MX Ray or Laser

Generally a 25 year old laser (£650 worth) if used for racing is gonna be floppy heavy, not like a new laser which SHOULD be stiff and lighter.  Therefore the boat does matter.  Granted the nut at the end of the tiller is more important, but unless your lucky £650 for a laser aint gonna buy you a great boat

I couldn't agree with your points about older Lasers more, Merlinboy. I just can't see the sense in clubs preventing their members from using copy sails for club racing...

However, despite some of the views expressed in this thread I don't think it's impossible to have fun in a Laser in a good blow... 12-15knots downwind isn't impossible and it requires more skill than some people would give credit for!

You can be lucky with old Lasers but £650 isn't much of a budget. Check that the deck doesn't have any soft spots and that the mast step isn't disintegrating; not good in a blow.

Originally posted by Merlinboy Rooster sails are a good training sail, but my club wouldnt allow them for racing.

I can't see any real difference between the Rooster copy and the real thing apart from the heavy sub that you have to pay Laser. Does your club really want to support that?

Let's get real - the call is for something for high winds occasionally and just £650 - its got to be a Laser therfore .  If he wants to try out something a bit more challenging he's got time to try loads of them and when he finally starts paying tax and can afford something a bit more exciting he'll know what options exist.  Old 300 or 600's need a half-decent sail on them - that's blown his budget in one !  If he gets a Laser Mr Rooster can sort him out for relative peanuts if he get club competitive. I'd love to give him a go in a Blaze but being realistic that's £ 2+k and more so go for the Laser option its the only one that makes sense ,,,, for now !

Blaze 720

looks like a fairly god example to be honest, there are a fair few older moths about you could even get a wider one and it WILL be able to take some rough seas and it will be well within your price range. If you like the look of the 300 then why not, after all the 300 was designed and its construction was overseen by one of the builders responsible for some very succesful wider moths hence the very very very similar under water sections on the 300 as some of ther wide moths around. A wider moth will go pretty quick aswell, quicker than a laser and its going to have a better rig than the MX Ray. And if you really wanted you could stcik an assymetric on it, it wont be class legal but if your just wanting a boat for blasting around in then why the hell not.