New Boat from Laser?

Well remembered....here's the link to the message with the spy photo.... 

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1 028&PN=1&TPN=30

If the "spy photo" is of the new boat it could be a plastic 5000....check out the double foot hoops!!

The reality is that Laser can afford to Rotomould the Vago in the UK and LDC are forced to have the RS500 hulls made abroad after the first fifty due to cost. You will find that high performance boats will continue to be made in GRP etc., and economics will force everything else to be rotomoulded or made abroad. The exception as always will be the small low volume manufacturers. The trick is to build the right boats in plastic and I don't think Laser are stupided enough to build a rotmoulded 5000! Laser have abandoned the high performance market to LDC and Ovingtons, prefering the high volume middle market buyers instead.

The simple fact is that plastic fantastic boats don't hold any rig tension so any boat based around the designs mentioned would fold under the loadings applied. The Omega had structural issues, ie, hull indentions at place of loading from the shrouds by simply using a "training" rig. Not totally sure what the story is with the Vago, but reckon Laser more than know that the material flexes........

I sailed my Vago at the event and it was excellent fun, I keep hearing a lot of crap about rig tension and gust response, to be clear the Vago rig has been designed with a low rig tension, that is why the mast doesn't tapper above the shrouds, it would be pointless and just add cost to the boat. Having sailed the boat in those winds at the weekend we had no problems with the gusts going upwind. It was a bit more entertaining going down wind with the same gusts and the the XD's large kite.