first single hander

The OK is not well handicapped

Upwind a recent OK would normally be at least as quick as a Laser and probably quicker in waves.

Running - similar

Reaching they are dog slow compared to a Laser

But - massive sailing range (80 - 110 kg ?) and lovely to sail

Expensive initially but the hulls and rigs last

Not uncomfortable and the boom pops us when you tack

Much nicer boats really

Phantom or Finn - at 95kg inland in dying breeze, you’ll find a laser a very disappointing experience

I was in a similar position a few years back: a similar weight, height and situation of returning to sailing after 15 years. What I worked out was that there are a bunch of boats that are similar to the Laser (d zero, aero, solution, solo) and you could sail these but our weight is a disadvantage whatever people will tell you. I worked out that my list of options was Finn, Phantom, Blaze and Hadron H2. I discounted the Blaze as the wings on a small pond was not ideal - can be done and people do but for me its a much better boat for bigger bits of water. I tried the Finn, Phantom and H2 - they are all nice boats with pros and cons. I liked that you tend to sit in a Finn and H2 rather than be on your knees like you are in a Phantom (they do have a deep cockpit version too). I went for the H2 in the end and am now on my second boat and love it; might also get a Finn one day to do the master circuit.

Has a great rig Graeme - you just need to be skilled enough to set it up. Probably best to stick to your more basic rigs 

It would be great to get grf boat test of a Hadron . Because he has a unrivalled ability… to pick the wrong horse.

Edited by Grumpycat - 31 Aug 21 at 1:25pm