Neve sailed - hoping to buy a Laser - thoughts for me?

Hello All!

Kevin here, I'm a 20 year old Computer Science/Bioinformatics double degree student at Michigan Tech.

I weight about 160 pounds (flucuates depending on school load actually from around 154-163).

I'm about 6', and despite being a huge computer nerd who spends far to much time on my computer (school, work, etc), I am relativly athletic and have played hockey my entire life.


I also SCUBA dive, have been certified since I was 12 and also have my nitrox certification.

I live near Grand Rapids (Lake Michigan) during the summer, and near Houghton (Lake Superior) durring the Late summer/fall/winter (no sailing up here!) to early spring.


I love the water. Very much.

I sailed (with my father) a little sunfish about a year or 2 ago during a trip up to a friends cabin. The experience (despite not being optimal as the sunfish was tiny for my dad and I) has stuck with me and kept the idea of buying a sunfish in the back of my head for a while. I did a bit of research, and have been told by quite a few that a Laser would be my best bet, as its small, relativly easy to sail, but has a bit more "kick" to it and if ever I want its a big racing class.

I dont know much (at all) about sailing, however I'm confident that I can pick it up in time. I already have a few sailing books in the mail.


So, my questions? Well, i'm sort of wondering about what its like to begin sailing.

I'm also wondering, considering my body weight, am I big enough to handle a Laser? How about sailing on Lake Michigan, is it a problem?

I'm really concerned that (for instance) free days I have off of work this summer will be too windy, or not windy enough, to sail on. How much of a concern should this really be?

Any general advice, or thoughts?

Also, feel free to check the "Wanted" section of the forum, I'm currently looking for a boat (a cheap old boat ). Might sound like I'm jumping the gun considering I dont even have a boat yet, but I'm confident that if I look hard enough I'll be able to find a good (if not old) boat in my price range

Thanks for your thoughts!

shoelessone said:

So, my questions? Well, i'm sort of wondering about what its like to begin sailing.
I'm also wondering, considering my body weight, am I big enough to handle a Laser? How about sailing on Lake Michigan, is it a problem?
I'm really concerned that (for instance) free days I have off of work this summer will be too windy, or not windy enough, to sail on. How much of a concern should this really be?
Any general advice, or thoughts?
Thanks for your thoughts!

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Kevin,
I have been sailing for a year and a half. I have to admit it is addictive. What's it like? You are going to love it! As far as weight goes, at 160 you are fine. That's what I weigh, but I'm shorter, so you are way ahead of the game. There's guys at my club who weigh 140 and they really kick a*s. It's a lot in the knowledge. Windy days? That's sailing. You have to take what is offered. As far as I'm concerned the amount of wind is rarely a concern--it's rare when there is absolutely no wind, or that it is roaring at 25+ mph. Everything between has its own methods and skills.

If you like, just for fun, take a look at my blog of when I attended Master's Midwinters East. This is an event for people age 35 and above. It will give you a sense of the life of a newbie, I think.
http://www.laserforum.org/showthread.php?t=3411

Kevin

you have picked an excellent boat to start with. Your weight as Merrily has pointed out is perfect for the boat. It is a fun boat to sail, very athletic in heavy air.

I would caution you that on top of learning to sail there is a learning curve for sailing a Laser as well. I would suggest that you go out in light air at first and build slowly.

I am an old guy now (almost 50) and I have been sailing my whole life, I still come back to the Laser as it fun and exiting and it has never become dull for me even after 30 years.

I have faster boats but I still sail the Laser the most. With your ability to learn and analyze you should figure out the Laser fairly fast. You may get a few swimming lessons in as well but it’s all part of the fun.

Laser is an excellent choice. If racing is what you decide you want there is plenty of that to be had as well.

I wish you well and encourage you to ask questions here and seek advice on the purchase of a used boat if that is the route you choose to take.

Sailing is the one thing that has influenced my life the most.


If you start you can't stop

Hello Kevin,

Though it sounds weird, I think your skating skills will really help you learn how to sail a Laser quickly (at least balancing it -- the tricky part). I'm a former figure skater (and incidentally, an engineer) and noticed how isntinctively I learned to balance the boat even in our crazy bay where 5 kts gusting to 25 is not uncommon. Also, being a skater, I assume you appreciate speed ... you'll LOVE a Laser! And yes, they're definitely addicitve!

Kevin;
get the laser dude! your about the same size I was when I got my first laser, which i still have. If your really worried about big air, pick up a radial rig as well as a standard. You can't make a better choice then to get a laser. but then again maybe my opinion is a little one sided. -Skip

Appreciate the words of encouragment!

My birthday is comming up around april 16, and i get out of school on the 29th (well, technically the 29th, exams are over a bit before that), so hopefully by the end of the money i'll have a new hobby

in the meantime, i'm getting a few books in the mail about the (very) basics of sailing so i'll have a bit of time to read up

Any other advice? (also, as you can tell from my "want to buy" thread, i'm looking for a very cheap laser... any ideas as to local places to check for older (ie old older) boats?)

Thanks again!
kev

Hey there -
If you're going to be in the Grand Rapids area, you might want to check out the sailing club at Reed's Lake - there's a Laser fleet. Even if you're not immediately interested in racing, it's cool to have Laser people around you can sail/practice with or be able to ask direct questions of - like, does this look right, or how did you do that? People are usually pretty helpful with getting you started, and answering questions after races. Even if you don't join a club, I wouldn't hesitate to make contact with Laser fleets in the area. http://www.d19laser.com/
I got alot out of our local Laser clinic too.

At the same time, much of the learning is just time on the water. Reading is good, and I did that too the winter before learning to sail, but so much of what you read will only make real sense after you put in the time. And that's one of the great things about sailing - you learn through your senses, it's experiential.

Have fun learning - I love that boat, it's a blast !!

As an alternative thought, make sure you're comfortable sailing a Sunfish first. Try it a few times, and when it's a no-brainer, then step up to a Laser. The Laser sure is fun as long as you're willing to get wet and wild, but I question whether or not it's a good boat for beginner sailors. If you opt to bypass the Sunfish, then at least start in relatively quiet wind conditions. Just rigging the boat is not as straightforward as a Sunfish. In a Sunfish, you put the boat in the water with the sail down, and then just yank on the halyard to raise the sail before getting ready to sail off. In a Laser the sail is sleeved so it needs to be sleeved around the mast and mounted before you're in the water generally. Then you gotta think twice about toting around a boat with a sail on it flapping around - if you using a trailer (as opposed to a dolly). These are little things that you'll get used to. Just not as straightforward as a Sunfish.

dpearson said:

As an alternative thought, make sure you're comfortable sailing a Sunfish first.

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Hey! This is the Laser Forum, buster.

But seriously, Shoelessone, if you are interested in sailing a Sunfish, try www.sunfishforum.org. Bradley operates it in addition to the Laser Forum. The first boat that I bought was a Laser, but I had lessons in an FJ before taking the Laser out. You'll be OK if you stick to light winds at first, and I do think sailing lessons are a great idea.

You are a great size and physique for the Laser.

The Laser is a fast teacher -- in the sense that it is very sensitive to everything you do -- balance, steering, control lines -- and it will slap you every time you make a mistake. If that style of learning is going to frustrate and demoralize you, then it might not be the right place to start. But if you're willing to put up with a string of wipeouts in return for your sailing skills improving quickly, then it's a great boat.

Sailing as a whole is really lacking in "adult education" -- it's hard to go find coaching. But try to find some local fleet with an active racing scene and see if any of the sailors are willing to help you out a little bit. Depending on your learning style, it can be huge to have someone watch you and comment on what you're doing, or, even better, video tape you and comment later as you watch the video tape.

i just got my first laser in august of 05 and had never sailed before, i got some books and started going out on a lake to start with. it has been a prettty steep learning curve and everytime i go out i learn a little more, the laser is great fun and fast, but not very forgiving but you should pick it up prettty fast. it has taken me 9 months to get to the point where i was ready to try racing, so it can be done by someone who knows nothing about sailing. hang in there and good luck!