Leaving a laser outside over the winter

Mine, of a similar number, has always been left outside over the winter (until this year). It's never suffered in any way I can detect - even when my idiot son left the self bailer up after he'd sailed it last sail of it's season and it spend a good part of the winter with a block of ice sitting at the bottom of the cockpit.

My Lasers have always live outside. Just make sure the mast step stays empty and that any large build up of snow is removed quickly and it should be fine.

My Lasers used to spend all year at the club and never seemed to come to any harm. Other than what others have already said (ie ensuring the boat is well tied down, and can drain) I always made sure the boat had a decent cover. And that was it, they are tough old boats.

Originally posted by deadrock Keep your mast hole ice-free without having to turn the hull upside-down: 1: Take a wire coat-hanger, pull the bottom stringer away from the hook so you have a long prodder with a hook on the end. 2: Attach a piece of absorbent capillary sponge to the hook, and tighten the hook around it. 3. Keep it in your boat-space, and after each sail, poke it down the mast hole to get rid of the water.

bubble wrap (the stuff with the big bubbles) under the cover will stop freezing water and freezing cover sticking to your decks and enable better air-flow, started doing this with wooden-decked boats but found it very useful with Lasers and other GRP/FRP boats too