fit even smaller sails if required.

The price ranges from about $1000 for a old boat up to about $10,500 for a brand new one.

Paper Tiger - John Armon

Paper Tiger

The Paper Tiger is a 14 foot (4.3 metre) catamaran, normally sailed by one person. It is fast and easy to sail, and is widely sailed in New Zealand and Australia. There are eight Paper Tigers registered with the Club and several more at other Canterbury clubs.

Paper Tigers can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $15-$20,000 new, but a competitive club boat will typically cost $2,000-$5,000. You can buy a cheap one and gradually bring it up to competitive grade, provided the hulls are sound.

A road trailer is recommended.