But it’s an interesting concept and could give us something proper to discuss.

Personally I think it’s a little late to the market that all ready has the Aero/Dzero/Melges in it as ‘ better lasers ‘. But time will tell .

One things for sure , a LP sock puppet will pop up at some time to tell us how great it is and have sly digs at ILCAs and Aeros  ( easy to spot, it will always be their first post and they will never comment on any other thread )

I note 'weight equalisation'.

And 'Heavy' starting at 69kg.

Mmm interesting. As a 5’9 man that has weighed 69kg for most of my adult life , I had no idea that was ‘ heavy’ lol . I didn’t think I was heavy until I hit 80kgs .

Definitely not . I know what the answer will be . I died two months ago 

It's cheap too at only eighty six quid...

By all accounts the original Blaze FB rig was 'orrible but the current Halo big rig is a fully battened square top jobbie, maybe that makes a difference?

Fully battened sails don't suffer from the top batten staying inverted like other sails.

They can last a long time and give good performance when fairly old.

I suspect it's harder to design a really good FB sail which is controllable over a good range of fullness. Perhaps more so with no shrouds, and hence spreaders?

A lot will come down to the quality of design and develeopment,  you want something that has been made to work properly, not a box-ticking exercise to get all the features which are currently in vogue. Copying what works best on a skiff may not be best for everyone. How much design and development actually happens that's not heavily constrained by class rules or working with legacy constaints like a given mast?

We have a few supernovas at our club and I definitely seen them sailing with the bottom battens flipped though and the top two still inverted . 

That doesn't tie in with my experience of various sails, some with single, Merlin like, long top battens, some like the Blaze with three full length battens, others like the Spice and 'nova with all full length battens and too many windsurfing rigs to count. I do take you point (and completely agree) that it all comes down to how well the sail is designed.

I expect there is no concept that can't be done wrong or defeated by the end user.

 But generally an FB sail should tend to make all the battens work together. Maybe this in not so much the case with a square top sail, where the top batten must be loaded a lot differently from the lower battens?

Possibly this will become more of an issue as the sail ages, as the stresses on the sail are going to be higher near any batten which makes a big angle at the leach?

Maybe it depends where 'sail longevity' and 'light air' are on the list of design goals.

An inverted batten is a huisance in a dinghy, but we can rack the boat and sort it. Not so easy in a 40 foot leadmine where bigger roaches may be seen these days.

Personally I like FB sails for the way they're easy to roll up and don't suffer so much abuse when not sailing.

Good points but I would not trade them for usability on the water. 

WRT square top FB sails the 'nova sail couldn't be further from that concept and I've had issues with both the 'nova and the Spice with the battens not flipping as one. 

I don't recall it being a big problem in Solos or RS400s.

Supernova sails never look very nice:without a breeze.

Called the PortStar, designed in Portugal. Not found any actual photos other than the ones here. 

https://www.laserperformance.global/pages/gallery" rel="nofollow - https://www.laserperformance.global/pages/gallery

Might just be the picture but looks like they have copied more than the full battens from the solo. That looks very sit in, lots of freeboard. I’m not seeing 30kg

Thanks, still working but, maybe my dyslexia, CAPITALISED PORTSTAR Just looks like PORNSTAR to me 

I suspect the big difference with a Solo sail is that if it gives you too much  grief, you buy the next one from a different loft.

I agree. There is a lot of mass in this boat . It’s longer than the aero with a lot more freeboard. It’s going to need a high tech build method to get near that 30kg. ( On the other hand it’s not like other LP boats real weight has been a little more than the quoted weight is it lol ) .

Tbh as long as is it’s in the 35 to 45kg range it’s not really that important. It’s more important how it sails . 

To me it looks like a dog, but it might be a dog that sails like a dream, time will tell.

I am really looking forward to the first reports from people that have actually sailed it .

I’d say a Tapaz

Originally posted by 423zero I must be missing something, that photo is the Hull for the EPS? Looks more like a 2000.

either it's a very wide trailer board, or the camera is so fisheye, we can't tell much about the hull?

Other than the toilet blue colour of course.

As for the alleged weight of the bare hull, it's kind of spoilt by adding on the picnic bench either side. If the price is 8 to 9 grand, how much carbon were we expecting? In perspective, a Formula One chassis tub is about 70kg.The boat is about 4m x 2m, maybe 6 sqm of area? so consider a sandwich each for hull and deck, 50/50 carbon/epoxy, Maybe only one 200g/sqm cloth in most areas, but plenty strong enough if designed properly.

That toe strap doesn't look optimum.

I think with a new class, people have to think not only about the hull design and the rig design, but also about the rule set and what's allowed to be adjustable to suit the helm. Having some flavour of weight equalistation makes that even trickier.

Then again, if you want the best One Design racing with diverse helms, you need a boat that's 'good' for a range of people, not 'optimum' for any one individual?

Looks like a few million euro of EU money went into their new facility.

I put the blurb through google translate but it won't paste here?

Financial support from the European Union | 2,641,600.00 Euros
Objectives, activities and expected results
Consolidate the market leader position in the construction of small pleasure sailboats and
competition and gain recognition as the most advanced and efficient
production unit in global terms; Implement an Industrial Unit that
characterized by the introduction of innovative and differentiating factors; promote the process of
decarbonization of industry and its transition to the use of clean energy;
Ensure minimal environmental impact; Contribute to increasing the number of
sailors, promoting the sport and the practice of sports.

They should have done a deal to put Hybrid into production, considerably prettier 

If you want a proper laugh, Google the launch video. It’s looks like it’s been shot on a old phone and the voice over is only in Portuguese. 

Not sure this has been the best possible launch for the LP PORNSTAR 

Jim C might know . Does anyone else have any idea ? 

http://www.nelo.eu/" rel="nofollow - http://www.nelo.eu/

I don't understand these 'surfski' things? They look like flat water straight line machines to me? I assume it's totally different from what used to be called a 'surf canoe', which was a cross between a sit-on kayak and a surfboard. Wide (ish)  and flat underwater with a fin like a board?

A few more pictures -

why does it say RS on the outer stern quarter?

If they’ve not thought that, or the ‘pornstar’ thing thru, what else have they messed up?

Those decks look like a nightmare to make stiff enough too.

So it’s a ‘no’ from me

Give me some credit please. I know, what it’s supposed to be, but it’s only a stroke away. I’ll leave it at that or Mark will have to yellow-card me

Originally posted by iGRF Lots of old pale male and stale folk there. Must admit it looks better on the trailer from a perspective point of view than those on water pics that make it look really too chunky.

Indeed, what we think of the style of it doesn't matter very much. People might start thinking it looks very nice if it overtakes us in F2 or blasts past upright when our Lasers are upside down. I have reservations about some details, but it looks like what I'd expect, give the decisions made about variable beam and a single sail. (personally I'm unsure that either of those criteria are what I might choose for a class)

You say it looks chunky, I think they've chosen a high freeboard to help make the hull a stiff beam structure.

I suspect, with the big wedge of EUSSR money involved, the business plan may not involve waiting around for a lot of affluent middle aged amateurs to build the class? I won't be surprised to see the creation of a 'prestigeuos' event for pro/squad/national team sailors where this is the prescribed equipment. It's closer to the way things are done in other branches of sport.

Personally, I'd like a go in one.

For a bit of irony, 'Portstar' is an NZ company that does roto-moulding!

https://portstarplastics.co.nz/

No idea really, I thought 'ski' involved being towed by a powerboat, or a jwetski.

I think our local lifesaving paddlers call their craft 'sleds'?

Complex business, this 'no sails' malarkey.

There are some very short ones and some very long ones!

Something in between that doesn't weigh half a ton or fall apart  first time the sun hits it might be of interest.

Confused of Devon.     :-)

http://www.epickayaks.uk.com/touring-composite-surf-skis" rel="nofollow - http://www.epickayaks.uk.com/touring-composite-surf-skis

Originally posted by iGRF We need a separate section for you goat boaters, should come under a separate heading 'Retarded Water Users' springs to mind you could have other joiners like Stand Up Paddleboarders and talk about the sores you get from your underbiting habit.

We need a separate section for people to post stuff moaning about what other people post...

Dear Editor,   

There are some 'drifters' on here     

Thanks    

Disgruntled from Kent.

Looks OK, built quality looks good and some nice details. There are some oddities, it has a reverse snub nosed bow which looks on vogue from the front but looking from the helms position looks plain ugly. The winds are covered in cork, waste product from all the Port corks. The bung is just weird, almost sticking vertically upwards. The rudder is mounted on a tower, with no access hatch. The traveler is a fixed length and oddly knotted and spliced. The X in carbon that forms the mast gate looks cool but ultimately will need UV treatment eventually. The dagger board trunk ends only a few cm above the deck but the board travels up and is supported by the carbon X but only the very from few cm, it feels structurally strange. 

Need to look at the boat in conjuction with its class rules.

And then give it a try.

Centre toe strap looks wrong with the wings out?

Thanks for casting your eye over it and giving your view of it . It’s totally confirmed what I thought about it and what I know about LP. 

In the words of Dragons Den , I’m out .