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New Razor Dinghy

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1612
Printed Date: 29 Mar 24 at 7:41am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: New Razor Dinghy
Posted By: Chew my RS
Subject: New Razor Dinghy
Date Posted: 01 Apr 06 at 10:46am

Breaking news...

The Kojing Plastics Corporation will launch the new Razor dinghy at this year's Hong Kong International Auto, Boat and Leisure Show http://www.tdctrade.com/tdcnews/0507/05072901.htm - http://www.tdctrade.com/tdcnews/0507/05072901.htm , which starts next week.  The combination of the upcoming Beijing Olympics and rapidly increasing wealth in the region has seen sailing expode in popularity in China over the last five years.  KPC's Marketing Director, Lola Oprif said "There is huge excitement about the Olympic games and leisure time is increasingly priority in the lives of many.  The number of sailing clubs in China has doubled every two years since 2000 and there are almost 500 million middle-class people in China and India, so the potential home market is massive.  But we expect the Razor to be a global best-seller.  The Razor is an affordable one-person dinghy based on the Olympic single-hander. Sparkling performance combined with amazing value fo money is sure to make the Razor popular.  We expect to manufacture 10,000 units a year, so in excess of 20,000 Razors should be sailing worldwide by the time of the Beijing Olympics".
Offering identical performance to the Olympic Laser, the Razor will be available worldwide for just US$2000.  There are a choice of two rigs; the Ruby sail has an area of 7.06 square meters, the Emerald sail has an area of 5.76 square meters.  It will be available in the UK from April 14th.


As I understand it, the Razor (pronounced "Lazor" with a Chinese accent?) is an exact copy of the Laser, but loads cheaper. 




Replies:
Posted By: Guest
Date Posted: 01 Apr 06 at 10:58am
Good effort ....

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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 01 Apr 06 at 10:58am
That Oprif family gets about: I'm sure I've seen that name on a bunch of press releases today...


Posted By: MainlySwimming
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 11:17am

Is this being done in conjunction with Laser (eg have they bought some rights ot the design) or a completely separate initiative? If it's separate are there not copyright / IP issues with building / marketing a boat that is so closely based on another? 

Or is this the price you pay for building your boats in the UK....(see Boats from Brazil thread)



Posted By: bovlike
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 11:30am

Mainly Swimming

look at the date it was posted to find your answer.....



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Ian (Bov) Turnbull
18ft Skiff Ronstan UK
http://www.ianturnbullmarine.co.uk - Chandlery, tapered ropes and specialist solutions for sailors who demand the best - BovBoats.co.uk


Posted By: Isis
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 11:31am
...hook line and sinker.

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Posted By: MainlySwimming
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 11:34am

I'll get me coat.

Nice one Chew...

 



Posted By: Chew my RS
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 12:31pm
 Sorry, couldn't resist.  Raises the point though, how can you copyright a hull?  Its only a set of curves - how different would it need to be to 'get away' with it?


Posted By: Isis
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 12:36pm
I do a lot of racing kayaking and all the best hull designs get stollen, built in far away countries and sold for half the price of an 'official' boat... To the best of my knowlage no-one has ever taken action over it but these boats are iddentical copies.

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Posted By: Chew my RS
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 12:58pm
In that case, I might just set up Razor factories in China/Mexico/Poland...  No development costs, cheap labour, modern purpose built factories.


Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 9:49pm
And Bruce Kirby, would, I hope, sue you! Though you are right, how different would it have to be? You certainly can't just take a mould off an existing boat, but if you say, made the design 13' 9 1/2 inches long and maybe changed the deck layout a little?

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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686


Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 03 Apr 06 at 10:17pm
If it was bit ought from the Laser shape Mr Kirby might have competition from the Ben Lexcen Estate...


Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 2:53am
Owwwww.....

Bruce says that he actually never saw the Contender before doing the Laser, apart from one of the early hard-chine sharpie prototypes which was a very different boat to the final Contender. He actually says that one of the things he feels proud of is the fact that the Laser has little relationship to anything else, and smart guys have noted that it's similar to the lower hull of the Kirby Int 14s. Maybe the very close resemblance to the Contender was just an example of simultaneous development, although some of the Contender guys involved in the trials don't see it that way.

It's interesting, though, that according to press reports Kirby (I think, or perhaps Ian Bruce) was on the committee to promote the Contender after it was selected.


Posted By: tack'ho
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 8:19am
If you do build these razors you couldn't sort out the effing mainsheet could you

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I might be sailing it, but it's still sh**e!


Posted By: Chew my RS
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 9:01am
Maybe that could be the difference, lose that snagging transom!


Posted By: laser47
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 9:08pm

the topper centre mains do it too now

oooh there is so much i would change on the laser given the chance. transom snagging is just the beginning. i'm thinking mylar C2sails, carbon masts, carbon hulls and somthing new with the damn traveller cleat (moving it into the cockpit maybe like the topper)  anyone agree?



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Posted By: les5269
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 9:17pm

Ah but Steve Cockerill (mr Rooster!) reckons you should never snag the mainsheet on the transom!!

 



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49er 531 & 5000 5025 and a mirror(now gone to mirror heaven)!

http://www.grafham.org/" rel="nofollow - Grafham water Sailing Club The greatest inland sailing in the country


Posted By: Isis
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 9:39pm
Originally posted by les5269

Ah but Steve Cockerill (mr Rooster!) reckons you should never snag the mainsheet on the transom!!

 



When I first started in lasers (yes ladies and gentlemen, I did just admit to having owned a laser) I was hooking the mainsheet every gybe but after a while you develop a technique for it and after a few months it very rarely happend, and only when I was being lazy


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Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 10:26pm

Originally posted by JimC

If it was bit ought from the Laser shape Mr Kirby might have competition from the Ben Lexcen Estate...

Strange, I decided not to post something I wrote concerning Contender, Laser and Byte hull shapes...of course, I understand Ian Bruce had a lot to do with the development of the Laser, and had full support from Bruce Kirby when it came to designing the Byte, so wasn't going to be sued!

Maybe the next best development for the Laser would be to produce a rotomoulded version...for holiday companies, of course!



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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686


Posted By: Villan
Date Posted: 04 Apr 06 at 10:51pm
And a super-light-weight version with hydrofoils for the rest of us?


The main mod I would make to a laser (given the chance) would be to take out the traveler entirely, and have it more along the lines of a "console" (Like an OK or 420)


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Vareo - 149 "Secrets"
http://www.TandyUKServers.co.uk" rel="nofollow - TandyUK Servers


Posted By: tack'ho
Date Posted: 05 Apr 06 at 7:55am
Originally posted by laser47

the topper centre mains do it too now

oooh there is so much i would change on the laser given the chance. transom snagging is just the beginning. i'm thinking mylar C2sails, carbon masts,  and somthing new with the damn traveller cleat (moving it into the cockpit maybe like the topper)  anyone agree?

sounds similar to something???? maybe a couple of foot shorter?



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I might be sailing it, but it's still sh**e!


Posted By: Isis
Date Posted: 05 Apr 06 at 10:07am
Originally posted by laser47

the topper centre mains do it too now

oooh there is so much i would change on the laser given the chance. transom snagging is just the beginning. i'm thinking mylar C2sails, carbon masts, carbon hulls and somthing new with the damn traveller cleat (moving it into the cockpit maybe like the topper)  anyone agree?



Great idea, and whilst were at it, lets drop the OD hull... lower the max width, change the number of crew, twin traps, unlimited assy area... racks? yeah go on then...


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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 09 Apr 11 at 7:02pm
Razor prototype #2 is on the water... Note the simple sail insignia: just a red horizontal line to indicate a razor cut... Rumour has it production is being ramped up after an agreement with an NZ company who are keen to introduce a Laser competitor to the European market.


Posted By: bert
Date Posted: 09 Apr 11 at 10:03pm
Are you sure someone hasn`t put a differant sail insignia on an old laser?because thats what it looks like to me.


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Phantom 1181
AC-227 IC 304
blaze / halo 586




Posted By: Sailing4Life
Date Posted: 10 Apr 11 at 4:18pm
oh dear somebody doesnt get it........

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Rs600 + many others


Posted By: wrong way up
Date Posted: 10 Apr 11 at 5:10pm
they clearly haven't been listening to people, they have still got the mainsheet sorted.Tongue



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