Comfy but quick s/h dinghy

There was one for sale on the Laser EPS web page a few weeks ago ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lasereps/ ) down on the south coast - I bet £500 would get it ?

Paul    eps264@yahoo.co.uk

Excellent, well done Paul.  Glad it's all worked out well.

Matt,

I did consider the Phantom too  - before I even looked at the Blaze and EPS, I spoke to a couple of people about them and all told me to avoid the wooden one as they were "uncompetitive" ..... and I didn`t really want to spend the £4000 to £5000 that a GRP one would cost.

When I was sailing Dart 18s and doing the circuit / Nationals etc I was prepared to spend money on the boat - lets face it, a weekend away doing an open can cost anywere from £100 upwards - but now I have downscaled to purely club racing (which is handicap rather than fleet) my priority was to get a competitive boat in the best condition I could find, for a reasonable cost. 

The Blaze and EPS came into that bracket - so then it was `lets see whats available`.   The only Blaze below £2,500 was in Blackpool and was a Mk1 version - to get a Blaze `X` would cost a further £1,000  - total therefore  £3,500 ish.

The EPS cost me £1,500, is faster / lighter and came with a spare BRAND NEW mast plus a spare bottom section mast - value around £750 ?

 Now, call me cynical, but spending an extra £1,000 or even £2,000 to get a Blaze `x`  purely to go club racing in a handicap fleet seems a little pointless....  OK so the EPS is no longer produced but as all I intend to do is play and club race I feel its money best not spent. 

When sailing Dart 18s a set of sails would cost over £1,000, and would be worth less that half of that the moment you put them on a mast, so to get a complete boat for £1,500 which still has a residual value within the (restricted) EPS  / handicap fleets is a good deal.  

By the way, the reviews on the EPS at the time of its launch were all good - the thing that killed the boat was the £7,000 price tag - in 1999 !!!  

Laser Centres prices for spares didn`t help either - look at their prices even today ;

£378 for a Laser sail ? - which realistically lasts a season....  and why should a folded Laser sail cost more than a rolled one ?

£900 for a Dart 18 mast anyone ?  PLUS rigging !!!

£880 for a main / £250 for a jib plus a further £150 for a set of battens  to put in the main, ....so  a mere £1,130 for a set.

See my point .  

Got a Laser EPS, .....   - the boat was overhauled by Laser Centre in 2004 and only sailed a hanful of times since.

Came with a brand new mast (well, two bottom sections and one top section so 1 1/2 spare masts, combi trailor, top and bottom covers ....all for the price of a 135,000 sail number Laser. Supposedly the top section is identiacl to a 49er ?

Sailed it yesterday and my initial impressions are;  more stable than a Laser, ... but falls over if left unattended      - once the centreboard is in its fine though. More leg room than a Laser too, - got home with no pains in my knees !   Quick downwind..... doesnt point (known fault - treat it like a cat and ease off a few degrees......

Even though there was so little wind (F2  max ! )  it seemed very lively - only got to sit on the wings a couple of times  but at least you can use them as arm rests  !! 

Condition wise its very tidy indeed - a few small scratches underneath but the decks are unmarked - all in all happy with my choice....  bet once its windy  I`ll think otherwise      !!

Thanks for all your opinions, 

Paul.