Flying Scot vs. Lightning

Submitted by ddeschaine on Thu, 02/03/2005 - 15:26
I live in Idaho and sail on many small lakes. I have a young family who loves to sail with me but also spend a lot of time sailing solo. I have come to the conclusion that one of two boats will fit my needs the Flying Scot and the Lighting. As I am sure many of you have had this debate could you please help me compare and contrast these two boats relative to trilering, ease of set up, stability, performnance,technical interest, and pure enjoyment of the sport.
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Comments

A hot topic for many.

Submitted by Dave812 on Thu, 02/03/2005 - 17:43.
A hot topic for many. Scots are more simple with the rigging and thus easier to set up and trailer. Weights are close enough for trailering to be a non issue. Many Scot sailers sail with only one crew wheras Lightnings are almost always two crew. Recently shared a course with Lightnings and found them to be faster upwind in the chop but was surprised to find that we were faster downwind in about 15 knots breeze. I expected them to be faster since the Lightnings spinn. is much larger than the Scots. I think the Scot may be a more family oriented class. Good luck.

There are numerous comments on the old forum about Flying Scots

Submitted by fssaeditor on Fri, 02/04/2005 - 07:22.
There are numerous comments on the old forum about Flying Scots and Lightnings. I recommend reading the string that started on 11 Oct 2002. To get to the old forum, click "Old Forum" in the upper right corner of this page. Scroll down the contents on the right. Discussion strings are sorted from newest to oldest. To look at other applicable items, do a search on lightning. Good luck. We hope you'll join us as a Scot owner. FSSA Forum editor

I recently sold my FS to a young couple with two children approx

Submitted by gleninst on Fri, 02/04/2005 - 08:14.
I recently sold my FS to a young couple with two children approx 8 & 10 years old. They had owned a Lightning for several years and found that the setup and rigging were extremely cumbersome. The husband claimed that a minimum of two adults were required to step the mast and if one of the adults happened to be his wife the older child was needed to help. They had the opportunity to sail an FS and could not get over the ease of setup, comfort, and security which prompted them to convert. They were so impressed that they purchased my Scot before they listed their Lightning for sale.

I've owned a Lightning.

Submitted by Tam Lin on Fri, 02/04/2005 - 21:26.
I've owned a Lightning. The above comments are accurate. The Lightning is much more difficult to set up and take down when trailering. Two people (or a gin pole) is necessary to step the mast, and then the rigging has to be tuned. The Scot mast can be stepped singlehanded by a strong adult, and the shrouds can stay attached, meaning only the headstay has to be hooked up. Also, a Scot has a kick-up rudder, which a Lightning does not. Performances are also as described above, I've found. The Scot is a little faster off the wind, also in very light wind. The Lightning is a little faster upwind, especially in a chop. Both are good boats - but I trailer, so I switched to a Scot. The best choice might be to buy a boat popular in your area - that will help resale value.