Good Deal ??

Blocka33

Blocka33

New Member
Hi all,

Am fairly new to the sailing game but as you would no doubt expect - am hooked !:D

I did a beginners course in Corsairs and a recent 'intro to racing' course in a Spiral (which i was a bit on the big side for....)

I have owned and sailed a Fireball for the past few months but am getting sick of relying on others to sail.......

My club has offered me an old (year not sure but early 90's would be my guess) full rig Laser (sail number 169692). It is free of any major hull damage or past repairs but a bit on the soft side. The rigging is very basic and suitably aged, the foils are in an average condition and the whole thing does not come with a dolly, trailer or cover......

They are going to give it to me for $1000.00 (oz $)

Now my question to all you learned folk is this - am i best to take the deal and put some money into it in order to clean it up and make it a bit more usefull on the lake.......... or should i hold off and find a boat a boat a bit more expensive but with a few mod cons .......:confused::confused::confused:

Thanks in advance.
 
I have (had) a '99 Laser with a 167k series sail number, so the one you are considering is definitely newer than early 90s. The "bit soft" part would bother me a little, but if it's in sailing condition I'd say $1000 is a pretty darn good deal.
 
I think that the sail included in the deal is newer than the hull........ it is a sort of 'frankenstein' boat - built by putting together old useful bits from the sailing school's Laser gear.
 
That boat was built in 2000.

Sounds ok. Once you buy trailer etc you'll be getting up around what it's worth were you to find it complete from someone else.
 
If you're unsure of the age, you can check the serial number. You can do a search and find threads explaining the whole thing, but basically the last two digits are the year it was made (at least on US boats). Regardless, the price seems fair for a boat in sailing condition.

As to whether you personally should buy it, let me ask this. What do you plan to do with it? You say you're fairly new to sailing. It might be a good boat for you to learn on and do a few local races, and you can sell it in a year or two for close to what you paid. You might have to spend some $ to get the rigging up to date, but as a new sailor that may not be as important as just learning to sail.

On the other hand, do you expect to become competitive quickly or go to many regattas? If that is the case, I would recommend spending a little more money upfront for a better boat.
 
yeah true, if the sail is from another boat all bets are off. If the boat was made in Australia the only serial number it will have will read something like PSA..then 4 or 5 digit number which means nothing except to the builder. The newer Australian boats have the real sail number on a silver sticker on the back wall of the cockpit.
 
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