Missing world sailing plaques on 2021 and newer boats

JC sunfish

Member
Heads up to anyone out there with a 2021 or newer sunfish. The following are the recent emails from the ISCA regarding the forged or missing world sailing plaques, just discovered my boat doesn't have one:
#1

"World Sailing Plaques: Additional news is that ISCA has been working closely with World Sailing the last 3 months on an issue with the required World Sailing plaques in Sunfish. ISCA members will get a communication this week that since 2021 LP has produced 560 boats that either did not have the required World Sailing plaque or had a plaque not purchased from World Sailing. Any plaque number above #103678 will need to be replaced. As you can see, the plaques LP printed are similar but different than the authentic plaque. The upcoming communication will have all the information needed to get a legal plaque. (Documentation on WS Plaques identification)"

#2
"
important_news.jpg


IMPORTANT NEWS TO ISCA MEMBERS

WORLD SAILING PLAQUES ON SUNFISH HULLS

Issued May 12, 2023

ISCA is issuing an alert for Sunfish hulls with World Sailing plaques 103679 and higher or no World Sailing plaques.

In early February 2023, ISCA found out that boats being delivered to dealers in the USA did not include the required World Sailing Plaque (sticker). Further investigation uncovered a much larger issue than expected.

  • What LaserPerformance (LP) was doing:
As stated, recent boats were supplied without World Sailing plaques. From approximately 2021 to the present, some boats came with plaques, but they were non-legal plaques. LP printed their own plaques.

LP confirmed 560 Sunfish had been produced as of of March 2023 that either had no plaque or had a fake plaque. Since then LP has shipped some 80 additional boats with no plaques.

  • Why World Sailing plaques are important:
The Sunfish class gained international status in 1984. This plaque certifies that the boat has a World Sailing designation, and a fee has been paid to World Sailing. Without this plaque the boat is not World Sailing certified and not ISCA class, per the Sunfish class rules. All boats will be inspected for World Sailing Plaques at all ISCA events, including World Championships and Pan Am Games Qualifying events.

The name World Sailing was adopted in 2015, and that governing body has had different names over the years. World Sailing, International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) are names of the organization since Sunfish became an international class.

  • Current Situation:
After multiple conference calls with World Sailing and LP to resolve the issues of 1) previously manufactured boats with no WS plaques or LP printed plaques, and 2) future plaque requirements for new boats, Laser Performance agreed to pay for all plaques. As of last week we finally received payment. Going forward, World Sailing is requiring LP to buy the plaques from ISCA and not from World Sailing.

  • Solution for World Sailing compliance:
  1. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE - WS Plaques for boats 2021-2023 to order a valid World Sailing plaque mailed to your current address for free.
    • Owners of boats built in 2021 to present without a World Sailing plaque.
    • Owners of boats with World Sailing plaques stickers greater than number 103678. All plaques above that number are LP non-legal plaques.


  1. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE - WS Plaques for boats before 2021to purchase a valid World Sailing plaque for $15.00, which will be mailed directly to your current address.
    • Owners of boats built before 2021 with NO WS (or ISAF or IYRU) Plaque.
    • All boats require a plaque. The plaque (port side cockpit forward surface) may read World Sailing, ISAF or IYRU. If this was removed, covered with personal stickers, etc., it will need to be replaced with new WS Plaque. At the moment, WS is requiring all Sunfish, new or old, to have a plaque whether they originally came with one nor not. We are trying to change that rule so only boats built with a plaque need one.


**All new WS plaques will start with the letter A-105XXX to clearly show that it is a new plaque.

These will be available to ship in 2-3 weeks starting mid-May.
World_Sailing_Plaque_EXAMPLE.png
How to tell year of your boat if 1973 or newer
HIN_Pic.png
"
 
FYI- I contacted the ISCA about older boats (mine is a 1972) and how to obtain a plaque if there is no original sticker for a hull number. Their reply was to "hold tight", that they are waiting on confirmation from WS that boats built before 1991 will be exempt. They are expecting to get this confirmed early this week.
 
Hi, I am one of the class officers, and I'd like to ask anyone with one of these 2021-2023 boats with a non-legal or missing plaque to click on the red button on the original message up above and request the free, legal plaque. It takes just a second to do it, and it'll make sure your boat is class-legal forever. Someone may someday buy it and want to race it, or maybe you will decide to. We have the plaques available and would like to get them into the boats where they were supposed to be in the first place! Thanks!! Chris
 
Hi, I am one of the class officers, and I'd like to ask anyone with one of these 2021-2023 boats with a non-legal or missing plaque to click on the red button on the original message up above and request the free, legal plaque. It takes just a second to do it, and it'll make sure your boat is class-legal forever. Someone may someday buy it and want to race it, or maybe you will decide to. We have the plaques available and would like to get them into the boats where they were supposed to be in the first place! Thanks!! Chris
Done
 
World Sailing confirmed today that only boat made after April 1, 1990 will need plaques. Those that was the first time plaques were installed in the boats when they were built. Pearson-made boats with a hull number ending in D090 or newer (D= April, E=May, etc, the first 0 is year of mfr , 1990 in this case, and 90 is the model year, 1990) will need plaques.That means that all boats made by subsequent builders ( Sunfish Laser, Vanguard and Laser Performance) need plaques. No metal edged boats need plaques (they we from the 80s and prior).
 
World Sailing confirmed today that only boat made after April 1, 1990 will need plaques. Those that was the first time plaques were installed in the boats when they were built. Pearson-made boats with a hull number ending in D090 or newer (D= April, E=May, etc, the first 0 is year of mfr , 1990 in this case, and 90 is the model year, 1990) will need plaques.That means that all boats made by subsequent builders ( Sunfish Laser, Vanguard and Laser Performance) need plaques. No metal edged boats need plaques (they we from the 80s and prior).
Sorry about the typo-fest above! But the facts are right!
 
Thanks for gathering up the info Chris, and making it intelligible.

Serious question. Is ZIP considered Class Legal? She would need a 2 loop bridle. The sail is one of the early Fogh Canada loft sails. Coming up on the 75th Anniversary of Sunfish it might be fun to enter in a regatta, the new "Master's Boat Class" for Sunfish 40, 50, 60 and 70+ years old.

IMG_1531.jpeg
 
Zip would get some love at the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival, I am sure.

 
Zip is definitely class legal. The splashrail would make it hard to hike! And it wouldn’t need a plaque! Btw the three loop bridle is legal.

I’ve often wondered how well a wood boat would do racing if I could disassemble it and use West and other modern methods to assemble it (and make sure the racing daggerboard would fit.). It would need a hiking strap too.
 
ZIP's keel is not as deep as the fiberglass boats so she submarines a bit. We're using a Barrington board and the spoon tip rudder so she'll tack.

Is a line bridal legal?

Thanks for the info.
 
No oil canning though, that's for sure. I bet she's faster than 50% of her partly waterlogged fiberglass counterparts. I've had an interest in building a wooden sunfish for a while now, but lack of time and boat plans have kept that down.
 
Last edited:
Heads up to anyone out there with a 2021 or newer sunfish. The following are the recent emails from the ISCA regarding the forged or missing world sailing plaques, just discovered my boat doesn't have one:
#1

"World Sailing Plaques: Additional news is that ISCA has been working closely with World Sailing the last 3 months on an issue with the required World Sailing plaques in Sunfish. ISCA members will get a communication this week that since 2021 LP has produced 560 boats that either did not have the required World Sailing plaque or had a plaque not purchased from World Sailing. Any plaque number above #103678 will need to be replaced. As you can see, the plaques LP printed are similar but different than the authentic plaque. The upcoming communication will have all the information needed to get a legal plaque. (Documentation on WS Plaques identification)"

#2
"
important_news.jpg


IMPORTANT NEWS TO ISCA MEMBERS

WORLD SAILING PLAQUES ON SUNFISH HULLS

Issued May 12, 2023

ISCA is issuing an alert for Sunfish hulls with World Sailing plaques 103679 and higher or no World Sailing plaques.

In early February 2023, ISCA found out that boats being delivered to dealers in the USA did not include the required World Sailing Plaque (sticker). Further investigation uncovered a much larger issue than expected.

  • What LaserPerformance (LP) was doing:
As stated, recent boats were supplied without World Sailing plaques. From approximately 2021 to the present, some boats came with plaques, but they were non-legal plaques. LP printed their own plaques.

LP confirmed 560 Sunfish had been produced as of of March 2023 that either had no plaque or had a fake plaque. Since then LP has shipped some 80 additional boats with no plaques.

  • Why World Sailing plaques are important:
The Sunfish class gained international status in 1984. This plaque certifies that the boat has a World Sailing designation, and a fee has been paid to World Sailing. Without this plaque the boat is not World Sailing certified and not ISCA class, per the Sunfish class rules. All boats will be inspected for World Sailing Plaques at all ISCA events, including World Championships and Pan Am Games Qualifying events.

The name World Sailing was adopted in 2015, and that governing body has had different names over the years. World Sailing, International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) are names of the organization since Sunfish became an international class.

  • Current Situation:
After multiple conference calls with World Sailing and LP to resolve the issues of 1) previously manufactured boats with no WS plaques or LP printed plaques, and 2) future plaque requirements for new boats, Laser Performance agreed to pay for all plaques. As of last week we finally received payment. Going forward, World Sailing is requiring LP to buy the plaques from ISCA and not from World Sailing.

  • Solution for World Sailing compliance:
  1. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE - WS Plaques for boats 2021-2023 to order a valid World Sailing plaque mailed to your current address for free.
    • Owners of boats built in 2021 to present without a World Sailing plaque.
    • Owners of boats with World Sailing plaques stickers greater than number 103678. All plaques above that number are LP non-legal plaques.


  1. If any of the criteria below are met, please CLICK HERE - WS Plaques for boats before 2021to purchase a valid World Sailing plaque for $15.00, which will be mailed directly to your current address.
    • Owners of boats built before 2021 with NO WS (or ISAF or IYRU) Plaque.
    • All boats require a plaque. The plaque (port side cockpit forward surface) may read World Sailing, ISAF or IYRU. If this was removed, covered with personal stickers, etc., it will need to be replaced with new WS Plaque. At the moment, WS is requiring all Sunfish, new or old, to have a plaque whether they originally came with one nor not. We are trying to change that rule so only boats built with a plaque need one.


**All new WS plaques will start with the letter A-105XXX to clearly show that it is a new plaque.

These will be available to ship in 2-3 weeks starting mid-May.
World_Sailing_Plaque_EXAMPLE.png
How to tell year of your boat if 1973 or newer
HIN_Pic.png
"Following the drama of LP and all this makes me just shake my head in disbelief. I love my vintage Sailfish and Sunfish. Never owned on new from the start. I’m saddened by it all.
 
Zip is definitely class legal. The splashrail would make it hard to hike! And it wouldn’t need a plaque! Btw the three loop bridle is legal.

I’ve often wondered how well a wood boat would do racing if I could disassemble it and use West and other modern methods to assemble it (and make sure the racing daggerboard would fit.). It would need a hiking strap too.
I’m rebuilding an early Sailfish with new British standard deck and hull, coated inside and out with West System Epoxy. I’ve sewn her a new sail per original specs, and she’s got an elephant ear old style rudder. My understanding is that she’s going to be squeezed in to some club races in Northerly Michigan this summer
 

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