One extremely old Laser...

M

macwas16

New Member
I will shortly be aquiring an old Laser I looked at today for a restoration project. Funny thing was, I had no idea HOW old it actually is. I know that on Lasers made from 1970-1973, the hull identification number is under the bow eye instead of the transom where they are today. Unfortunately, I could not find it. Anybody know where I can find it?? I really want to know how old it is. Who knows, it could be one of the first hulls ever made!!
 
The very first hulls are most likely in Canada. But you would be able to find some of the first production models in the States. How much are you paying for the boat?
 
I'm paying nothing for it! This man I met has two Lasers, one of which is described above and the other is a very nice, maybe 10 year old boat the escaped the beach on an extremely high tide. It was slammed against some pillars and had a lot of damage so he's asked me to fix it for him and for my payment I will get the older boat that I will restore. I'll try to post some pictrues throught the prosses of both boats...but I can't right now, I'm in school. :/
 
Sweet deal man! I was able to pick up a 79 off this forum with a broken mast step for free. Fixed it up and it was great! Bone dry!
 
I got a 79'! I had to get the mast step repaired as well, but even after long days out on the water, there isn't a drip in it. Performance sailcraft make the best boats!
 
Someone at our yacht club recently had a pretty bad encounter with another laser which resulted in a big hole being punched through the side right alongside the cockpit. When the repairers cut out all the damaged area they noticed a heap of information stamped in to the side of the centre board slot i.e. inside the hull. Date and place of manufacture all there. Unless you have inspection ports though this might be hard to get too!
 
Old Lasers are like old trucks, they can take a beating and keep on ticking, they never die or go out of stlye. My first laser was a 1976 hull, and my truck is a 1982 Chevy, gotta love it.
 
I agree with you, Glenn. I've had #255 since new. She's been carefully cared for and remains firm and dry, a credit to her Canadian builders.

MacKenzie, the hull number on my laser is under the bow eye.
 
Hmmm...I'm hoping I'll find it. I really only got a quick look, and the deck has been re-painted so maybe that helped cover it up some. But I deffinately agree with you on the Canadian Performance Sailcraft, they're the best! I've had two 70's PFS boats and they are just as good as new!
 
MacKenzie,

The numbers should be under the bow eye. The numbers are not raised that much, so it's possible that the repaint has obscured the numbers somewhat. Look closely for them.
 
255a.jpg
 
Yes, I took that picture this past Labor Day weekend, rigged just the way I bought her with the original Elvstrom sail without the window, vang and spars. I upgraded to a new boom because the original has a very poorly designed outhaul cleat which never securely held the outhaul. I also upgraded to an 8:1 vang and RWO tiller. The original vang fiddle block has solid cheeks and so I had to buy new vang blocks and a swivel to upgrade. The vang tang is a bit different too in that it needs a shackle to attach to the swivel (to the fiddle block in the original design), as it's just a curved metal arch without the projecting piece with the hole. It works well with the RWO swivel.

Check the boom and lower mast on the Laser you're looking at. If they are the original spars and the boom doesn't have a Clamcleat but rather an odd-looking V-jamming cleat and the vang tang is as I've described, then it's one of the very early boats from 1971. Also, the original boom has eyestraps for the mainsheet blocks attached perpendicular to the boom. The blocks are attached by nylon rings to the eyestraps. They held up well over the years, but I always worried about them breaking.
 
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