Laser Nationals

   Laser most popular single hander at my club of the 35 members 20 must have a Laser, more than half of our members are also members at other clubs, at least 5 of these have Lasers there too.One of our very rare new members just purchased a Laser for £100, he is having a blast.
I personally have never owned a Laser, but have sailed them on a regular basis.
I prefer my Sprint, more comfortable, easier to right, easier to get back on.
I should add, I am a member of CVRDA, so I am biased towards older designs.

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423zero Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 08 Jan 15 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 3420	Post Options Post Reply Quote 423zero Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Laser Nationals Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 9:54am
	Laser most popular single hander at my club of the 35 members 20 must have a Laser, more than half of our members are also members at other clubs, at least 5 of these have Lasers there too. One of our very rare new members just purchased a Laser for £100, he is having a blast. I personally have never owned a Laser, but have sailed them on a regular basis. I prefer my Sprint, more comfortable, easier to right, easier to get back on. I should add, I am a member of CVRDA, so I am biased towards older designs.

Do Different Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 26 Jan 12 Location: North Online Status: Offline Posts: 1312	Post Options Post Reply Quote Do Different Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 9:00am
	Good simple points David. I had one for ten years at sea and learnt a lot about boat handling, obviously I didn't learn it all but choose to gain more skills in different boats.

By The Lee Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 06 Aug 17 Online Status: Offline Posts: 114	Post Options Post Reply Quote By The Lee Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 9:00am
	Well at my club there has been 5+ new laser purchased this year! The Aero is a good boat but doesn't yet have the same international folllowing and the Supernova isn't sailed anywhere on the south coast or internationally!

davidyacht Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 29 Mar 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1345	Post Options Post Reply Quote davidyacht Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 8:51am
	For all of the issues, the Laser must still represent the most affordable way of getting a half competitive racing dinghy on the water ... and would be fully competitive as long as no one good turns up with a spanking new one. And for people relatively new to the sport, they are great fun to blast up and down, learn and develop skills without getting into dangerous situations. The Laser is the Windsurfer Regatta of the dinghy world ... a simple, accessible route into the sport. If we want to expand the sport, the huge stock of cheap second hand Lasers is probably the key, since performance per pound is probably the most important factor. I do however concede that the present distribution chain has done its best to screw this opportunity up, and if I remember correctly I modified my views on OEM sails in recognition of the greater good that could be achieved by getting people out on more affordable kit.
	Happily living in the past

iiiiticki Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 06 Mar 16 Location: Derbyshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 206	Post Options Post Reply Quote iiiiticki Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 8:46am
	The trouble with boats is that plastic ones don't wear out. Obviously the top bellms sail newish boats but there is a vast bulk of stock out there gently degrading. Had my 1978 Alfasud not degraded at such an alarming rate I would probably been driving it now and my children would be subjecting me to considerable ridicule. So, Laser still sell in substantial numbers world wide but to who? If you had a wedge of money in your back pocket and wanted a new boat what would you buy? There is so much choice out there. It is possible that you were a dyed in the wool laser fan or had Olympic aspirations but the average club or circuit sailor would think differently hence ever increasing Nova's and Aeros out there at opens. Because of my involvement with Byte I meet lots of lovely young people full of fun and enthusiastic. Some of them fuelled by health drinks and McDonald's are growing fast and will soon be too heavy to be competitive. You think they will move to Laser? I can tell you they will not! I am in my 70's and these days if the sun shines may float around my old lightning but I wonder how old you lot are, how much you sail and at what level?

By The Lee Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 06 Aug 17 Online Status: Offline Posts: 114	Post Options Post Reply Quote By The Lee Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 8:42am
	Unfortunately for all you laser hating armchair sailors despite the poor standard attendance the laser is far from dead. Both the Radial and 4.7 fleets saw a rise from last year despite being held at a less accessible venues. The low full rig attendance can be explain easily: all of the top youth sailors were in Nieuwpoort for the under 21 worlds and the masters had just had there nationals at hayling so were less likely to attend due to this! I don't think any laser sailor has ever claimed that is the best boat in the world far from it. In fact it is quite disgusting how the grassroots of the class is being crippled by LP sell poorly made product for as much as possible agenda. However the selling point of the laser is nothing to do with the boat ..... it is the fleet. With the youth worlds in Medemblik having 240 entries in the boys fleet with a team of 30 brits attending if someone could find me a fleet with as competitive big fleet racing as that then I would happily transfer!

GarethT Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 21 Apr 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 714	Post Options Post Reply Quote GarethT Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 8:23am
	Can't we just have a Laser thread as a sticky. Everyone always says the same thing. Nobody ever changes their mind. When I can get a semi-competitive D-Zero for under a grand to leave festering in the dinghy park ready for the few occasions I can get out to race, maybe I will.

Do Different Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 26 Jan 12 Location: North Online Status: Offline Posts: 1312	Post Options Post Reply Quote Do Different Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 8:23am
	Exactly Rupert. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" which, come on people surely in the case of Laser the actual value of the parts is pretty low. None the less the whole is still attractive to many for various reasons. It is understandable that we are often distracted from our core interest by shiny new toys. I am as guilty as any, often bemoaning the basic nature and my perceived high cost of Laser spars. We are little different from other games. Saddlers have racks upon racks of different bits to make horses go "better" and Golf suppliers promote the latest head & shaft technology. It is trait of human nature to want better and obvious that business will be happy to oblige our desires. I guess both my boats are 40yr old designs, I was blinded by the light once by an RS300 for a season but am now very settled with my particular (or peculiar) vision of classic elegance.

Rupert Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rupert Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 7:31am
	The X class down on the Solent must be way over 100 by now, but is still going strong, with many classes that have made it outdated having come and gone. No one is forcing people to sail old designs (except squaddies, I guess) so maybe people want to? Maybe, just maybe, racing isn't about new toys and going as fast as you can, but about tactics, thinking and maybe even the joy of being on the water?
	Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686

iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 17 at 12:57am
	Which is precisely why this sport is f**ked, too many 'Laser is a great boat' fans. 212,000 Worldwide in only fifty years yeah that's really awesome - Not. If they'd up dated that wreck you might have a few more folk stick to the sides. Edited by iGRF - 06 Aug 17 at 12:57am
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