GRP Blades

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ems3796

Member
Having just picked up a set of the new GRP foils, i thought I'd share a review after the initial sail. Upon inspection, the blades look fast. They have a very smooth surface and the black top part looks great. However, once I got sailing I was unfortunately disappointed. The trailing edge of the centerboard chipped almost immediately on the top portion. Apparently the Mk II centerboard brake was a little too forceful on it. So now I have a little chip on my brand new centerboard. On top of that, upon returning to the dock after a day of racing and placing the board in my cockpit, I was welcomed with another chip. This time on the forward bottom edge. Although these are just chips in the gelcoat and don't really matter, I was still disappointed with the craftsmanship that LaserPerformance put into these. At least make them last more that one day!!!!


P.S. If anybody has any tips for repairing the chips it would be greatly appreciated!
 
ems3796 said:
Having just picked up a set of the new GRP foils, i thought I'd share a review after the initial sail. Upon inspection, the blades look fast. They have a very smooth surface and the black top part looks great. However, once I got sailing I was unfortunately disappointed. The trailing edge of the centerboard chipped almost immediately on the top portion. Apparently the Mk II centerboard brake was a little too forceful on it. So now I have a little chip on my brand new centerboard. On top of that, upon returning to the dock after a day of racing and placing the board in my cockpit, I was welcomed with another chip. This time on the forward bottom edge. Although these are just chips in the gelcoat and don't really matter, I was still disappointed with the craftsmanship that LaserPerformance put into these. At least make them last more that one day!!!!

P.S. If anybody has any tips for repairing the chips it would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

The APS blog, 'The Stern Scoop', has some responses from LaserPerformance on the question as to why these blades chip so easily, how to repair them, and why LP think they are really better than the old blades even though they do chip so easily. Check out the 6th and 7th comments on http://blog.apsltd.com/2011/01/laser-daggerboards-in-stock.html
 
There is a lad at my local club who has had 5 sets of GRP foils from Laser as the other just kept breaking and chipping. He finally has a set that seems to be durable....
 
Tillerman said:
The APS blog, 'The Stern Scoop', has some responses from LaserPerformance on the question as to why these blades chip so easily, how to repair them, and why LP think they are really better than the old blades even though they do chip so easily. Check out the 6th and 7th comments on http://blog.apsltd.com/2011/01/laser-daggerboards-in-stock.html
Click to expand...

Thank you very much Tillerman, this is exactly what I was looking for. Its nice to see that LP has some interest in keeping its customers happy
 
I'm looking into buying a new (2007) Laser from a local sailing school the boat comes with different style daggerboard then I have seen anywhere else. The daggerboard is shiny gel coated finish but it does not have a black top on top. Is this blade a knock off?
 
I own a 2002 that has blades that i know are class legal but these have a shinier and harder/ thicker finish was there a old style grp blade
 
As for the GRP foils chipping easily, this most commonly occurs when people put their centreboard into the cockpit with the bottom corning of the board (bottom edge & trailing edge) into the cockpit, this used to happen also with the Crompton boards but the GRP boards seem fact more fragile. To avoid this with any Laser centreboard, spin the board 180 degrees and leave the corner up in the air. Additionally, have the centreboard placed so that the end which is down is at the bottom transom end of the cockpit, I'm amazed how many people have them so the board can slip out when you effectively lift the bow when using a trolley.

Nearly 5 years with GRP boards from PSA and my boards remain unchipped, unlike many others who have chipped them after 1 day of sailing.
 
dougreynolds10 said:
I'm looking into buying a new (2007) Laser from a local sailing school the boat comes with different style daggerboard then I have seen anywhere else. The daggerboard is shiny gel coated finish but it does not have a black top on top. Is this blade a knock off?
Click to expand...
Does the board have the 'official' Laser sticker? If not, I would be suspicious...

Could it be the IntensitySails version?
http://www.intensitysails.com/daruforla.html
 
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