Do Laser sails perish...?

GEG60026

New Member
Hi all,

I'm after some advice please. I'm relatively new to Laser sailing, having been out of the sport for 15 years or so - I bought a looked after old Laser which has served me well, and as I'm now starting to have more success (and fun!) on the water I'm looking to upgrade bits and pieces.

I mentioned to a fellow club sailor that I was in the market for a new mainsail. He said that he'd bought a brand new Laser sail 15 years ago which was packaged and delivered folded, he'd never taken it out of the packaging, and basically forgotten about it for one reason or another. He's happy to sell it to me at 'mates rates', as he has no use for it now, and we're both a bit stumped as to what would be a fair price.

My question is this - is anyone aware if this sail would still be fit for purpose, or if it could have perished? I'm a club sailor so won't be in contention for the Olympic squad any time soon, and if I can potentially grab a bargain it's a great result and gives me more cash to spend on other goodies.
 
All sails will be affected by age and use. They stretch and thus change shape through use. Sun exposure will eventually rot the cloth from UV.

Never used, still in original packaging it should be just fine. If it is a class legal racing sail it should still perform well for racing. (not sure if the sail specs changed in 15 years to make it illegal for the "official" races.)

For racing you want a fairly new sail in VERY good condition, still crisp and not stretched from use. An active racing person will replace sails regularly.

For just goofing around a dacron sail might be good for 40 years...
 
not sure if the sail specs changed in 15 years to make it illegal
Unless they're recut or otherwise changed, all Laser sails ever made are legal.

In general, all equipment that has been legal at some point will continue to be so, until specifically banned or restricted.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your help! So, its brand new, official Laser, just been sat in storage... sounds like it should be fine, so will give it a try and let you all know!
 

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