Second Hand Laser - What to look out for?

Problem solved!

I bought a five year old Laser (advertised in Y&Y) 178523, in the advert the owner said it had been used approx 10 times. On collection it was obvious it hadn't even been used this many times. Absolutely perfect!

So none of the niggles.

Raced on Sunday two 3rds and a 2nd.

The above advice is spot on... there are plenty of other reference sources as well if you're really interested (all the Laser books have a section on buying / preparing a decent boat).

It's a good time to be buying second hand Lasers at the moment for a variety of reasons.  The UKLA has a number of good boats in its classifieds section (and there are a few on Apolloduck), and for £3k you should be able to get something decent without difficulty.

Have a look through the classifieds and see whether you can identify boats with near consecutive numbers for sale.  These tend to be boats bought under fleet purchase schemes and are being sold because the owner has acquired their next year's new boat.  Good opportunity for haggling.  Then, reference the haggled price to a boat near you and see if you can bargain them down as well!

As one last check, if you've got the time and patience you might think about seeing if you can find the sail number of the boat being sold in UKLA or club results.  Without meaning to generalise too much Laser racers frequently look after their boats well so if you can find a boat that's been raced it shouldn't have any of the problems being discussed.  It's up to you whether you want a boat that's been raced hard.

I think one of Mark Powell's boats is still for sale on the UKLA website.  I don't know what the price is looking like and / or how you'd sort out delivery but it'll be brilliantly prepared...  Other than that, I reckon for £3k you're looking at a boat in the 180s in any case.

Incidentally, having had a similar discussion to yours over the last couple of weeks I bought a second hand Laser last weekend.

Also when you look at a boat check then foils are not twisted and sit straight in the hull. I know of some boats where the Daggerboard is a long way out of alignment with the rudder (I Know there is a lot of slack in the daggerboard slot but it is worth checking.

Also take a straight edge and check that the hull from the bailer to the transom is flat and not dished in (tends to be dished on boats that have been hard sailed in waves).

All the other advice is good and make sure you get the new XD controls, at least the kicker if you are going for an 8.1 (preferably the Harken kicker not the Holt one).

Failing that find a friend who knos about the boats and take them with you! The gunwhale/hull splitting tended to be on hull numbers around 60,000 as they had a bad batch of glue. Basicaly if it does not look right on a Laser it isnt. Also be aware of painted hulls, fine if it has been done professionaly (it does add probably 1kg to the boat) but a nightmare if done by an amateur!

It happens with newer ones as well, depends on how well the boat has been looked after.  It can happen from where aboat has been poorly stored on the G/hung trolley, its not a huge fixt to repair but best to stay clear of a boat with split gunnels.

The above advice is spot on. I'd also suggest you give some thought as to what level of kit the boat comes with. If you end up retrofitting things like XD sail controls, carbon tillers, new sail etc with the price of Laser spares you can easily spend more than if you'd bought a better equipped and possibly newer boat in the first place. This may sound obvious, but it happens!