Are Laser II's no longer available

frankie5

New Member
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum and recently interested in laser sailing. Growing up I remember Laser II's as capable of allowing 2 people to sail her. I haven't sailed for a few years but wanted to get back into it with my significant other as she used to sail as well. However, after looking through various websites, i believe the Laser II is no longer manufactured. IS this correct ?
Is there a replacement for the Laser II that allows 2 on board but with the same feeling of racing a Laser. I have seen ads for a Laser Pro but i'm not sure what that is either.
Any suggestions on Which Laser I should be looking for OR should I look for an entirely different boat ???
Thanks
F
 
I raced Laser IIs during the 1990s. As far as I know they are no longer being built. There are second hand boats around and racing fleets still in some parts of the world.

Whether the Laser II is a good boat for you depends on what you want to do with it (race?) and whereabouts in the world you sail. The same is true for any alternative.

So where are you and what are your objectives?
 
Hello and Thank you for the response.
I'm located in Cleveland Ohio, having learned to sail in Toronto on Lake Ontario (much deeper then Lake Erie) and had liked the Laser Class of boats.
My interest now is to pick up sailing once again and have my spouse sail with me. As I travel back and forth to Toronto, i would like a smaller lighter boat for the two of us, that can travel and what I remember , a Laser II would fit that bill. My interest in Class or local Racing is strictly secondary to just racing around the lake solo or with my spouse to re affirm and improve my sailing skills.
I'm not sure that I would like to purchase an obsolete design. I'm comfortable enough with a used boat that is a current design though.
 
You might want to consider a Snipe, JY15 or 420. The classic Snipe is a little heavier (381 pounds) than the other 2 but is still actively raced and there are fleets all over US and Canada. It doesn't have a spinnaker. The JY15 is lighter and still has some fleet and racing activity. The 420 is classic collegiate 2-person boat and can be rigged very simply or more exotically with chute and trapeze. Pretty tippy though and for lighter weight folks. I don't know about you but I weigh considerably more than I did in college... If I were recommending, I'd go Snipe for sure and you can get a good "bomb-proof" boat & trailer for between $2 and $3k. :D
 

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The recommendations of Snipe, JY15, 420, and V15 are far inferior to the Laser II in terms of performance (with trap and spinnaker, only available on the 420 [but still with inferior performance]), but there is obviously a required difficulty level rise to match that increase in performance. However, all of these are very actively raced, more so than the LII. You mention wanting to race around the lake solo and actual racing as a secondary objective, which makes me think that the Laser II is more the boat for you. As long as you and your wife are okay with the technical demands, it'll be much more fun once the breeze pics up.

Second hand cost is low from what I've seen, likely due at least in part to lack of an active racing scene versus the other options.
 
All good advice. Another (2-person) boat that is being raced in your neck of the woods is the Interlake. Check that one out as well.

PS: Note that parts for a Laser II are hard to come by.
 
The laser II & most parts are available in the UK http://www.sailboats.co.uk/Cat~Laser_2_Regatta_5313.html
If you are thinking of a laser II ,Intensity sail do a full suit of sails, If you look on the link a genuine suit of sails is probably more than most boats are worth in the UK
so when picking your choice of boat look at all costs & availability.
Go for an I14 or 505 much more fun, lots of second hand parts available, Just buy a brown wetsuit & no one will notice the inevitable.
 
I would like to thank everyone that has responded and added significantly to my knowledge of dingy sailing/racing. Seriously, this is a large part of what i have been missing during my years of absence from sailing....this kind of "HELP your fellow sailor".

All the boats that were named, recommended are great, each with their specific good and bad (for me).The internet is a great tool and with your help i searched and read and reviewed all that you've told me and with that, i have come to several conclusions.
1. I prefer a boat with a spinnaker, which then eliminates several like: JY15 and V15 and i believe also the INTERLAKE and snipe.
2. The LII is rare...or lets say not as easily found here in the US as a used boat. "STUCK IN THE 80's" mentioned to look at the UK website he posted and sure enough there i did find the possibility of buying a NEW LASER 2 from Vangaurd USA (which are the owners makers of the current laser and other models i believe). I wonder if the Brit Laser 2 is the same as the Laser 2000, shown on LASERPERFORMANCE website ?? Anyone ?
3. The I14 and 505...are not as readily available (for sale) as i would have thought, and are heavier boats then what i was thinking of getting.... or am i wrong on this point
4. In doing more research with LASERPERFORMANCE...both the VAGO and BAHIA fit my general "would like" list, except very few of them are available used and they carry a hefty new price tag ($8+k).
5.I still think the snipe might be fun and is commonly available and reasonably priced.... (but no spinnaker) the LII still catches my eye..so I will continue to research further.
To that end....does anyone know what was the last year that a LaserII was made in NA ? I have been looking at an online ad they say its a 2001 but i thought they had stopped making them in early 90's. I am attaching a picture of it, because it looks like a laser not a a laserII but I'm not sure if I can tell so can anyone tell if this is a LASERII or not ?
Again, I thank everyone and if you have more suggestions, please keep posting
 

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That's a Laser II. Deck-stepped mast, stays, grip tape on the rail for trapeze, etc. They were only a bit longer than the Laser, and a similar shape, but a different cockpit. I've sailed one in a good breeze and they're pretty fun. Very simple and quick to rig as I recall. I also sailed it alone and had trouble keeping it down in any kind of wind, but stayed well ahead of an instructor in a Laser. In a light breeze you could sail it alone.

I don't know about the dates. That photo boat seems to be in very good condition when it was taken.

From a layman's perspective and not as someone experienced, my impression is that an I 14 is now a wild double-trapeze hot rod, and a 505 is pretty technical, with a lot of controls. 420's are stout and fairly heavy for kid and club use. 470's are still in the Olympics and lots of parts are out there, but not cheap, especially new.
 
Laser IIs went back into build in the U.S. for a time in the mid 2000s - I'm not sure how many were built again before the end.

The Laser 2000 is not the same as the Laser II, but the Laser 3000 class in the UK uses the Laser II hull design with an updated rig and assy spinnaker.

The I 14 is a great class - but it is a lot more boat than the Laser II. Both the helm and crew need to be very skilled sailors, so expect to spend a lot of time swimming before achieving a level of competency in that class. That said - older boats (under the old rules) are affordable and an absolute blast to sail if you have the skills.

The 505 is still my favorite 2-person dinghy, but requires a greater combined crew weight that the Laser II for competitive sailing.

Another option is the Fireball (confession - I own one in addition to my Laser). There are small racing fleets in pockets around the country and in Canada and they remain a very strong racing class in the UK, Australia and some other countries. The Fireball is similar in size to a 505, and is similarly technical but with a smaller sail area and suited to much the same combined crew weight as the Laser II. However you need to know what you are looking for when buying second hand, and like the I 14 and 505, a new Fireball is not cheap.
 
Laser Iis have always sounded like good boats for a couple of teenagers to sail. Not real expensive, but still have a trap and spinnaker for fun. I've never sailed one, but I've been told they are very tippy. The implications were adults didn't have the reflexes to sail them.
 
As someone who sailed lasers in my youth, I'd also add that you have to be pretty light for an adult to be at all competitive. Total crew weight less than 300lbs, if I am not mistaken.

I think the best thing to do is look where you want to sail, and then pick a boat that is being actively raced there. For two person boats, there doesn't seem to be much that is like the laser II for adults. More likely to find something a bit more pokey, like the Vanguard, or Albacore if you are in Toronto. But, don't discount a competitive fleet if you want to race.

And for adults, I think the 420 is a little tight, unless you are small, like in the LII.

There aren't many high performance two person dinghys out there that don't require significant skill level (or at least with real fleets), unless you are willing to go with two sails only.
 
This is a long dead thread, but here goes...

A guy down the street recently sold me a Laser 2 for $250 with the trailer. Not bad, right? Except that (predictably) I can't find parts for it. I added a trapeze last weekend, but I'm having a helluva time finding spinnaker parts. Any ideas?

On a different note, there are three Laser 2s (including me) that occasionally sail near Cincinnati, OH. Is there anyone else nearby that has one?

Thanks,

David
 
Sorry guys, didnt really read the thread but im posting anyways.

I work for laserperformance, as well as own a Laser 2 (which is for sale if you want it, I'm moving into an I14). The Laser 2 is not longer being made, but it still fairly popular in Europe. Laserperformance had liquidated almost all Laser II parts we had in the stores. The good news is that a lot of the laser/laser vago parts can fit onto the Laser 2.

Its a great boat, Ive sailed mine solo, with 2 people, with 3 people, on the wire, without the trap...

Once again, If anyone wants to buy mine, PM me.
 
Intensity Sails has some Laser II sails and parts
To be more precise, they have some Laser 2 -compatible sails and parts... :rolleyes:

Fogh Marine has some L2-specific parts left. As the rights holder, sailboats.co.uk has most of what you need, but they're slowly running out of them as well. Rudder blades haven't been available for some time, and it looks like jibs and spinnakers share the same fate now.

_
 

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