The Laser

jssailem · Feb 23, 2018

Simon, What are his ambitions with the Laser? Is it a fun boat that he can race with friends? Go for it. There are all sorts of boats and they offer many different experiences. Me, for warm water fun I'd buy a hobbie cat. Speed, drive it up to the beach possible, splash in water. Crashes.. Oh Boy.

DArcy · Feb 23, 2018

That really depends on what he wants to do with it. If he wants to get into racing a dinghy, you cannot do any better than a Laser for a one person boat. There are lot out there which makes them obtainable for a reasonable price but also means there are a lot of fleets around to join. They are stable, easy to sail, easy to rig, easy to launch but they have reasonably good performance.
If he is just looking for a boat to get out and fool around in, the Laser is still a good choice but there are a lot of other options for one person boats. Sunfish, Snark, Byte are just a few but there are a lot more out there. My cousin has a Laser at his cottage and we had a blast last summer just messing around in it. We also have a very competitive Laser race fleet at my club and the neighboring club.

JRacer · Feb 23, 2018

Great fun. Go for it.

jon hansen · Feb 23, 2018

bruce kirby design, wet, used in the olympics, young girl from my yacht club, anna tunnicliffe, did pretty well with her's.
i got to hold her medal in my hand

jon hansen · Feb 23, 2018

i have a bruce kirby design boat in my stable, a trinka 12. i'm 6'5" and wanted the extra leg room. big fan of bruce's designs.

Sailm8 · Feb 23, 2018

I had a Prindle 18 that was a real hoot. Flying a hull and running rings around most anything on our lake. Wet to sail but almost like some sort of animal when it caught the wind and took off.

pateco · Feb 23, 2018

Sailm8 said:
I had a Prindle 18 that was a real hoot. Flying a hull and running rings around most anything on our lake. Wet to sail but almost like some sort of animal when it caught the wind and took off.

Less than $1000
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/50338
https://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p14922-1986-hobie-16-with-trailer.html
https://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p14113-1983-prindle-16-w-2ftrailer.html

agprice22 · Feb 23, 2018

I had a Laser. Lots of fun. Good for lakes or ocean.

I also had a US-1. Similar to a Laser. Boy was it quick! Great lake sailing boat. Not a good ocean boat.

jon hansen · Feb 23, 2018

the sonar is hot

jon hansen · Feb 23, 2018

maybe he needs a go fund me account. just be honest about it. like: young, have saved some money, want to buy a sailboat to learn a new skill.

DArcy · Feb 23, 2018

jon hansen said:
i have a bruce kirby design boat in my stable, a trinka 12. i'm 6'5" and wanted the extra leg room. big fan of bruce's designs.

I saw Bruce a couple of months ago. He seems to be doing well still. There have been a lot of his designs around here including some very nice semi custom 36 foot cold molded boats.

cjm1 · Feb 23, 2018

They are a great boat but you must have a sail club near by that supports this class. There is nothing like having 15 to 20 laser at the start line. Solo with no competition I would not recommend. I race almost every wed with this number June thru early Sept don't do well but boy is it fun (maybe because it's the 75 year bracket).

walmsleyc · Feb 23, 2018

I raced Lasers as a youth. And had one up until a few years ago. If the wind was 15-18, I could go to the club at lunch, be rigged and in the water in < 15 mins, rocket around for 30+ minutes, and put away again in 10 mins. Nothing like a laser on full plane for thrills and a good workout. Everything starts to hum, steering get hyper sensitive, and you get blasted with water. Couldn't be more fun. So I beg to differ, they are great boats for when you are one your own too. While they have their flaws, the are super simple to rig, few parts to break or repair, and they are pretty tough. Might have a hard time finding one under $1000.

Chris

Joe · Feb 24, 2018

The laser is a great choice. Getting proficient in this dinghy will open many doors for him if he decides to take his sailing up a notch....such as crewing in local races on larger boats. It's a very athletic boat with a huge network of enthusiastic sailors. Easy to rig, transport and store.

Sandy Stone · Feb 24, 2018

While Lasers are fast, fun to sail, and easy to rig, I have to disagree about them being tough. The reason they are so fast is that they are light, in my opinion to the point of being flimsy. If you buy one new and take care of it, it will last a good while, but any Laser you can get for $1000 I think will be soft and floppy. You can still sail it and have fun, but be careful where you put your weight.

MrBill_FLL · Feb 24, 2018

I own a laser, I also owned a Hobie 16. the hobie was more fun, but was more work to rig, tow and store.
the laser is fast, nimble and wet. its a better alternative to a sunfish, imo.

I have a small trailer but you can put it on a roof rack with 2 people. no problem. like a sunfish, there is 1 line from the mast to the boat. Make darn sure it doesn't come loose when you flip or you loose the rig.

For a 15 year old, its a good 1st boat. I got mine for $650 with extra sail, and rudder blade. I did put some inspection ports and added fiberglass to the sides where you sit, as it was soft.

Jackdaw · Feb 24, 2018

No one's mentioned that the Laser hull can be sailed with two rigs; the standard and the radial. The radial, with it's smaller mast and sail area, is better suited for smaller sailor, beginners, or sailing in windy venues. You can start with one rig and switch to the other; its the same hull.

The Laser

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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