Comments from Topaz Uno/Plus/Race/Race Plus (One Hull) owner Zoe Hawkins (ex Crew.org editor) in NZ.
- This is still my favorite out of all the dinghies I've ever sailed - very stable compared with a Laser but has lots of get up and go to it. Next year I'm going to chuck a gennaker on it and see what happens.
- The boat planes really easily
- I’ve got an Uno and absolutely love it. It’s a lovely little boat, very forgiving but can put on the speed too.
- I thought I was too chicken to really enjoy dinghy sailing but the Uno has built up my confidence big time and I’m really comfortable now taking it out even on heavier days.
- Carrying the big main downwind or reaching in heavier conditions would be a bit of fun but I find the boat handles that stuff really well, the bow seems to have enough buoyancy in it and the boat has enough speed that you can put it wherever you want on the wave, even in quite big waves it’s pretty stable once it’s up on the plane, and easy to keep there. No scary death rolls like in a Europe or Laser!
- Thanks to this boat, I’ve gone from being terrified of sailing in white caps to thinking the more wind the better (up to a certain point!)
- Racing with French Bay Yacht Club in the Manukau Harbour on Sunday afternoon, the Topaz Uno Race equipped with its new fully battened, roachy mainsail, and sailed one-up, demonstrated that it can indeed be as fast, and possibly even a little bit faster, than a standard rigged Laser.
Despite being handicapped by its skipper's inability to finesse a roll tack, and her competitor's ability to execute them perfectly, when sailing boat on boat, the boat had superior height and speed against the two Lasers in the fleet.
- Pleased that the boat handled just as well single handed with the new mainsail as it does two-handed.
- But I'm well happy with the boat I've got now and all the benefits of the Topper Topaz boats - virtual indestructability, great sailing systems, high quality hardware and good looks, still stand, as they do throughout the Topper Topaz range.
To be honest, it leaves me wondering why I'd even think about a fibreglass or ply boat and in comparison with my old Europe class boat, which was a lovely boat but a hassle to rig, a hassle to launch, and a big hassle to sail at times, the Uno is on another level all together.
Another thing I've discovered is the simple joy of sailing but not racing: just reaching up and down the inlet, chasing the puffs or sprawling across the hull with my feet in the water. What's it called? Cruising. I guess that's going to be a whole new chapter in my sailing career.
Topaz Race Plus Owner:
Took if for its first sail today, bit more breeze than when you gave me the demo. Terrific.
OMEGA
XENON
MAGNO
VIBE
UNO
TAZ
16C/CX
TOPAZ 14
Email from a Lady Uno Race X owner:
My sister grew up sailing like me in P class and starlings so we had some fun together. I took my 17yr old daughter and her friend out together one day (3 up)and we all had fun and it wasn't too crowded.
Topaz Uno Race X owner & son
Amazing sail, incredible speed, talk about fast! and we didn't even have the gennaker up!
Segment of an email from a prospective client;
I’m a relatively inexperienced sailor myself but until I get a boat that won’t change. The Topaz system seems ideal as a boat that’ll grow with us.
My children are 10 and 8 yrs and about 55-60kg together. The children have only sailed an Opti. I was hoping we’d be able to sail 1 adult/1 child or 2 children together.
Email from the same client after a demo of the Uno:
I was impressed by the forgiving nature and sail ability of the Uno. As we discussed, I'm keen and I'd like to go ahead and buy one from you.
Topaz Race Plus owner:
Since owning the Uno Race Plus my other sailing dinghy has become somewhat redundant as the Uno is far more fun to sail, plus being much faster to rig I have now found myself sailing a lot more. The old dinghy is now surplus to requirements and will be going on the secondhand market soon.
Top NZ dinghy sailor Andrew "Lightning" Philips, on the Uno:
A great boat for learning to sail in with the option to upgrade. Having a battenless mainsail and minimalist rigging allows for quick ‘plug ‘n’ play’ sailing with the ability to upgrade the rig whilst keeping the same hull.
"A great versatile first boat for all ages and sizes."
Email from new Race X (with race & standard main sail) Owner/Club member in Gisborne to a fellow sailor, cc’d to me:
My new "Uno" arrived on top of Hugh's surf on Saturday avo and immediately my nephew Corey (my 11 year old number "1" crewman), his mum and even granddad were very excited to see such a fantastic innovative wee rocket machine and we are all looking forward to trying it out on the water soon!
I'm looking forward to introducing my new Uno to the local yacht club guys and girls (probably a few shocked looks or resentment on the faces of the old hard core diehard clubbies) but hopefully the excitement and potential of the Topaz will appeal to a few of the other more adventurous members who are looking for an upgrade boat for their whole family.
The idea is to spark interest and get a few more members interested in investing in the future of "FUN SAILING " and hopefully start to revitalize sailing locally as our sailing scene in Gisborne has been rather stagnated/boring the last ten years or so!!
(ABOVE) Photo of new Topaz Uno Race X with standard mainsail, (Race sail on the floor), displayed at the Gisborne Yacht Clubs AGM.
Email from new Uno owner, who has just taken up sailing:
Had a great time and its true rigging is very easy!
Found the boat very forgiving, it was surprising how much I improved even in one session, looking forward to getting out again this weekend. Will keep in touch anyway, thanks for your help getting started.
Topaz Uno Plus owner:
Just a quick note to say the Uno has been great and I have been busy recommending it to anyone who can bear to listen to me raving about it!
Quote from ex Greek Island Sunsail instructor, now living in New Zealand:
“The Uno is a truly fantastic boat and loved by all that sail them. It is so fast to rig and de-rig, after a day of our clients sailing the Uno fleet, myself and another instructor would furl the main/jib around the two piece mast, store it, the hull and fittings on racks in 45 seconds and the same time to rig up, now that is fast.
The Uno would be a great Sailing Club boat for all ages, with the advantages of low maintenance, strength of fittings, longevity of hull, up-grade potential, high fun factor and because of the fast rigging the ability to attract members to the Club during the week for an evening sail after work.”
Peter Heads testimonial from Elements Watersports, Tauranga:
Since first using the Topaz in 1996 ive used and seen them at many centres around the world, they are incredibly tough, versatile and most importantly fun for beginners and experienced sailors.
The addition sail combinations over the years has just added to their appeal. They were the only serious choice for a training boat when I set up Elements Watersports 5 years ago. The boats get heavy use day to day and are still going strong.
The Bay Of Plenty Sailing Academy has also chosen the Topaz as its youth sail training boat, the ability to use 1 boat for taster sessions, schools tuition that leads into introductory schools teams racing competitions is excellent.
The great part is the maintenance, simply wash them down and store for next time! Sure there is a few lost shackles and bits of bungee but nothing compared to a wooden or glass boat that would be in constant repair if subjected to the thrills and spills the Topaz go through.
Im looking forward to helping seeing the Topaz grow through New Zealand so that youth sailing can develop as strongly as it has been in Tauranga.
Topaz Uno:
As with the TAZ we tested 2 weeks earlier, this boat is simple to rig, utilizing similar mast clamp technology to make stepping the mast and sail easy for everyone. No more balancing acts like with the Laser rig, especially for people of smaller stature.
The gooseneck clamp allows the boom to pivot 360 degrees once the mainsheet is unclipped. This also means you are not trying to undo someone’s fancy mainsheet knot with the boom stuck in the mud.
There is a lot of clearance between the boom and the deck providing plenty of headroom for those taller and larger sailors.
Once we were rigged and ready to launch, the rudder was set up on the rudder stock to clear the ground, and it stays there, unlike dinghies that use a friction device to hold the rudder in position, this rudder has defined notches in the tiller arm to hold it up.
The tiller handle is held in the down position with the assistance of a small bungee loop. This is important as there is often a tendency to lift the tiller when out on the water and it provides enough resistance to stop the rudder kicking up accidentally.
There is still sufficient freedom for the rudder to kick out of the way in the event of striking an under water obstacle; like the ramp! There is a high boom clearance; the boom will swing right over the top of the centerboard when it is in the fully up position.
This is a great feature for both pre-launching as well as on the water, gybing at the wing and bottom marks. You can leave the beach with the wind changing directions and not get the boom caught up on the centerboard causing that embarrassing inshore capsize.
Topaz Uno Plus:
I swapped over to the Uno Plus for the second race to try this boat out in a single handed race. I have sailed a Sunburst for a number of years and finding crew has always been a challenge. My Sunburst requires that extra pair of hands for setting the jib while tacking. I was very impressed with the ease of tacking and adjusting the jib on the Uno Plus. The boat handles very well and was nicely balanced with the small jib.
In Summary” I would recommend the Uno Plus for any dinghy training organization catering to the larger student and adult sailors, particularly running the YNZ NCEA courses. This is a very flexible, adaptable and forgiving sailing platform with lots of upgrade options and should last many years, given the quality of the materials used and accessories."
Topaz Uno Race X:
I really enjoyed sailing the Uno Race X version in our club’s annual Cup Day racing. The Race X’s large and fully battened mainsail generated lots of power and would reliably re-shape while tacking, without the need to ‘shake’ the battens out. I found the gennaker system very simple to use in the lighter winds and single-handed.
I was a bit nervous about unleashing all that extra power when I first tried it, but the sail was very manageable and provided a thrilling ride in the couple of gusts that swept through. The gennaker performed brilliantly and was very easy to gybe in the lighter airs.
My only comment on the Race X was that I want one! I found it easy and exciting to sail single handed compared to similar boats. The sail controls were in good accessible positions.
Personally, I really enjoyed the opportunity to try out the Race X and the Uno Plus in our racing event and would throw away my Sunburst in favour of it. My wife would leave me, so it won’t happen until I win Lotto!
