Advantages

• Ease of Handling

  Lightweight and simple, board boats are an excellent choice if you just want to sail, and you want to sail primarily alone. Easy to beach, just lift the daggerboard as the water shallows.

• Exceptional for Learning

  Learning on a board boat is as straightforward as you get. They are top-notch, teach-yourself-by-trial-and-error sailboats. You will receive immediate reward for your right action, and immediate consequence from your poor choice of action. You'll get seat-of-the-pants fun, and if you are wise enough to laugh at yourself, they will prove a constant source of amusement.

• Responsiveness

  Board boats are excellent boats on which to hone your skills. Being small, they respond to your weight shifts. Being uncomplicated, you learn what each piece, and each control line does independent of the other—and you are in charge of them all. Some say if you can sail a board boat well, you can sail anything.

• Easy to Upright

  VIDEO: Righting a Laser

  —capsized by a dolphin!

  Because of its lean rig, and shallow, doesn't-scoop-up-water hull, a board boat is easy to right after a capsize. You can't get yourself into too much trouble on any size lake, assuming you have enough body weight and agility to right the boat and climb in after a capsize, and you're spry enough to repeat the procedure multiple times on a windy day. Most board boats self-bail any water that splashes in.

• Car-top ability

  Car-topping is feasible for one-time or occasional transport, but trailering is easier, launching is faster, and you can go sailing when and where you want to, with or without anyone else around.

Keep in Mind

Because they are small, board boats are especially sensitive to passengers' weight and placement. Everyone in the boat must be active right now—and for the duration of the sail. No passivity allowed. No "sit here, stay put." When you are learning, passengers may be a hindrance.

When it's windy, board boats are a wet, wild ride. Buy gear for your body so you can remain dry, warm, and comfortable in various conditions; plan your budget accordingly.

Caution

Just because they're small, doesn't mean they're easy—especially on a windy day. Sailors using any small boat should know how to swim—and this is crucial in a board boat, as capsizing is likely when you're new to sailing, and when sailing in a blow.

Remember speeding downhill on your bike? Sail a board boat!