Laser radial vs. Sunfish

O

OldDog

New Member
Hi All

Just bought a Laser last weekend. It has a radial rig which I plan to upgrade to standard rig. Truth be told at 230 I am over the optimal range for a standard rig so I'm really overweight for the radial, but the price range was right and the hull itself was in great shape. So until I upgrade I'm wondering what to expect from the radial. I sailed my brother in laws sunfish and was able to move around the lake in a pretty gentle breaze but the Sunfish has more sail area albeit a lanteen rig. I doubt I'll be getting up on plane but I'm hoping the radial will at least match the Sunfish for performance. Actually I'm hoping the boat will move :-o . So bottom line question what is the perfomance of a Laser Radial comparred to a Sunfish?
 
A little tricky to answer.. flat water, equal 230 lb skipper weights, I'd rather be in the 'fish up to around 15kts (more sail area) After that, IMHO, the 'fish rig is going to depower faster then the radial sail and the radial will be a little faster upwind, but the fish may still be faster downwind (lots of flat surface to plane on)

If you go up against a normal weight 'fish sailor, no contest, the 'fish will be faster
 
Hi 49208,

I have the same question as the difference between a Radial and a Fish. The difference is that I am

* 135 pound
* 50 year old guy in good shape
* new to sailing

Thanks.
 
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