Dart 15 Forums

Kristian Davies wrote:

I'm considering selling my Merlin rocket and buying a Dart 15. I'm doing my research first. I know what a Sprint is but what is a Sting? Are one piece masts any good? Anyone want to buy my Merlin ?600ono?

Bob replied:

Hi Kristian. A Sting is a catamaran that was built from a Dart 15 but it has the following differences.
The mast is about 0.6 metres taller and is much heavier section (based on Dart 18 section). The Mainsail is a radial cut and a full panel bigger (I would guess 1sq metre bigger) than the Dart 15. It is quite good to sail with a trapeze - especially for the heavyweights (13 stone). It never really took off in big numbers. They might have sold about 50 in total and most went on the continent. A big issue is that they are very hard to right from a capsize single handed due to the heavy mast and rig. I know sailors that sold them for this reason - as sailing them single handed without rescue can be dangerous. There are so few around that you would just end up racing in handicap racing and not knowing how well you are sailing. You are much better getting a Dart 15 and sailing in one class racing. The resale value of a Dart 15 is also much better.
Cheers, Bob Carter

Laurent Lentz replied:

I've been sailing my dad's Dart Sting for about 15 years now. It is true that the mast feels somewhat heavy, but this is mostly a burden when rigging the boat. I've never had any trouble when trying to right the boat from a capsize. Anyway, when you get the hang of it, you don't capsize that much, now do you?! But if you look at the numbers then you're really in for a surprise.

Dart 15 Sting
Area Main 10,20 11,34
Area Jib 2,00 2,46
Vertical Luff Main 6,30 7,17
Vertical Luff Jib 3,11 3,68
Weight Boat 123 126
Texel Rating 127 120

With all the extra sail it is only a 3kg difference. Which leaves very little room for the mast to be really that much heavier to make an important difference. And it shows in the Texel Rating (your handicap) which is LOWER!!!!!