Sail Numbers

[Just A Mom]

I just read the international laser class rules pertaining to sails and sail numbers. What I was trying to find out was not answered on that page.

If you purchase a brand new race sail you also have to pay per number that would make up the sail number. So.....

1. Does it have to be a 6 digit/character number?
2. Can it be personalized?

I guess my question is actually about personalization of sail numbers. Why aren't they like personalized license plates? Why don't you see people's names or words on sails instead of just numbers? I am also assuming that there is only ONE sail number out there and it is not repeated on a different sail?

 

[Wavedancer]

The sail number has to correspond to the hull number, IF you want the boat to be legal. But if you don't care about that, anything goes, even TGIF.
If your son gets to sail in the Olympics, his name WILL be on the sail. Tokyo perhaps?

 

[Just A Mom]

The sail number has to correspond to the hull number, IF you want the boat to be legal. But if you don't care about that, anything goes, even TGIF.
If your son gets to sail in the Olympics, his name WILL be on the sail. Tokyo perhaps?

Ah, so if I buy a 1993 boat and want to purchase a brand new race sail then I have to get the same numbers on the new sail as the old sail. Well, duh! Why didn't I think of that?!

I was confused because I have seen used sails for sale so I assumed that sail number and boat number didn't always correspond unless the sail was original to the boat.

 

[torrid]

The vintage boats you are looking at, there is a good chance that the number on the sail that comes with it don't match the actual hull number. People often look to save money by buying a used sail rather than a new one, and removing old sail numbers is no fun.

Other than at the elite level (like the Olympics as Wavedancer eluded to) race committees are fairly forgiving on sail numbers. It is important that they be legible and unique. So say you have hull #123456 but sail #156789. As long as no one else has that sail number, you're fine. But say you are racing against the guy you bought the sail from, so you take some duct tape and make your sail #1156789. That probably won't fly.