J24 (Sail No. 4239) Dartmouth |
29er GBR 074 Tynemouth |
Laurent Giles 'Jolly Boat' Exeter |
List classes of boat for sale |
Why does the Laser exist? |
Post Reply | Page <12345 7> |
Author | ||
zeon
Far too distracted from work Joined: 20 Aug 16 Online Status: Offline Posts: 316 |
Post Options
Quote Reply
Topic: Why does the Laser exist? Posted: 16 Dec 19 at 11:02pm |
|
Have you even see a H2 in the flesh ? For its size it’s light . It’s a hell of a lot bigger than a laser and lighter too . The only person sniping on here tonight is you. Chill out a bit
Edited by zeon - 16 Dec 19 at 11:08pm |
||
Guests
Guest Group |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 12:04am | |
Personally I find it weird looking, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The one at our club got sold on pretty quickly - the owner, a good sailor, didn’t get on with it despite high hopes.
|
||
CT249
Far too distracted from work Joined: 08 Jul 06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 399 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 12:37am | |
Zeon, comments such as implying that the Laser should not exist and others saying "pretty much everything else is much nicer" make it pretty clear that I'm not the only one sniping.
|
||
rich96
Really should get out more Joined: 20 Jan 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 596 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 4:51am | |
When it appeared it was completely different to anything available - faster than pretty much all other hiking dinghies, 'cool', easy to maintain, durable, etc etc etc
Some of the boats listed earlier have developed now into 'nicer' boats but weren't at that the time - the OK and Finn are completely different now Strangely, for many of us, the Laser still does what it did in the 70s now very well. Despite a few recent modern designs being a little quicker and 'nicer' its taken a long time for this evolution to occur Despite some of the comments on this thread, I'd say the Laser was one of the few boats that lots of us would be happy to go out for a blast in F6 ? |
||
tink
Really should get out more Joined: 23 Jan 16 Location: North Hants Online Status: Offline Posts: 788 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 7:09am | |
I haven’t owned a Laser for many years but spend a couple of weeks a year at a beach club sailing one. Mornings are drifters afternoons are full on waves and big wind. For context I sail a Streaker and before that an IC, the wrong side of fifty and in OK shape but no athlete. When I first started back in the Laser I hated it for all the well documented reasons, but after getting crib notes from a bloke back home and watching the boat whisperer DVDs I started to enjoy myself in it, particularly big winds and big waves. It is a boat that rewards technique and you can pretty well sail it in anything if you just keep it flat. When I did my coaching course it was so windy normal sailing wasn’t feasible, we did rudderless sailing in Lasers, I doubt many other boats would let you do that. If the question had been ‘still’ exist I think the relatively unchanged nature of the Laser, cost of ownership and equal racing all rate highly. I am probably going to replace the Streaker with a Laser next year, for these reasons. |
||
Tink
https://tinkboats.com http://proasail.blogspot.com |
||
Rupert
Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 8:47am | |
It exists simply because it was a better boat than those already out there. It still exists not only because of the critical mass, but because almost everyone who sails it at club level, especially those learning to race, love it.
|
||
Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
|
||
zeon
Far too distracted from work Joined: 20 Aug 16 Online Status: Offline Posts: 316 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 8:58am | |
We all know why it was good, it was it the right boat at the right time ( the performance per pound spend could not be beaten plus it was high tech for the time and had a great class stucture.) But the the only reasons left are the class racing and the fact second hand ones are cheap. I am not saying All boats built since are nicer to sail. But what I am saying in my experience is every other boat I have owned has been nicer to sail and more controllable in a f6 than the lasers I have owned, even ones fitted with xd kit . And that’s not to say all these other boats didn’t have there own problems , but that’s for other threads . |
||
H2
Really should get out more Joined: 26 Jul 17 Online Status: Offline Posts: 749 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 9:00am | |
Ummm - the hull weight of a Laser and a H2 are almost identical yet a H2 is a much larger boat which can easily carry a modern human of more than 80kg and be competitive! One of the best bits of the hull being much larger is that it is comfy to hike all day long.
|
||
H2 #115 (sold)
H2 145 OK 2082 |
||
zeon
Far too distracted from work Joined: 20 Aug 16 Online Status: Offline Posts: 316 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 9:05am | |
It’s not for me either but it’s carving out a nice little nich for its self . I won’t comment on it’s looks as people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, my own ride at the moment is a british moth
|
||
H2
Really should get out more Joined: 26 Jul 17 Online Status: Offline Posts: 749 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 17 Dec 19 at 9:12am | |
I do apologise - I was not intending to have a go at the Laser but do realise my comments read like I was, I was actually having a bit of a wander down memory lane out loud and remembering sailing the Laser through the squad system back in the 90s when many of today's UK super star helms were also going through the system. I owe the Laser many things, it certainly taught me how to sail technically and it taught me how fit you need to be to sail at that level and it also put me off sailing for twenty years although marriage and kids could also be blamed in part. I personally found it a boat that was very hard on the helm physically in terms of damage to knees and other joints and I only got back into sailing competitively once boat design evolved to take into account that the helm's health is not a disposable item. Undoubtedly it was a revolution and one that spawned the dinghy scene that we have today and for that I am very grateful. Would never buy another one though.
|
||
H2 #115 (sold)
H2 145 OK 2082 |
||
Post Reply | Page <12345 7> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |