1955 Lighting on Ebay

[Wayne Jeffers]

In New York. Appears to be in good condition, though he doesn't give a lot of detail.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=63729&item=4551927534&rd=1

Wayne

[Wild Wassa]

She looks a bit tired for a $2800 wooden dingy.

I'd certainly like her for about 7-800 dollars. She will cost a few thou to bring her back to life ... just to run her in the bottom half of a field. I couldn't find a Lightning or a Falcon in Oz when I wanted a larger wooden dinghy, so I settled on a Seafly.

Now two years later, the Lightning is gaining in popularity in Oz there is even a Lightning section (I think) on the SAusYF site.

Warren.

[ 06-09-2005, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Gary E]

My my.. #7312 a fairly new one...
when I was a Sea Scout we had #352...and last I heard it's still sailing.

[Wild Wassa]

As the performance dinghy sailors get older, in their 50's, there is a trend here in Canberra for the larger dinghies to be restored ... I'm noticing. Which is wonderful.

It is that extra little bit of leg room without the loss of performance and without having to remain an acrobat to compete, that makes all the difference as one gets older, sailing in the larger dinghies, I'm finding. That you will find sailing a Lightning or a Seafly.

Warren.

[ 05-24-2005, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Wayne Jeffers]

Warren,

I expect there's no way he will get $2400 for her.

It appears the current owner has used her exclusively for daysailing the last three decades and, if she is in good shape, she could still make a fine daysailer.

For racing, I agree that one could spend several thousand in up-to-date spars and rigging, new sails, etc., and she would probably still not be particularly competitive. (There are a few classes where wooden boats are still very competitive - Thistles come to mind - but I don't think Lightings are among them.)

But, for maybe $700 or $800 someone could have a nice daysailer. One with a fine pedigree, even if she is a little tired. ;)

I hope she finds a good home.

Wayne

[bamamick]

I learned how to race on a Lightning. Crewed for a friend of mine for three years while finishing high school and starting college. A wonderful class of boat. Our first boat was a wooden Lippincott. And we were competitive with the 'glass boats, but the maintenance to keep the boat in good trim while at the same time racing the heck out of it was too much for us to deal with. Same thing happened to me with my first (wooden) Star. I was really fast in light air, but I couldn't keep the boat looking decent for any length of time.

An age old problem. Are wooden one-designs competitive with 'glass? In our local Luders 16 fleet there was one woody and six or seven 'glass boats. The woody dominated. In many of the dinghy classes wood was good until carbon fiber began becoming legal. I'll let you know how my wooden Dragon stacks up in a few weeks, but my boat is planked and will probably be heavy when weighed. Cold-molded Dragons are all the rage now, even at $80K!

This old Lightning could be brought up to make a fine fleet racer, and if sailed by a skilled person, could probably do o.k. in a major regatta. It's be a lot stiffer than one of the old oil-canners (early 'glass boats). given the right owner this Lightning would be a good candidate for restoration to racing trim, imo.

Mickey Lake

[Wild Wassa]

Mickey, I read an article just recently by a champion exponent of the Finn Class, he wrote that he was going to change his sails but didn't and only changed his foils instead. He wrote that having perfect foils gave him a greater advantage than replacing the sails. I'm sure his sails were fairly good. I notice this as well, with the under water power house ... the foils.

Sometimes I have faired a hull or foils in the one hour gap between races with car bog ... the problems of fairing a wet boat are worried about later. One of the reasons for racing a boat, doesn't allow for the preserving of the boat, if improvements can be made on the day and one doesn't mind the extra work that will be created later, with the guys I race with. This between races fairing doesn't happen often but it does happen often.

Sailing old dinghies mostly, as I do, I notice that the wooden dinghies (when class racing) if the boat has a well faired hull and foils, and with the sails similar in age and quality, the wooden hulls will beat the older fibre glass hulled boats (which are heavier), by only just.

Neither the wood or older fibre glass hulls can hold a candle to the newer fibre glass hulls. The new composite hulls will nearly lap the older wooden hulls over a medium length triangulated course of three laps and beat the newer fibre glass boats by up to one leg. Most of the races that I've had this year have been class races. Class racing is an eye opener for comparing boat speeds vrs the hull material vrs the quality of the skin vrs the age of the boat and sails.

When handicap racing, again if all boats are faired and ragged up equally and the sailor's abilities similar, with all allowances granted (like an age allowance for boats over 40 years for example), wooden boats can win. I like handicap racing.

Any boat that isn't faired well is wasting the Skipper and Crew's time competing (if doing well is important), the drag is too great. Even the tram lines seen in a painter's brush stroke (of only 50-125 microns depth) will spoil any chance of achieving the boats maximum hull speed.

I haven't been in a wooden boat in a race this year, at all. We had a good year.

Warren.

[ 05-29-2005, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Gary E]

Someone saw good value, they ended the auction with the "Buy it Now" and paid the asking price of $2400.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Bid is too much, IMO, based on nothing more than the description in the listing.

The winning bidder is "unregistered" with zero history on Ebay. I wonder if the has a Nigerian address?

We may see this Lightning listed again soon.

Wayne

[Paul Scheuer]

That rigging is going to need a little work. More than a few fishhooks. A little varnish on the mast wouldn't hurt.
http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/22/54/9b_3.JPG

[ 05-30-2005, 10:55 AM: Message edited by: Paul Scheuer ]

[Wayne Jeffers]

I just checked the Lightning class web site classifieds. http://www.lightningclass.org/Classifieds/boats_class.asp

This boat has been listed there, asking price $2250, for four months.

Wayne

[bamamick]

To be honest with you, I am amazed that anyone bid anything more than a few hundred dollars. I have seen so many wood and old 'glass one-designs that you could get if you just asked nicely.

If the buyer is legit then good for them and the boat. Probably means that the boat is in for some work and that the buyer has the wherewithal to get it done. I hope so. Those old Lightnings were well built, and with love and care can last a long, long time. As I said above, probably could make a fine fleet racer out of her if you wanted to. It's all a matter of writing a few checks.

Mickey Lake

[Wayne Jeffers]

This is being Re-Listed due to a non-paying bidder. Why does this not surprise me????? :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=63729&item=4553820488&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Wayne