Toppers

Toppers have always been a big part of junior sailing at West Wittering. However, more recently we have encouraged younger and lighter children to start in Optimists or their plastic versions (e.g. SailQubes).

Toppers are highly versatile, virtually indestructible and brilliantly simple; all of which makes them a highly suitable boat for the type of sailing most WWSC members enjoy. The Club has 3 Toppers available for members to rent at £12/day - this is excellent value for boats that come with insurance, the requisite Chichester Harbour licence and are maintained with fully working rigs. For more information visit our "Renting Club Sailing Dinghies" page here.

Although we encourage new members to start off by renting, Toppers are frequently offered for sale within the club, normally from a prices starting from about £500 upwards, to include a trolley and cover. A race tuned boat with new sails will cost much more but this is only really justified for those looking at more competitive sailing.

There are some easy ways to improve your Topper which we recommend:

• fit a centre mainsheet, if your boat has 'aft sheeting' consider a conversion. This can be done quite easily with the purchase of a kit from (Rooster is just one of the companies that sell them).
• purchase a 6:1 downhaul, this is worth considering for those with newer sails. The extra force this provides makes it easier for helms to flatten the mainsail when going upwind and thus easier to control; especially when it's windy.

Most, if not all, of or our WWSC Dinghy Instructors have grown up sailing Toppers so there is a huge amount of experience within the club about these boats. So if you need help or advice, just ask!

Last updated 11:01 on 28 March 2024