Bahia Beats The Bumps And Bruises
HERE IS a formula; a boat which provides excellent value for money on initial purchase price, which sails well and which resists bumps and bruises, needing minimal maintenance. That formula is the Holy Grail which dinghy manufacturers have been seeking for a few years now and the development of rotamoulded boats has given these builders a chance to achieve this seemingly impossible dream, writes Alan Henderson. Builders have developed their abilities to construct bigger and bigger rotamoulded boats, with greater carrying capacity, meaning that boats which can take up to five passengers become increasingly attractive as training boats, while also suiting cruising customers. For LaserPerformance, their first rotamould dinghy was the little Pico, followed by the Vago, a small but sporty boat which could be sailed by either one or two people. But their third model of this construction is the much larger Bahia, which is a boat big enough to take a good size family on cruises, or a team of learners on a sailing course. At 4.6m long (over 15ft in old money) and with a generous beam of 1.8m, the Bahia has plenty of space aboard, and can take up to five people. It has various features to maximise the use of this space. On the trolley, rigging up, it looks like a big boat too, certainly more like a daysailer or say a Wayfarer than the average racing dinghy. The boom is high, and the crew climbs in to lift the head of the main into the mast jaws to start hoisting. The main is hoisted all the way before attaching to the boom, connecting the outhaul and reefing line once the main is fully up. If you need to lower or raise the mast, this is made easier via a pivoting mast step. The main is made of Dacron, in a distinctive grey. It certainly looks durable, though racey owners can specify the race version mainsail if they wish, which is 10.5, rather than 10sq.m. The jib which is set on a rota furler is conventional white Dacron. The asymmetric spinnaker is a generous 14sq.m, a fraction more than the white sail area of 13.75sq.m, so the spinnaker should really add to the performance of the boat downwind. Launching the boat is simple, and a trolley with jockey wheel is certainly worthwhile. The double bottomed Bahia has no self bailers to check while launching, instead it relies on transom flaps to drain the boat. The jib furler holds that sail nicely till you are ready to shake it out. The immediate impression once under way is of good space on board particularly in the crew area. The Bahia has a GNAV which really contributes to the big useable space in this area, and is a good benefit compared with older classes which invariably have conventional kickers. But the other feature which makes that crew area so airy is the high boom, much higher than most other classes. That will give confidence to families with younger children, that there is little danger of any crew members being struck by the boom. Similarly the helm area is generous, and you certainly notice the height of the boom, which gives good visibility and easy tacking, though it adds a little height to the rig. The mainsheet is rigged from the top of the tall tubular main sheet hoop, which allows the helm to sheet in close upwind for good pointing. This is much better than a floor mounted main sheet, or one mounted on a centreboard case. The mainsheet hoop is also reassuring for learners as something solid to grab if feeling at all unbalanced, and is good to climb on in event of a capsize. Further forward, the mast is deck mounted, on a big alloy bar across the boat. There is a big spinnaker chute which ends just to the rear of the mast. It keeps the whole kite tidy and fully enclosed when down, so the kite does not stray aft onto the floor as it might in some other classes. Another good tidy feature is the abundance of pockets for halliard tail ends, with three of these available just forward of the mast. The jib halliard even boasts two rope tails with the wire halliard loop going onto a multi purchase. Moving aft, the jib cleats aim a little far forward, so it will be the forward hand among the crew who is likely to take the jib, while the next can take the spinnaker sheet. The side decks for both crew and helm are comfortable, with good non slip moulding. Just inside of them are the side benches, and movement in and out is smooth. Helping movement across the boat are toe holds in the side benches in the crew area. These are intended as kick out points when trapezing, but are also handy for moving across the boat during a tack. A trapeze is available as one of many possible extras, and is certainly a useful extra facility on the boat when used in training centres, so that pupils can learn more advanced techniques. COMPLETE The Bahia comes complete with main, jib and spinnaker, so is capable of a good turn of speed both under white sails and with spinnaker. It generally feels lively on the water, and like the Vago it has the benefit of being designed by Jo Richards, with a pedigree in faster boats. With a hull weight of 155kg, it is firmly among other large training boats for weight, but on the water it feels lighter than this. Conditions for the test sail at the SailLaser Scotland site in Strathclyde Park were predominantly light, but with the wind across the loch there were frequent gusts to enjoy. The Bahia felt at its quickest on a two sail close reach, and it lifted comfortably onto the plane in gusts of only about 12 knots. The Bahia also has good freeboard, which contributes to its roomy, reassuring feel. Test sailing on flat water inland, the curved gunwhales did their job in stopping spray, and not a drop of water came in. Upwind it tracked well with a balanced helm. Four purchases on the mainsheet gave plenty of purchase, and playing the main was easy. The jammer comes equipped with a switchable ratchet to ease playing the sheet in breezier conditions. Loads were also light on the jib sheet, which was easy to handhold most of the time in the puffy conditions. The kicker was led aft onto both sides of the seat area just in front of the main hoop, so is within easy reach for the helm, and the GNAV provides plenty of purchase so requires little effort to adjust. The seat area in front of the main hoop provides a single seat rather than a thwart, but it gives an ideal central, yet well aft position, for the crew downwind. Launching and dropping the kite is solely the province of the crew on the Bahia, which should be no problem as there will often be three crew in the front area. Some racing boats have a set up which allows either helm or crew to hoist, but on the Bahia there is no need for the helm to multi task in this way! Spinnaker halliard and downhaul are both on the floor on the starboard side, and the kite on this nearly new boat went up and down easily. And it certainly powered the boat up on a broad reach. With kite up the Bahia will give plenty of thrills to learners trying out the trapeze, especially on beam reaches. The Bahia comes complete with reefing lines on the mainsail, so it is easy to reduce sail area. With a tall rig and substantial kite, it would be easy to overdo the power and heeling moment, so I would expect training centres will often use these reefing lines when sailing with beginners, while their more advanced pupils will enjoy a good blast under full sail. The boat was not capsize tested, but a second facility for safer sailing is the mast float, a buoyancy bag which is hoisted up the mast and it helps to keep the boat on its side when capsized, and prevents it inverting. The mast float has become a common extra in recent years for training boats, and it is a good extra to have to use when conditions merit it. As a more elegant alternative to a hoisted inflatable bag, Laser can supply a purpose designed aerodynamic mast float for the Bahia, and this would suit cruising owners well. The Bahia is designed for family cruising and for training, and it is certainly becoming a common boat at training centres where its roominess allows the boat to easily accommodate the recommended pupil/instructor ratio of three to one. Indeed it can take up to five in total. I would expect it to quite often be tied to a pontoon, yacht style, and it has a handy pull out painter in the bow to allow easy tying up alongside. The Bahia was launched in 2006, built in Britain and it is marketed worldwide by LaserPerformance. So far, an impressive 850 Bahias have been sold, with large numbers going to training centres. For cruising owners, the Bahia has a wide range of useful extras available, such as a rear storage box, collapsible oars, and an outboard bracket. Within the Laser range, the Bahia is positioned between two GRP stablemates, the Laser 2000, which is usually sailed by 2-3 people, and is a popular racing as well as training boat, and the Stratos Keel, which can take up to six people. At Dinghy Show prices, the Laser 2000 comes in at £7,795 inc combi and top cover, while the Stratos Keel is on special at £10,490 inc combi and cover. However the Bahia’s Dinghy Show price is just £6,295 including combi, cover and rear storage box. This illustrates the value for money given by the rotamoulded Bahia, whose combination of space, sailing qualities and good value can be expected to ensure it stays a popular training and multipurpose boat.