YACHTS AND YACHTING 29

TEST TOPAZ VIBE

T he Vibe, and equally new Topaz Tres,were both at Lake Garda to show off theirpaces, while Fraglia Vela Malcesine hostedthe 2006 Topper World Championship. So

it seemed like a good idea all round to test the newVibe in Italy rather than the UK. It turned out to be

an inspired decision as we enjoyed a week ofperfect sailing conditions — a strong Force 4 everyafternoon, a Force 5-6 session early one morningand a gently fading breeze to complete our finalday. Being based at the wonderful newly openedFraglia Vela Malcesine — surely set to be ranked

Y&YTEST

The Vibe is the newest member of Topper’s low-cost,rotomoulded Topaz range. Jeremy Evans travelled toItaly for an extended test, getting a feel for the Vibe onone of the finest dinghy sailing arenas in the world…

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Topaz VIBEP

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30 YACHTS AND YACHTING

among the world’s finest dinghy clubs — was pureicing on the cake.

Design and developmentAt first glance, the Vibe is a scaled-down versionof the Xenon, which was launched last year as adinghy with racing potential, and moreperformance-orientated than the ‘cruisey’ Omegaand Magno. First impressions are that Topper havedone a great job of making bland rotomouldedplastic look attractive, which is not an easy task!Restrained hull and deck colours get a stylish kickfrom the super-shiny Mylar mainsail whichensures the crew can see (through the clearlaminate) and be seen (far away with those fiercered stripes), but still look refined. True credit to aboat that’s born and bred in Essex!

The Vibe rig and hull system continues thedesign trend of all the larger Topaz boats, with analuminium front cross-beam that supports the rigand acts as control command centre for the crew.

Rigging and launchingRigging the Vibe from a trailer is a cinch. Themast is light and short enough for an adult orbeefy teenager to step with minimal stress andthe whole rigging procedure is about as easy asit’s possible to get on a three-sail boat, helped by

a comprehensive PDF manual. The Vibe’s Mylar mainsail is straightforward to

rig and hoist, with tack downhaul, outhaul andgnav (upside-down vang out of the way of yourhead) all fully adjustable while sailing. Its halyardsystem is unusual, following catamaran practice bylocking into a side-entry cleat at the top of themast. Some people who tried the Vibe werephased by this innovation and suggested itwouldn’t be suitable for sailing schools or amainsail drop prior to landing on a lee shore. Idon’t believe there will be any problem, since it iseasy to lock the halyard in and out of its cleat witha simple tug. The only difficulty we experiencedwas getting the fall of the halyard taut, before itwas neatly stowed in a little bag shared with thejib halyard. This was due to a missing plasticbobble which holds it under a shockcord.

As for the jib, the Vibe has no roller/furler whichsaves on complexity and cost. If you leave the boatrigged on the beach or in the park, best practice isto unhitch the sheets and roll the jib (made inDacron for prolonged life) around the forestay.

A fair comment about rotomoulded boats is thatthey are inevitably heavier than glassfibresandwich construction, which could be used tobuild a lighter Vibe — at considerable extra cost.Pushing the Vibe around the boat park or up and

Below The Vibe powered

up easily under

gennaker, but was

forgiving and

controllable.

Below right Launching is

easy, and although

heavier than a GRP boat

the Vibe is still light

enough for teenagers to

handle on land.

Below far right The Vibe

can be sailed three-up.

Right The black

spinnaker and orange

Mylar makes the Vibe an

attractive boat, with

good visibility through

the mainsail.

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TEST TOPAZ VIBE

down the ramp at Fraglia Vela Malcesine, we didn’thave any problems with weight. The Vibe seemedeasy enough for a couple of teenagers to handleon dry land, while on water it’s performance wasas sparkly and responsive as you could wish forwith this kind of low cost boat.

Aside from reduced cost, the great advantage ofrotomoulded plastic is that it is so tough. This wasamply demonstrated when we took theneighbouring Tres for a strong wind blast and therig crashed down due to shackle failure. A glassfibreboat would surely have suffered gelcoat dings inthe deck and possibly worse, but the rotomouldeddeck of the Tres was completely unmarked.

SailingThe Vibe has been designed as a recreational funsailing machine for a couple of light’ish adults, aparent and child of pretty much any age, orteenagers, with enough space and buoyancy forthree on board. So the Vibe needs to provideinstant rewards which are hassle-free, startingwhen you launch. Slide the Vibe off its trolley andthe helm steps easily through the open transominto the cockpit. The centreboard has a simplepull-down mechanism and stays down at speed,but will kick up if you hit the bottom. The rudderhas a pull-down control line, with a butterfly boltto keep it tight in the stock.

Most of the time, we sailed the Vibe in fresh tostrong winds. In those conditions it had loads ofeasily controlled power, which novices can reduceby zip-reefing the mainsail. Upwind, it drives fastand easily. Mainsail control is excellent with aratchet block providing easy sheeting assistance,while gnav, downhaul and outhaul effectivelycontrol the sail shape — an added bonus is theexcellent view to leeward, courtesy of the see-through laminate.

On the minus side, the Vibe’s side decks arenarrow and hiking is hard! You can see Stuart flatout in the photos, but he is a seasoned Lasersquad sailor who knows all about ‘no pain, nogain’. This is not a problem for fun sailing. Wecould drive the Vibe nicely upwind just perchingup on the side, but for club racing some hikingshorts might be required. Otherwise, the twincockpit shape is really comfortable, allowing youto slide your bum down from the sides and intothe bottom of the boat if the breeze dies.

Two drain holes in the transom worked perfectlyoffwind, but we always had a little water sloshingaround the leeward part of the cockpit whendriving upwind through chop. A solution could be

provided by a pair of self-bailers, but Topper’sview is that apart from extra cost they would beprone to ‘teenage breakage’. In reality, the extraweight of a half litre or so of water which doesn’tdrain is insignificant.

One of Topper’s claims for the Vibe is that‘You’ll spend all your time sailing and notswimming.’ We did go swimming, but only as adrastic cool-down measure when the wind fadedto zero and the temperature went past 35degrees. Designer Ian Howlett has clearly gotthis aspect of the Vibe right. The Vibe isexceptionally stable and controllable, but stillmanages to feel like it’s fast and fun. Capsizing isalways possible, but the reverse curve in thesides of the hull provides a rearguard action tostop it going right over. In the end, the girlsobliged by getting it wrong with the kite. Ready-fitted righting lines helped ensure they had noproblems pulling the Vibe back upright.

Tacking the Vibe is straightforward andpredictable, using the standard hand-behind-your-back centre mainsheet method, with a fairly highboom and gnav ensuring both crew have an easypassage from side to side. Offwind we wentstraight into hoisting the kite. This felt like a tightfit in its bag — often a problem with brand newgear — making it vital to bear off deep downwindto avoid tangles and snags during drops. Once14-year-old Izzy had donned a pair of gloves forspinnaker trimming, she could hoist, trim, gybeand drop the Vibe’s kite without difficulty in freshwinds, despite minimal experience of gennakers.Bearing away on apparent wind and catching oneof Garda’s many wind-blown waves became apowered-up delight — loads of fun with full control,whoever was on the tiller. You don’t need a lot ofskill to have a good time with this boat, becausethe Vibe has such nice, forgiving manners.

So, what about gybes — when dinghies with atouch of performance are most prone to capsize?The Vibe is about as easy as it gets — at leastwith three sails. It’s stable and predictable, withthe boat staying level as the boom comes across,

YACHTS AND YACHTING 31

Y&YTEST

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Above left Upwind the

Vibe drives fast and

easily, although the

hiking position is not

particularly comfortable.

Above top The Vibe has

no roller or furling

mechanism, but the jib

is made of Dacron to

survive being left

flapping in a dinghy park.

Above The open transom

makes stepping onboard

easy.

32 YACHTS AND YACHTING

then as you straighten up and get sorted on thenew gybe there’s little inclination to round uponto a beam reach and fall over. Unlike so manydinghies, the Vibe proved a positive strong windpleasure to gybe.

The verdictDid we sail the Vibe with rose-tinted spectacles?Sailing in Garda is about as good as it gets withperfect conditions, but there’s no doubt this is agreat little boat from Topper which could be IanHowlett’s best Topaz design.

It combines a super-tough and almostmaintenance-free hull with a great lookingperformance rig and good fittings, all at a lowprice. It is lively and a load of fun to sail, but verystable and easy to manage for anyone past thebasic levels of sailing. It could be a summer beachboat for teenagers, friendly fun racer or safeplatform for mum or dad to take a couple of youngchildren for a spin on the water. Your choice… n

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ANSWER BACKfrom XXXXXXXXX

Above The Vibe, like

many Topaz boats, has

an aluminium forward

cross-beam which

supports the rig.

LOA: 3.64mBEAM: 1.42mHULL WEIGHT: 63kgSAIL AREA: UPWIND 8.6sq m

GENNAKER 7sq mPN: 1195GUIDE PRICE: £3,250*

LOA: 4.2mBEAM: 1.56mHULL WEIGHT: 63kgSAIL AREA: UPWIND 10.66sq m

GENNAKER 11.38sq mPN: -GUIDE PRICE: £4,115*

CONTACT: Topper International LtdKingsnorth Technology Park

Wotton RoadAshford

KentTN23 6LN

TEL: 01233 629 186EMAIL: info@toppersailboats.comWEBSITE: www.toppersailboats.com

VIBE specifications

DESIGN: Ian Howlett & Rob White in 2006LENGTH: 3.76mBEAM: 1.6mHULL WEIGHT: 70kgSAIL AREA: MAIN 6.85sq m

JIB 2.21sq m GENNAKER 8.41sq m

PRICE: £3,695n LASER VAGO Multi-role rotomoulded plasticdinghy, with trapeze or singlehandedsailing options. Also available inperformance XD version with largermainsail and gennaker at £4,630.

n RS FEVA XL Dedicated rotomoulded plastic designfor young teenagers which isestablished as a junior racing class.Also available in basic Feva Sspecification at £2,450.

Guide prices are approximate, *including sails, ** excluding sails

COMPARISONS… Where does the Vibe fit in? Here are two alternatives…

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