Not sure which section this goes in .... need some boat advice please!

[pigsinmud]

Ok - dh soon to be 40. He used to sail a lot when he was little. His dad still has some big old boat at Bristol, but dh hardly ever gets to go down there. We now have 4 children - no.2 is 7 and he's keen to sail. Dh was muttering a few months ago about teaching him.

I learnt to sail in my teens - sailed a topper. I'd love to get dh a small boat so he could teach no.2 and any of the others when they're a bit bigger. Obviously looking 2nd hand - do I go for toppers? Will that fit 6ft dh and a 7 year old ok? Also, saw somewhere that you can put a topper on a roof rack (we have a Zafira) - is that possible? I'm sure I can think of some more questions if anyone can help me with the first few!

We used to have a Topper, and yes we transported it on the roof rack (and for many years inside our camper van). My Dad is tall (6' 2" I think) and he was OK in it but it'e certainly not roomy. Him, me and my sister in was def. a big squeeze.

Great boat to learn to sail in though, not too many bits and when I got to 7 or 8 I sailed it by myself fine (could even right it by myself).

Not sure of the next size up, a laser maybe?

Thinking cheap!Been looking on ebay at toppers. I emailed one seller about putting topper on roof rack and she was shocked - you can can't you?

Live in Surrey. There is a large lake nearby - has a watersports centre there.

Hmm - think perhaps you're right justjules. Don't think I'll surprise dh with this one. I'll tell him my idea and then he can go & look with me. As I say, I know nothing about boats - get a bit scared off by his dad's boating talk ... sounds like a foreign language.

His "surprise" party will have to be enough. Think I'm getting carried away with surprises this year!

Thanks for your advice.