Passenger load for Laser Radial

Hi all,

I have laser radial and I am 52kg. I am thinking about taking my friend out for a ride in my radial and he is about 80kg. Can my radial takes this combined weight of 52 + 80 kg = 132 kg????

Will this sudden 'tonnes' overload my radial and affect its buoyancy when I sail by myself again??

Does anyone know about the detailed specification of a radial in this aspect?

thanks in advance

Should be no problem other than that it will go quite slowly with that much weight onboard =P

Should be no problem other than that it will go quite slowly with that much weight onboard =P

No problem, as long as there is some wind indeed. In theory you should have less stress on the hull with a radial, because the sail area is much smaller (the hull is exactly the same as any other laser).
I guess that in short waves with a lot of wind, you would put some extra stress upon the boat by having that extra weight pound into the wave. Then again, have you ever seen what the pro's do with these boats? Taking your boat out with an extra person once in a while will not nearly be equivalent to the stress they put on the boat. If you would do this all the time in all kinds of conditions, it would be a different story. But then again: these boats are pretty strong and made to sail with, so why not enjoy it with a friend. Don't be freaked out about using it!
Of course, if it is windy you better move in harmony if you don't want to swim.
Have fun!

Georg

Hey all, thank you very much for your comments.. I feel more assured now..

BTW, I just remember something and I want to share it with you all.

My friend once showed me a sticker on her laser hull when she first bought her second handed boat. That was last year. She has a radial rig.

That sticker comes with the boat and it states 3 pax. And we are interpreting that message as a laser can take a maximum of 3 person. We went 'WOW'.

So, has anyone come across this sticker thing? I doubt the laser specification will state its capacity since it is an official single-handed boat.

You can even find it on the Lasersailing.com with the specifications for the laser, i believe you can even race with 2 persons, but when you start the race with 2, you have to sail the entire race together, this probably isnt like that for the olympics, but posible in national and regional races. Not that i think it helps in a race

I have never heard of 2 laser sailors racing in same laser boat. This is new to know..

I think you are even allowed to race a Radial with a California Sea Lion as crew.

Hi all,

Thanks for all your help and encouragement. I have sailed with my friend on my radial last Sunday in average 10 knots of wind. It was really fun except the boat is kinda cramp.

We tried both gybing and tacking and it was super fun except I got a 'seal' from the boom on my head when I didn't duck low enough for the tack.

Else it is pure fun and enjoyment of sailing.

cheers

Glad you had a great weekends' sailing! Thanks for sharing your journey with us

All the lasers built by performance sailcraft (at least the newer ones) come with a sticker on the cockpit that says 3 persons + lugage = 135kg
And the ilca rules book says that the laser can be raced by two sailors, but if you start an event with two sailors you have to do all the races with the other sailor and the same one has to helm all the races. i think this fact comes from the main goal of the laser - be sailed by everyone and always be fun - and this was a good way for young kids and light sailors to become competetive in heavy winds.