Let's improve the Laser mainsail!

I agree that the Topaz Race is hardly a high performance boat, but its Mylar sail does give a performance advantage over the versions with Dacron sails. The Comet 'Xtra' is however manufactured by a relatively small outfit yet manages to sell a standard Comet Dacron sail for £260, the Mylar rig which includes all the gubbins to alter the fittings on both mast and boom + a new halyard was being sold for £345. The new rig includes a zip on the luff on the sail to raise and lower the sail in the same manner as the original Byte rig. The prices I've quoted are last years, however I've no doubt that any price rises for 2007 will still make the Laser parts look very expensive,

Nigel

Topper Topaz race can hardly be considered a race boat, the mylar mains on those are more for looks than performance (IMO) and let us not forget they are more of a large mylar panel with a dacron sorround that allows the sail to be pulled in to shape.

I will concede there are sucessfull boats out there with unstayed rigs and mylar mains but the all seem to have 1 thing in common...carbon sticks (aside from the Comet Xtra which has yet to be proven).

They have been playing with Carbon top sections for the radial rig but hav not had much sucess as they keep snapping.

Personally having sailed a Laser for a number of year before moving class it is a good boat for the market gap it fills. The parts are overpriced and the sails most definitely are but as a boat for the masses 187,000 people can't be wrong!

As for the new controls wrecking the sails. it is true that they allow you to exert more tension on the sail and it is very easy to stretch out of shape if you are not careful. However correct use of the control will keep your sail in good enough nick for club racing for 3 years or so. When I sold my Laser the sail I was using on a weekly basis wa 3 years old and (IMO) was better than the brand new XD rolled from new sail that I got with the boat. I will confess I have never sailed in any Laser events aside from club racing but I did manage to win enough class series and some handicap series so I must have been doing something right!

As always just my 2p....

Paul

Rob.e Far too distracted from work Joined: 19 Oct 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 344 Posted: 08 Jan 07 at 8:55pm | IP Logged Don't improve the bloody things, leave them as they are. Hopefully people will eventually realise just how 'orrible they actually are, and stop sailing them! Oh well, I can dream.... __________________ All the girls say I'm pretty fly (for a white guy) Solo 4503 "Pretty Fly" RS200 660 HISC and PchSC
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Doug.H Far too distracted from work Joined: 03 Jun 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 371	Posted: 08 Jan 07 at 10:42pm | IP Logged I think Rob.e has a fair point there!  Lets not help laser by improving the main and rig, if we keep shtum they'll keep thinking they've got a good boat on their hands and then eventually when it gets DEselected as an olympic class (and it will one day), laser will have a huge shock on their hands when all of a sudden they aren't selling anymore boats! Doug

Errrr, Rob, in what way is the Laser an inferior boat to the much slower, older and heavier Solo that you sail?

Doug, there's not a lot of logic in saying that the Laser will suffer a huge shock if it gets dropped from the Olympics. For a start, it has only recently become the only boat to be in two classes at the Games so it is hardly likely to suddenly disappear. Secondly, it was the most popular adult's dinghy by tens of thousands of boats BEFORE it was Olympic and therefore it's hardly likely to suddenly disappear.

Villian, if you think Laser tactics downwind consist of simply going straight to the mark, I think it's fair to say you probably haven't won a Laser title. In their own way I think they are as tactical as a boat that tacks downwind.

Are the sails overpriced? In some ways. Are they as bad as people say? Nope, it's just an excuse for people who get beaten. I know one guy who got 22nd in the Open big rig worlds, won the Youth nationals, won his big rig district title against that year's world champ, and only ever owned one new sail.

If you can get 22nd in the big rig Worlds with just one new sail, it seems that people who blame their poor performance at local level on their gear are looking for an excuse.

Personally I have the International Canoe worlds and the Laser Masters next season, and I'm looking forward to the Lasers more.




Edited by CT249

Originally posted by BigFatStan Going back to the point of this thread... I improved a Laser main once - used it as a tarpaulin to pour concrete on to

Nice one Stan.  Only took 6 pages to get there

 

Originally posted by bentye want a cheap modern and fast single hander then why not buy an rs vareo or rs 300 or finn or europe, the answer is because you will have no one to race in your local area. you may get more for your money put is the experience better, of course not

Personally, I would rather race my Vareo or a Laser 2000 over a Laser " 1 " any day.

In the normal laser, any tactics you try will only work upwind, whereas downwind is just sheet out and point at the mark.

With the added bonus of the spinaker, not only are reaches a lot more fun, but downwind in general has a new side do it.

Also, Who needs that much racing in your local area, when you can go for a blast - faster than some double handers - with the launching fee of a singlehander!

Back to the new sails - If laser dropped some of their monopoly ( Microsoft style - They should be fined if they control more than a portion of the market ) and lowered prices a bit, they would probably sell more genuine sails.

Also, If they allowed other manufacturers versions of the sails to be used ( Sails randomly measured / issued with a certificate ) at "smaller" events - eg: opens / travelers, people would be able to save their nice, genuine sail for when they need it - eg: Nationals / Europeans / ( And training days? )

Just my €0.02.