Which new laser sail?

I need a new standard laser sail. I am entering a few regattas in the coming months. Is the Hyde really worth the additional $90 on the North sail?
 
There are those that would disagree with Rob. Take a look at them and see which one you prefer. Having seen a North over here in the UK vs a Hyde I know which one I would go for (the only way to get a North over here is to import it so price is not really an issue as they both come out around the same).
 
The laser is a one design class so they cannot be any different or one would be class illegal.
However some say that the Hyde wears better, however I think the difference is negligible.
 
To be blunt, (not intending to be rude) if you are asking the question chances are you will not notice or appreciate any difference. Only the high level competitors have the skill to be able to tell the very slight/if any differences amongst our class sails that are "all the same".

Save your $90 bucks and get the North. The things that will help you the most on the race course are getting a good start and going the right way.
 
Exactly as Rob B said. This has been debated a lot on this forum. Just use the Search function in case you need more info.
 
im thinking of getting a 4.7 practice sail so i dont ruin my race sail,the intensity sail looks good for practicing but im wondering when im in a regatta, will the laser class approved sail feel different than the practice?and will this hurt me in a race?:confused:
 
yes, the intensity sail carries more cunningham. the pointing ability is different also. the legal sail behaves differently.
 
OK, I'll take off my ISAF Measurer's hat.

The variation in the cloth is where the sails feel and behave differently. The North sails feel a lot softer, while the Hyde sail feels "crispy". Some of the top guys believe that the North sail is possibly the better sail to utilise for a one off regatta sail, as the Hyde sail needs to be broken in, but they also think that the Hyde sail has a longer useful life. Personally, I've always struggled to set up the North sail to be fast and I've found that the Hyde sail starts feeling really good after about 3-5 hours of use.

The laser is a one design class so they cannot be any different or one would be class illegal.
However some say that the Hyde wears better, however I think the difference is negligible.

Well, they are different and to a trained eye, they are visibly different, although those visible difference don't impact on performance. The Hyde and North sails are built to be within a certain tolerance, which permits the sailmakers to utilise their own sources of cloth. The sails are not identical, but both fit within the design, construction and fabric tolerances required by the class association.

From my understanding, the cloth used to make the sails is mid 80's technology and the cloth is specially made for the Laser, which is why none of the copy sails behave the same as the North or Hyde sails. If the class decided to update the properties of the dacron cloth was changed, we could utilise current technology dacron cloth that is commercially available, which would result in a small reduction in the manufacturing costs, but give us a better quality, longer lasting cloth.
 
im thinking of getting a 4.7 practice sail so i dont ruin my race sail,the intensity sail looks good for practicing but im wondering when im in a regatta, will the laser class approved sail feel different than the practice?and will this hurt me in a race?:confused:

They are different so IMO, you can practise with your intensity but a few weeks before the regatta switch to the class sail to get the feel of it back.
 
No one else has access to the cloth that Hyde and North use to make their laser sails. The cloth is similar, but not the same. From memory, Bainbridge specially does a production run to make the Hyde cloth and North uses their own in house cloth.
 
I'll accept that, but it's no longer a cloth that contender sells to the other sailmakers is my point. It's specially made for Hyde.
 
hi,

I don't understand something. I thought the laser was a one class design?! How is it possible that there are differences between sails?!

I live in france, I practice laser for competition with a good level, and I am interested about laser technology. But in France, no one speak about differents manufacturers!!

I understood (I am a french sailor, so english isn't my speciality) that there is (at least) 2 differents manufacturers: North and Hyde. Does I am right?

I know that our sails come from England. What's constructeur is it? Because french dealers never spoke about differents manufacturers.
Could you give me some information about these things?

PS: Sorry for my english.

Ant
 
I understood (I am a french sailor, so english isn't my speciality) that there is (at least) 2 differents manufacturers: North and Hyde. Does I am right?

I know that our sails come from England. What's constructeur is it? Because french dealers never spoke about differents manufacturers.
Could you give me some information about these things?

PS: Sorry for my english.

Ant

Ant,

First, your English is good enough.

Only Hyde sails are readily available in Europe. I don't know why. We can get both here in the states, but most use the North because it is less expensive.
 
I think the reason for the two sailmakers is because it is a class rule that there will always be two suppliers of laser parts incase one cannot provide products for some reason ie fire etc
 
I will say, having used both, that there is a difference.

Although it is crucial to point out that every sail is "different". They all break in differently, they'll all crease differently when the controls are cranked.

The first Hyde sail I used felt "tight". This was especially noteworthy in the cunningham. The first time I pulled some cunningham on, I thought: "That doesn't look right". It took some getting used to.

One thing I have noticed with the Hyde sails, is that they keep their smooth, blade-like shape much better than the North sails.

They don't seem to be afflicted but those ugly creases/wrinkles back near the leech that always seem to appear when you start to tighten things up.

I much prefer the Hyde sails, both for both their longevity and performance.
 

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