New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: So Whatever happened to..
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Register Register  Login Login

So Whatever happened to..
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 678910 11>
Author
  Share Topic Share Topic  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
423zero View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 08 Jan 15
Location: United Kingdom
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3420 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 423zero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: So Whatever happened to..
    Posted: 28 Aug 18 at 9:06am
Doesn't help matters that they are making and selling more than the other classes
Back to Top
blueboy View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 27 Aug 10
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 512 		Post Options Post Options   Quote blueboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 18 at 8:52am
Originally posted by 423zero

Rs400atc,
Very surprised that designers of Dzero and Aero didn't have the ambition to replace the Laser, I wouldn't have thought they intended to only sell a couple of boats a week and then fade away, but it's only my opinion not insider knowledge.

Aero has sold a whole lot more than "a couple of boats a week". There's plenty of people who want a single-hander and don't want a Laser and as far as my club goes, the Aero is a hit and outnumbers the Lasers. D-Zero is a good boat too but doesn't have the same marketing machine behind it. No new class will now ever outnumber the totals Lasers built, the dinghy boom is long over and the market is too fragmented.
Back to Top
RS400atC View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 04 Dec 08
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3011 		Post Options Post Options   Quote RS400atC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 8:18pm
Originally posted by 423zero

Rs400atc,
Very surprised that designers of Dzero and Aero didn't have the ambition to replace the Laser, I wouldn't have thought they intended to only sell a couple of boats a week and then fade away, but it's only my opinion not insider knowledge.

You can't replace the Laser, because the Laser is not just a new boat available from Sailboats etc, or a bunch of people racing nearly new boats. It is a whole ecosystem of new boats, old boats, middling boats and a llthe luggage that goes with that. Even if a new boat took 80% of Laser's new boat sales
away, Laser would still have a powerful presence for the next ten years.
Back to Top
davidyacht View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 29 Mar 05
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1345 		Post Options Post Options   Quote davidyacht Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 7:53pm
The reason why no boat will get the traction that the Laser ever achieved is that when it was launched it retailed at the equivalent of £ 3,200 in today’s money.  If the Aero or D0 were being sold at £ 3,200 right now then they would be selling in their thousands.
Happily living in the past
Back to Top
423zero View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 08 Jan 15
Location: United Kingdom
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3420 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 423zero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 6:20pm
Rs400atc,
Very surprised that designers of Dzero and Aero didn't have the ambition to replace the Laser, I wouldn't have thought they intended to only sell a couple of boats a week and then fade away, but it's only my opinion not insider knowledge.
Back to Top
blueboy View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 27 Aug 10
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 512 		Post Options Post Options   Quote blueboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 18 at 5:55pm
Originally posted by A2Z

Originally posted by maxibuddah

That's why the aero has done well, as it's not a huge investment to buy into.
There’s a second hand one up for £8k excluding road base!  

That's optimistic. 2nd hand Aeros are in demand but not that much demand.
Back to Top
RS400atC View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 04 Dec 08
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3011 		Post Options Post Options   Quote RS400atC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 18 at 1:44pm
Originally posted by 423zero

None of the single handers today will displace Laser, only a rotomould that performs has well as more favoured materials with rotomould cheaper production costs will do it.

Displace Laser from what?
The Laser fills several roles, the olympic boat, the cheap option for club sailors, the best boat-on-boat club racing....
There are already clubs where it's been knocked off that last perch by the Aero.
But that's not the point. There is a market for something different from the Laser. Loads of people have marketed things which are far too similar to the Laser, with varying success.
The 'eros are significantly lighter, faster, more modern and basically nicer than the Laser, and some people are happy to buy that.
Why would anyone buy a rototub even if it's half the price of a Laser?, you can buy a nice used Laser which will outlive the rotobath.
Rotomoulding is OK for kids boats, beach hire and basic teaching.
When it comes to boats that people actually want, carbon fibre is probably more significant, it just needs to keep getting cheaper.
Back to Top
423zero View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 08 Jan 15
Location: United Kingdom
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3420 		Post Options Post Options   Quote 423zero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 18 at 10:08am
None of the single handers today will displace Laser, only a rotomould that performs has well as more favoured materials with rotomould cheaper production costs will do it.
Back to Top
turnturtle View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 05 Dec 14
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2538 		Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 18 at 8:23am
I don’t think anyone posting here questions the design, and certainly not the rig ... and very good friend of mine summed it up well, it’s the Betamax of the dinghy world!

I’ve also got reservations about build quality, which ironically I used to think would be the primary issue with The Aero, not the Zero. Perhaps an Olympic flirtation will improve that aspect too... what I’d really like to see is a mk2 ... in epoxy. That would be a clear step up imho.
Back to Top
AlanH View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie


Joined: 17 Apr 10
Location: Scotland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 84 		Post Options Post Options   Quote AlanH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Aug 18 at 9:11pm
I've just spent the day racing in a borrowed D Zero, and as a boat tester for Yachting Life, have tried most of the other boats mentioned. The D Zero is a lovely little boat, very easy to get used to, feels very light on the water, nice rig and controls, very comfortable to sit out. Self drains very well. If you pop the bow in downwind, it comes back up without going down the mine. Very well behaved boat. Good class racing where I sailed it (Largs). Winds were generally up to 12 mph or so. Within the handicap fleet there was also a Hadron H2, and in today's conditions, it was the D Zero which prevailed. I've tested the H2 in windier conditions, and enjoyed it too. The D Z now has a new dealer, which may help it gain more sales. It's a very good product, and at the moment there are some available at very attractive prices, so I will probably succumb to its charms, and sail it as a second boat when not sailing my Osprey.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 678910 11>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.665y
Copyright ©2001-2010 Web Wiz
Change your personal settings, or read our privacy policy