Why choose a Streaker
A view from Pete Tyerman 1586
The
Streaker was designed by Jack Holt in 1975.
His
rationale was to design a 'light weight Solo' as he was finding it difficult
to haul his Solo up the slipway as he got older.
He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams producing similar performance at lower cost while at the same time allowing a much wide range of helms to succeed as well as making the boat easier to handle ashore.
Streaker
Statistics
Overall Length: 3.88m (12'9")
Beam: 1.37m (4'6")
Draft: 0.22m (9")
Minimum Hull Weight: 48kg (106lbs)
Maximum Sail Area: 6.5m2 (70ft2)
Crew Weight: 60-83kg (9st-14st)
PY: 1162
The Streaker design has proved to be a well balanced design with few vices and is capable of being sailed competitively by helms of many different shapes and sizes. The current National Champion is 62Kg (9st 10lb) but in the top ten were weights up to 84kg (13st 3 lbs)
The Streaker class is now run by the Streaker Class Owners Association and over last few years the class have updated the rules without compromising the original design.
Changes include FRP and composite construction,
Double bottom leading to virtually dry capsize, centre main if desired, flexible
choice of fittings and most recently a small sail for use by those needing
less power.
Professionally build or build your own from plans available from the class
association at very reasonable price.
The Streaker shows exemplary good manners with a stayed single sail plan. It is an easy boat to handle even for inexperienced helms whilst offering exciting sailing to the more experienced. It is a very responsive boat that planes easily and points high for a single sail design.
Comparison
|
|
Streaker |
Laser |
Supernova |
Solo |
Lightning |
| Weight |
48Kg |
59Kg |
62.5Kg |
70kg |
54.4kg |
| Length |
12' 9” |
13' 4” |
14.1 |
12' 5” |
12' |
| Sail Area |
70sq ft |
76sq ft |
86 sq ft |
90 sq ft |
75.9 sq ft |
| 6.5m2 | 7.06m2 | 8m2 | 8.35m2 | 7.05m2 | |
| Crew Weight |
63-83kg |
78-85kg |
|
65-100kg |
|
| RYA PN |
1162 |
1080 |
1063 |
1155 |
1148 |
| Champ entry No |
46 |
46 |
37 |
76 |
25 |
| Cost |
£4,500.00 |
£5,000.00 |
£4,995.00 |
£6,500.00 |
£4,450.00 |
| Association fee |
£12.00 |
£27.00 |
£15.00 |
£21.00 |
£15.00 |
| Number of boats |
1800 |
100000 |
300 |
5000 |
340 |
Which should I Choose?
If you are 12 stone or less consider Streaker or Lightning;
If you are over 14 stone a Laser, Supernova or Solo could also be considered;
If you don't like pulling a heavy boat out of the water the Streaker wins every time;
If you want to sail a boat round the course rather than fight a boat round the course the Streaker is the only choice.
The Supernova and the Solo use a bigger sail to push
a heavier boat giving over powering problems in force 5 or above conditions.
The lighter Streaker gives similar performance to the Solo and is only slightly
slower than the Supernova but can be much easier to handle in stronger winds.
The Laser's
unstayed rig gives good speed for sail area but proves physically much harder
to sail particularly upwind. The radial rig overcomes the physical problems
but at the expense of uninspiring performance.
