Well, I have always sailed Lasers but have been 'out of the loop' for a year and am blown away whilst looking at new gear. Havnt had to do it for awhile so am stumped. I have tried to research this but still have some concerns, which I might have the right answer for already, but want to confirm before I spend $$$.
I am getting back into Laser's and want to use an older Laser (165XXX) I have for a year before upgrading.
Questions:
- I have found new 'Laser' sails which are significantly cheaper than ILCA ones. Are they still okay and can be raced with? What about the masts?
- Laser Performance UK is no longer certified it seems (?). Their new boats are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than ILCA ones. Guessing that's because they cant be used in official races?
Questions:
- I have found new 'Laser' sails which are significantly cheaper than ILCA ones. Are they still okay and can be raced with? What about the masts?
- Laser Performance UK is no longer certified it seems (?). Their new boats are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than ILCA ones. Guessing that's because they cant be used in official races?
Answers: if a sail - or any other piece of equpment - is suspiciously cheap, then it's highly likely fake. If you give a link to those you found, we can (possibly) say for sure.
The situation is a bit more complicated now that as LaserPerformance still owns the "Laser" trademark, they can keep using it (almost) any way they want. Legal hulls have a WS sticker, and legal sails have a button. The "small" stuff that was legal before will remain so. Spars may be problematic, and fall into a grey area because they're not marked the same way. We may have to wait for a policy decision on this.
About LP prices: yes.
(By the way... I stumbled on a Bianco last weekend The colour was considerably "whiter" and a warmer shade than that of the vela-grey boat next to it. Number 1495xx.)
The sailboats.co.uk ad is of course the real thing.
The LP Radial is really a bit confusing. It says it has the button, and if so, it's legal, but the 20 % price drop doesn't make sense. Who knows what they're thinking. Maybe they want to get rid of their existing stock of legal sails - it makes even less sense to sell them with illegal hulls.
Laser Performance have no stock but you can find sails here. P&B claim to have class legal and class compliant sails in stock, the price difference is £186 (£540 & £364). My class compliant sail is made in China and seems to sail just as well as the class legal sail. As a fleet/club we have agreed to allow genuine "compliant" Laser parts for club racing so members can save money on sails and hulls. Sailboats have reduced the price of their Hyde ILCA 6 sail to £500 but note the SI's for the recent Masters event in Hoorn specifically excludes ILCA sails.
" The ODSC (ONK) Laser Masters 2020 is a “The Laser Class event”. See Nor 3.5: “For the Laser Standard Master and the Laser Radial Master fleet the rules of" The Laser Class "(see: www.thelaserclass.com) apply. This means that master sailors cannot participate with an “ILCA dinghy” or an “ILCA sail” with “ILCA logo”.
"
Laser Performance have no stock but you can find sails here. P&B claim to have class legal and class compliant sails in stock, the price difference is £186 (£540 & £364). My class compliant sail is made in China and seems to sail just as well as the class legal sail. As a fleet/club we have agreed to allow genuine "compliant" Laser parts for club racing so members can save money on sails and hulls. Sailboats have reduced the price of their Hyde ILCA 6 sail to £500 but note the SI's for the recent Masters event in Hoorn specifically excludes ILCA sails.
" The ODSC (ONK) Laser Masters 2020 is a “The Laser Class event”. See Nor 3.5: “For the Laser Standard Master and the Laser Radial Master fleet the rules of" The Laser Class "(see: www.thelaserclass.com) apply. This means that master sailors cannot participate with an “ILCA dinghy” or an “ILCA sail” with “ILCA logo”.
"
Wow. How many guesses do you need to determine the new builder, LOL!? http://www.laserinternational.org/blog/2019/03/27/announcement-regarding-ilca-approved-builders/?fbclid=IwAR22xZ5n6uL6-vHD3XbxJ9KzdQGVIAs7Gpvkb9uPmwulMOSUhtSIjdU8VwQ What a shame it came to this!!
The Radial sail from Laser Performance is their "The Laser Class Sail", with a TLC button, not the world-sailing approved International Laser Class Association button. So the LP sail isn't "legal" at any real class association events. Instead of spending 399 on that you'd be better off getting an intensity or similar for a lot less
Ok, lesson learned (once again): read the fine print
So let me correct my previous post: all sails sold by LP are illegal. Should have realized that if someone is already producing fake plaques, then fake buttons are next...