2. Optimist (1980)

The next sail boat I bought in 1980 was an Optimist from Peter Hammer for 1000 ringgit. He was overjoyed to have found a sucker buyer at last! That lousy pakeha (expatriate) did not tell me that the boat was suitable for kids only! It was very slow; but it cannot capsize because it was as wide as it was long and had three flotation chambers built into the plastic hull under the seats. Even if it fills completely with water, it cannot sink. So, it is an excellent boat for a beginner learning to sail. Thanks Peter. You were right, I did not capsize, not even once.
I bought a small 2 horse power Suzuki for it and took the children for a ride in the river on my days off. This boat was later sold to Vincent Chin for $600 when I bought the three 470's. He is still paddling it around in a pond behind his house in Riam road.