Laser Replica Sails

Originally posted by RS400atC The supreme irony would be strict adherence to class rules forcing all the club laser sailors to join the CA.Then they'd vote in cheaper sails...

Nope, The CA doesn't have sole control of Laser Class rules. There's effectively a veto for the manufacturers.

Nobody is suggesting for one moment that 'one size fits all'.  There is more than enough choice of classes available.  To argue otherwise is to avoid facing the underlying point.   If you don't like the (Laser) model then look elsewhere .... seems sensible enough in just about every other field.

I will suggest that what some are really arguing for their slice of cake and to eat it  !  So a question to the 'copy' buyers who argue the case for rip-offs ... lets say there are several 'alternatives' to the official equipment and they are all around 1/3 to 1/2 off of the official equipment price - which one should I buy ?  Any one of them ?  .. or just perhaps the 'best' one ?   

Don't tell anyone they are 'all the same' ..... they simply are not.  Or 'anyway it does not really matter - its about participation'.  If that was the case why not just use or encourage the use of an older original (legal) sail and save everyone even more money. 

Come on there - real world for a moment  - nobody is knowingly going to buy an 'inferior' copy when a 'better' copy one is also available and 'allowed' down the local pond ! 



Edited by Cirrus - 04 May 16 at 12:35pm

One of the big problems in all of this is that we as a collective are fairly knowledgeable about the main dinghy classes sailed in this country. The fact we are on here suggests we are nerdy enough to want to discuss that knowledge.

However a significant section of the UK dinghy community has not grown up with it, and has not gathered the detail knowledge that many of us have acquired. Many late entrants to the sport would trot off to buy a Laser (because they know what a Laser looks like) without knowing that only an official Laser sail is class legal. They probably don't even know that class associations exist, and when they put the boat on the water at their home club everyone congratulates then on their purchase and encourages them to race.

In many cases fleets are not numerically strong enough to make a demand on certain classes legalities, and certainly the other 80% of club sailors don't know anything about the Laser rules because they are Albacore or RS200 sailors through and through.
So it becomes accepted.

I disagree with comments from Jim on rules, as regardless of class we should all have basic rule knowledge and skills and feel happy enough to assist new entrants to the sport (not scream at them for touching a mark, but calmy explain why its not acceptable and what the penalty is.

Replica sails are here to stay, it's too late to change that but clear guidelines from clubs regarding use of class approved equipment if sailing in fleets as per TTs club is surely the way to go. The alternative being that if you have a replica sail then you sail within the menagerie handicap fleet.

Perhaps we need to improve on the advice given to new members so that they buy boats armed with the correct knowledge but free spirited individuals will always just go off and buy whatever looks shiny without first checking with more knowledgeable folk.

Edited by craiggo - 04 May 16 at 1:00pm

Originally posted by Cirrus Don't tell anyone they are 'all the same' ..... they simply are not.

That really hasn't been my experience.  All the replicas I've seen so far seem to be built to a price point rather than being an evolution of Laser sail design !  

Originally posted by Steve411 Replica sails only exist because class-legal sails are deemed too expensive, encouraging 'the market' to offer something more reasonable.

Most SMOD owners are prepared to pay some level of premium for class-legal sails, particularly if they see the manufacturer using the proceeds to put something back into the class. I know that there are replicas on the market for other classes but overwhelmingly this is a Laser issue and the reason is the extent to which Laser overcharges for a rudimentary product with a short racing life and does not do much in return to support the class. In this situation people will vote with their wallets and no amount of tut-tutting is going to stop them.