kwiqsilver
New Member
I recently bought a sail that is listed as being for practice only, and not "official". What does that really mean? Are the official ones better, or do they just fit within a strict set of build specs?
Official Sails
- Thread starter kwiqsilver
- Start date
Webmuppet
New Member
.......at the risk of 'lighting the blue touch-paper'.....
As I understand it, you can only use a sail sold by Laser Performance for official Laser sailing events (this sail sail has a red Laser logo and a red button in the bottom corner of the sail. What you have is an aftermarket sail which cannot be used at official Laser events but is generally considered a 'copy' or 'replica' of the original. Most of the replica sails that I've seen are very well made and offer similar performance to the genuine article - my home club allows them to be used for club racing and they certainly give you chance to get out on the water without spending out considerably more for the genuine article. In my case I have a genuine sail which stays pristine (hung up in my garage) whilst I usually sail with a replica.
hope that helps,
Nigel
As I understand it, you can only use a sail sold by Laser Performance for official Laser sailing events (this sail sail has a red Laser logo and a red button in the bottom corner of the sail. What you have is an aftermarket sail which cannot be used at official Laser events but is generally considered a 'copy' or 'replica' of the original. Most of the replica sails that I've seen are very well made and offer similar performance to the genuine article - my home club allows them to be used for club racing and they certainly give you chance to get out on the water without spending out considerably more for the genuine article. In my case I have a genuine sail which stays pristine (hung up in my garage) whilst I usually sail with a replica.
hope that helps,
Nigel
gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
Each and every one of the Laser Class approved sails has a button on it telling the purchaser and those who see it on the raceourse that the sail is sufficiently the same as every other sail with a button on it and that your sail , if yours also has a button, will not be accepted as an explanation for any differences in the time it takes for your boat and other buttoned sail equipped boats to sail around any race course.
Sails with no buttons may be faster, slower, the same, different, alike, vary, or be made so differently from buttoned sails that nobody will be able to tell what factors contributed to the order the various competitors crossed the finish line.
The Laser is a specific boat made in a specific way and the Laser Class is a promotional and organizational tool created by those who wish to sail identical toys. Those who come to events sanctioned and organized and promoted by the members of the Laser class should be aware that we do not have any interest what so ever in playing with people who bring some other dissimilar toy to the contest.
Those who purchase so called practice sails are simply depriving themselves from the joy of playing a game where the sailing abilities of the people and NOT THE ABILITY TO PURCHASE AND WIN WITH SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT is the contest.
When you purchase and use a sail other than the sail we have so carefully made available since the early 1990s or the centerboards and rudders we have so carefully made exactly alike since the mid eighties, , you are SCREWING YOURSELF out of the joy of sailing in a Laser.
Sails with no buttons may be faster, slower, the same, different, alike, vary, or be made so differently from buttoned sails that nobody will be able to tell what factors contributed to the order the various competitors crossed the finish line.
The Laser is a specific boat made in a specific way and the Laser Class is a promotional and organizational tool created by those who wish to sail identical toys. Those who come to events sanctioned and organized and promoted by the members of the Laser class should be aware that we do not have any interest what so ever in playing with people who bring some other dissimilar toy to the contest.
Those who purchase so called practice sails are simply depriving themselves from the joy of playing a game where the sailing abilities of the people and NOT THE ABILITY TO PURCHASE AND WIN WITH SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT is the contest.
When you purchase and use a sail other than the sail we have so carefully made available since the early 1990s or the centerboards and rudders we have so carefully made exactly alike since the mid eighties, , you are SCREWING YOURSELF out of the joy of sailing in a Laser.
Webmuppet
New Member
.......that seems to have worked then - lol
Gouvernail, you seem to forget that there are people out there who don't race in Laser events.........some people don't race at all and personally I'd much rather see some our clubs Lasers sailors out on the water enjoying themselves than getting all worked up about the ethics of who made their sail. There is an initiative in the UK called 'Activate your Laser Fleet' aimed at getting unused Lasers out of the boat park and onto the water - Laser Performance and the RYA are heavily involved in this scheme. If only some of the owners of these neglected boats are encouraged to get out on the water, it will eventually lead to a strengthening of the class at 'grass roots' level which can only be a good thing for Laser sailing as a whole,
Nigel
gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
To a certain extent I was pulling some legs.
On the other hand, if those who have the monopoly were doing their jobs effectively, I simply must believe their guaranteed annual sales of official equipment should be a sufficient advantage such that official Laser parts should be able to be sold at a profit for less than any knock offs.
How is it that some start up company can sell a few occasional sails of a higher quality to some of the poorly funded members of our fleet for less than the price given by the supplier we all have agreed to stabilize by guaranteeing our volume purchases??
On the other hand, if those who have the monopoly were doing their jobs effectively, I simply must believe their guaranteed annual sales of official equipment should be a sufficient advantage such that official Laser parts should be able to be sold at a profit for less than any knock offs.
How is it that some start up company can sell a few occasional sails of a higher quality to some of the poorly funded members of our fleet for less than the price given by the supplier we all have agreed to stabilize by guaranteeing our volume purchases??
It's just good business. A start up will sell a product at a low margin to gain market share. The fact that their producrt is of likely better quality means they won't have to sell at a loss to do it.
For us as buyers, it's good business also. If I were racing I would buy the legal sail. I would not like it, not because I'm poor, but because I know I'm getting gouged. In Ontario it would cost me about $750 CDN for the legal sail. I just ordered one online for $189 US. Exchange is pretty much even right now so its a no brainer as this old boat will not race.
The Laser class is very large compared to others and should have the clout to stand up to the suppliers/manufacturers and set max prices for key components such as sails, boards, spars, etc.
For us as buyers, it's good business also. If I were racing I would buy the legal sail. I would not like it, not because I'm poor, but because I know I'm getting gouged. In Ontario it would cost me about $750 CDN for the legal sail. I just ordered one online for $189 US. Exchange is pretty much even right now so its a no brainer as this old boat will not race.
The Laser class is very large compared to others and should have the clout to stand up to the suppliers/manufacturers and set max prices for key components such as sails, boards, spars, etc.
Trippin
New Member
So the "button" cost $561.00..... WOW.
powergroove
Member
lmaorotf
But what if you were Amish - maybe you would have to use an imitation sail ? In fact, is the class use of a button religious discrimination (remembering that in the UK we are very Politically correct about these types of things).
Ian
Merrily
Administrator
Being from an area that borders on Amish country, I've seen them on boats (a ferry to South Bass Island). But they definitely resist placing an orange triangle on the back of their buggies to alert traffic of their presence. As zany as your proposition sounds, you may be right, but they won't complain, as it is against their beliefs to call attention to themselves.