bamamick
08-05-2008, 08:49 PM
At one time and for a long time the Vanguard Finn was the pinnacle of the single-handed dinghy world. There are still hundreds of the original Vanguards around and competing all over the world. I had an '83 Vanguard until last May and as far as the physical condition of the boat goes, it was in first class condition.
Now Andy Pimental of Rhode Island has added a Vanguard model to his Finn line. Andy began building Finns about a year and a half ago when Larry Lemieux moved his hull moulds from the Pata factory in Hungary to the States. I have seen several of the new Jibetech boats and the finish is primo, plus the guys who have them around here are doing well with them, an important point in a racing boat :).
Probably the most important point about all of this is that they are boats built here in the US and sold in dollars. I am not sure how Andy is doing it, but you can get a new Jibetech/Lemieux for right at $10K US, which includes the hull (with all fittings and lines), rudder, and board. This is a lower price in dollars than the European builders charge you in EUROS! This new Jibetech/Vanguard is being offered at $9K US, which includes the top and bottom covers! Quite frankly that price is pretty incredible.
So what's the catch, and why the price break? Well, I am not really sure. I am not privy to the upper levels of Finn thought in North America, but I do know that this Vanguard hull has been an ongoing project for quite some time. My guess is this: Gus Miller has been working with Andy on this for awhile, and my gut feeling is that it is intended simply as a way for someone to get into the class at an affordable price with a nice clean hull, a hull that you won't have to repair or rebuild to get out on the water. The hull shape is not the same as the Wilke or Devoti Finns built today. An upper level guy wouldn't want this boat as his international racer, in all probability (if my guess is correct). On the other hand, my friend Lou Nady regularly wins in 10 plus boat fleets in a 1979 Vanguard that he modified with a double bottom. Ben Ainslie could win in one of these new Vanguards :).
Anyway, that's the news. If you have ever given any thought to shedding blood with the Finn class take a look at www.jibetech.com and get in touch with Andy through the website. Now all we need is someone to make us some affordable round carbon sections and we'd be good to go for less than $15K, sails included!
Mickey Lake
Now Andy Pimental of Rhode Island has added a Vanguard model to his Finn line. Andy began building Finns about a year and a half ago when Larry Lemieux moved his hull moulds from the Pata factory in Hungary to the States. I have seen several of the new Jibetech boats and the finish is primo, plus the guys who have them around here are doing well with them, an important point in a racing boat :).
Probably the most important point about all of this is that they are boats built here in the US and sold in dollars. I am not sure how Andy is doing it, but you can get a new Jibetech/Lemieux for right at $10K US, which includes the hull (with all fittings and lines), rudder, and board. This is a lower price in dollars than the European builders charge you in EUROS! This new Jibetech/Vanguard is being offered at $9K US, which includes the top and bottom covers! Quite frankly that price is pretty incredible.
So what's the catch, and why the price break? Well, I am not really sure. I am not privy to the upper levels of Finn thought in North America, but I do know that this Vanguard hull has been an ongoing project for quite some time. My guess is this: Gus Miller has been working with Andy on this for awhile, and my gut feeling is that it is intended simply as a way for someone to get into the class at an affordable price with a nice clean hull, a hull that you won't have to repair or rebuild to get out on the water. The hull shape is not the same as the Wilke or Devoti Finns built today. An upper level guy wouldn't want this boat as his international racer, in all probability (if my guess is correct). On the other hand, my friend Lou Nady regularly wins in 10 plus boat fleets in a 1979 Vanguard that he modified with a double bottom. Ben Ainslie could win in one of these new Vanguards :).
Anyway, that's the news. If you have ever given any thought to shedding blood with the Finn class take a look at www.jibetech.com and get in touch with Andy through the website. Now all we need is someone to make us some affordable round carbon sections and we'd be good to go for less than $15K, sails included!
Mickey Lake