I was about to hijack the intensity sail thread with this but decided not to. I Just want to put some thoughts out there in terms of wether or not the laser is really a one-design class.
The vang, outhaul and cunnigham upgrades became legal in 2001. Having finally grokked the fullness of same, I have to say that I feel the ILCA's implementation of these upgrades goes against the concept of one-design.
As I see it, there's two designs. The Laser and the Laser Pro. The ILCA has made two very large mistakes that were either within or without their control... First, the 2001 class-legal upgrades should be required. Second, ILCA should have taken a better approach to making these upgrades more affordable.
$435 makes a Laser into a Laser Pro. Maybe the right thing to do is to call me a cheap bas****, and that's fine... you're entitled to your opinion, especially if it's one I share. But a 15-20% price difference in one boat to another doesnt suggest one-design.
A good sailor in a pre-2001 boat will be beaten by an average sailor in a post 2001 boat. That's not what my understanding of the one design concept...
food for thought...
The vang, outhaul and cunnigham upgrades became legal in 2001. Having finally grokked the fullness of same, I have to say that I feel the ILCA's implementation of these upgrades goes against the concept of one-design.
As I see it, there's two designs. The Laser and the Laser Pro. The ILCA has made two very large mistakes that were either within or without their control... First, the 2001 class-legal upgrades should be required. Second, ILCA should have taken a better approach to making these upgrades more affordable.
$435 makes a Laser into a Laser Pro. Maybe the right thing to do is to call me a cheap bas****, and that's fine... you're entitled to your opinion, especially if it's one I share. But a 15-20% price difference in one boat to another doesnt suggest one-design.
A good sailor in a pre-2001 boat will be beaten by an average sailor in a post 2001 boat. That's not what my understanding of the one design concept...
food for thought...