Why the Laser ?

Mariner

New Member
I am a noob to the racing dinghy concept and am just starting to get my feet wet (pun) and I have a question for the devoted Laser racers

Why the Laser ? Why not the Snipe ? The Lighting ? The Skiff ? What boats are the fastest ? Can I get that information in a list by order ?

Tks in advance; I am merely sponging knowledge

:)
 
these are my reasons. As a lot of people here are American, they may bear no relation to anything useful for you:


Why the Laser ?

Good single handed sailing.

Easy to trailer and launch single handed.

Sail area matched body weight which matched the common wind strengths of my area.

Design good for local conditons. No big areas of open boat to fill with water.

Good club fleets in most areas.

Fast to rig up.

Low cost of maintenance.

OD and single sail concentrated my efforts on improving my skill, rather than spending my time getting lost in extra go-fast tack ons and buying my way through the fleet. It's a great feeling everytime you see yourself finally nail a technique or make an improvement. You know you did it, not your wallet. For me, the laser seems to lead forward into sailing more than any other boat I've sailed. Might be the boat, might just be coincidence.

Good resale value. (No, spectacular resale value. I don't know why people pay so much for used lasers. I certainly did :eek: )



Why not the Snipe ? The Lighting ? The Skiff ? What boats are the fastest ?

No local club fleets - I wanted to race.

Expensive to maintain a competitive boat.

Range of wind that I would be able to keep the thing down in was limited.

Depending on the availablilty of crew just so I could sail was not an option.

A beginner could sail a skiff, but they would have to be seriously fired up and impervious to any physical, mental and financial setbacks till they learned to sail rather than swim.

Ultimately, pick a boat you feel comfortable in, that meets all your physical and mental demands adn you'll be on your way into sailing. You may have to buy and sail a few different boats before you realise you need a laser, or you may just pick it straight off. Same with anything.
 
Thank you for these replies, they are very helpful.

I went down today to talk to some sailors in Wrightsville Beach (a Masters event) and they were very kind and generous with their time (It was after the race and the beer was flowing)

I am leaning towards the Laser at this time for reasons that are listed above; there is a definate fleet support here in my area.

Thanks !

Edit

Although my son is only 7 (And a little young at thsi time; I am going to get him into Opti lessons this June. But ... I would love to race a boat WITH HIM (Doublehanded); any opinion for the type of boat for that ?

Tks again !
 
Although my son is only 7 (And a little young at thsi time; I am going to get him into Opti lessons this June. But ... I would love to race a boat WITH HIM (Doublehanded); any opinion for the type of boat for that ?

What's the local wind like? I sailed 420's with a lot of younger kids, normally in the 6-12 range, and as long as the wind isn't heavy (or the skipper is), it's a pretty good sail. A 420 is a great boat to get started in for your son, too, if he would like to race in highschool and college.

However, the boat price, and upkeep fee is a lot higher than the Laser. Also, depending on your area, there may or may not (leaning towards not) be races for older folks.

Good luck!
 
Main reason in favor of the laser: The biggest class of it's type (and with the best sailors), therefore more competition/people to sail with.
It has taken the place that the finn used to have (for quite a wile ago), which makes me abit sad as the finn comes from my club =p
 
Get an old mirror (if they have them at your club) to sail with your young son - you can get them cheap and your mainly after the experience of sailing with him rather than winning races I expect ? Best part of that is if you get a cheap mirror, you can afford a decent laser too (-; - and the best of both worlds. In a few years he'll be ready for a 4.7 so you can give him your old laser and buy a new one !!! (-; - even better.

You gotta plan ahead for these things ...
Watch out though, you might only get a few years before he's in a radial and beating you.
 
Mariner...

Where abouts do you live? If you were at the masters event then I guess you're somewhere in NC?

I have a lot of involvement with the Opti Fleets at Carolina Sailing Club (Raleigh) and Lake Crabtree events....

If you're around I'd invite you for a beer and chat about types of boats that are suitable for you & your son. I think you'll find that a lot of families have several boats around here...

Lasers and Optis for the singlehanded sailing and a family boat for the summer weekends. The nice thing about Lasers & Optis in this area are the huge demand for used boats which keeps the resale value high.

T
 
Why the laser.

Simply enough, the fact that you are on a forum of great people, and great sailors. The fact that as I write this, there are 60 people browsing this forum shows how large the class is. With sail numbers in the 180,000's, and racers everywhere, you will never have trouble finding a race, someone to sail with, a boat, parts, help with rigging, or anything else. The resources available to you in this class is amazing. Its a great fun boat, you will love to sail it, and you will never get tired of sailing it. As I move into the Finn due to my size, I leave behind the best sailing years of my life. You will love this boat, its durable, fast, and a blast. I have been in Stars, Snipes, Opti's, Dierdows, Finn's, and Many large boats. Nothing will ever rival the fun of sailing a laser and the community that goes with it.

You will love it


Josh

Josh
 
Wow

What nice answers and thoughful replies; thanks again.

Tom

I am in Carolina Beach (near Snow's Cut). I had stopped by the Master's event on a whim (my son and I were on the way to get the best Mexican Food in Wilmington)

My goals are:

1. Get my butt back into sailing after losing the fire for too many years due to work, marriage, life, et al

2. Get my young son exposed to it at the youngest and realistic age possible

3. I would love to learn the art of racing (not expecting much as I'm getting a late start, but I love competetion)

4. Perhaps my son and I develop another common bond that keeps us both active later in life
 
My goals are:

1. Get my butt back into sailing

2. Get my young son exposed to it

3. learn the art of racing

4. Perhaps my son and I develop another common bond that keeps us both active later in life
My thoughts exactly. We bought a used wooden Opti for the little one, and I am looking at a cheap second Laser for the teenager - we really only have a couple summers left before he's off to who knows where. Can't waste this opportunity.
 
Mariner--All advice above is sound in my opinion. If you want to learn the art of racing, there really is no other boat. The singlehanded nature means you are in charge of everything. Tactics, trim, boat handling, helm, etc. The size of the boat means tiny changes make big differences. Weight placement, sheet movement, etc. You'll learn a bit in every race, ask questions on shore and between races, apply the answers and get better. I suggest reading as well. The Rules Book is organized in a way that you can easily learn the few rules that are most important to your level without going cover to cover. Start with a dingy racing book, though. There are many dedicated to the laser. I'm reading and asking questions and I'm very pleased with my improvement over two weeks of racing this year. I have Laser Racing in the 90's by Dick Tillman. (dating myself). The newer edition is something like Modern Laser Racing or something. Let's hope there ain't no new magic tricks in that one or I'm doomed.

I've taken friends out in lasers so you could double hand it with your son even in a race. I don't think club racers would have a problem with that. Though I'd day sail with him first and do a race night alone first. If daysailing goes well with my 4 year old. I'll take him out for a race night if he wants. He watches me race on the computer already and asks questions like, "Are we winning?" and "Why not?"

Glad you swung into the Masters, you've got the same bug as me, that's the way to get into it.
 
Regarding resale, best I can tell getting back into it, what folks say is true. I just saw a boat 6 numbers older than mine go for $800 more than I paid for mine in March.
 
You were asking about the Laser in comparison to a Lightning and other boats. The Laser is a great boat, especially if you are interested in single-handed sailing. The Lightning is a 19 ft., 3 person boat with a main, jib and spinnaker -- a totally different kind of sailing. Bigger boats can handle much rougher conditions. Which boat is for you depends on a lot of issues, such as whether you want to sail with a crew or alone, whether you are going to be sailing in rough conditions, and where you are going to launch. A Lightning cannot be readily launched from a beach. If you want to race with your kids, a bigger boat than the Laser would make sense.

To compare speeds of different boats, take a look at this site, which rates different boats.

http://www.ussailing.org/portsmouth/tables06/tables06cb.asp

This is the Portsmouth Yardstick that peermits handicapping of different boats in a single race. The smaller the number, the faster the boat. For a small boat, the Laser is very fast. Some larger boats, such as a Thistle or a 5o5, are considerably faster. But they don't actually feel any faster.
 

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