Advice for newbie

C

Chris Schmidt

New Member
Hello. I am new to Lasers and this is my first post here. I am looking at buying a Laser soon, and have looked at a few so far. I am interested in one and am not sure what to do. The good stuff...It is a 99, pretty stiff, no spider cracking anywhere, pretty new class legal sail (not much use, if at all), practice sail in good shape, spars in great shape and straight, lines are decent, sail bag, board bags, carbon fiber extension, so-so dagger board and rudder (chipped and repaired...could be improved on) Filled the mast step and no loss of water, pulled transom plug and no water came out, looked inside inspection port in stern and bone dry. No signs of glass work.
The minuses. Gelcoat scratching all over the hull, nothing down to the glass however (beach boat). The mast, when stepped, had a good amount of play in the hole, is this normal? Can anyone direct me to a photo of what this space should look like? The front section of the step tube looks like it had worn or chipped at some point and was patched. The daggerboard trunk has a groove in the front , and some past small patch jobs that have chipped on the hull side...will I be able to repair these without worry? The tiller has rubbed on the deck and completely worn through the gelcoat. Can I fix this and remedy the tiller spacing and be worry free? Keep in mind I am on a budget for a first boat and I doubt I am going to get perfection on my budget. I just want to avoid any major issues. Thanks in advance.
Chris
 
Sounds like a good boat to me. Everything seems complete and in good condition. If your not racing, then the gelcoat scratching doesn't matter, and if you are, the repairs are relatively easy and can be completed at your leisure. The play in the mast step is perfectly normal, every boat has it, as are the the minor problems you mentioned. Any boat more than a few years old will have these, such as the groove in the centerboard trunk or the gelcoat being worn through on the transom, it just comes with age, even if the boat was maintained meticulously. They can be repaired if you like, but are insignificant and will reappear soon anyway. With all of "the good stuff" it comes with, I think that this is a great boat, and if he is willing to meet your budget I would definitely buy it. Just be prepared to go over that budget with all of the upgrades you will want!!
 
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