Club 420

Regarding the first part:

The world record, circa 1976, as photographed and published on the "Beam Reach" magazine of ILCA, was thrity three (33) people - if I remember correctly...

They also had pictures of a kid water skiing behind a Laser, of "kamikaze gybes" (gybing while standing on the aft deck!), etc.

:)

SG
 
The Laser is designed for one person.

I am not sure about the 420 price. Check www.teamvanguard.com.

They have a used boat section. The 420 is a good boat if you want to learn to sail, but if you are more serious and still want a two person boat that wouldn't set you back an arm and a leg, I would suggest a Laser 2 instead. Much nicer boat in my opinion.
 
are you kidding me Goonie?

Laser 2s are awful...i'd go 420 over laser 2 easily...no questions asked!

laser 2s bring a bad name to laser-ing
 
Corey,

How do they bring a bad name to Laser-ing as you put it?
They are faster and more technical then a 420.
Both have restrictive class rules to keep things fair.
Both require light weight crews to make them sail "fast".
Ones hull weight is 270 lbs and the other 170.

Steve.
 
I'm also interested in why you think the Laser-2 is such a horrible boat. I have pretty much the opposite opinion. I haven't sailed too many other boats that handled as nicely as the Laser-2 while going as fast. IMO Frank Bethwaite did a nice job bringing many of the best skiff attributes to a pretty accessible boat.

Cheers,

Geoff Sobering
145234
 
I believe if you want to get into perfomance doubled handed racing (for junior sailors, at least) you may want to go with a 420. In the US, we have a series of regattas called the Junior Olympics spread out all over the country consiting of opti's, Lasers, Radial, 420's and windsurfing, at some locations. The 420 is by far the most popular doubled handed boat for junior sailors around. It may be different for adult racing and for your location, however. I'd go with whatever fleet is the biggest and closest, personally. I don't know of ANY L2 fleets near me however I could riddle off tons for 420's.
 
There is 1 main problem with laser sailors sailing 420s and laser 2s: if u sail a laser radial or laser standard competatively at the north american level (155 lbs and over) you are too big to be a skipper. Vanguard makes 6 nonspecial order laser 2s a year; therefore, the strenght of the NA class is not strong. The club 420 is even worse. They only exist in NA (if you count 5 in Canada). So competing at an international level (key to development of top youth sailors) means buying new parts for a boat you have never sailed before. Man that was a great idea (sarcasm). The crew wait for the runner up at the 420 midwinters this year was well under 220. But basically both are relatively affordable. Laser 2s are bigger in Canada and 420s in the US. So if you want to sail doublehanded in the US you should sail a 420, and if you want to sail doublhanded in Canada you should sail a laser 2 for the sake of competition.
 
all right... first off.. a club 420 that costs $1000 is quite likely going to need some serious attention before it goes sailing. Second, there is nothing wrong with the 420 or the Laser 2... however, the Laser 2 is a more or less dead class as far as real competition is considered. The 420 still has a following but is totally undercanvassed... if anything get an i420... best for speed and competition, otherwise just get a 29er!
 

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