Real hull weight
- Thread starter Roy McKay
- Start date
Rob B
Well-Known Member
Water causes weight gain. If a boat is "Well kept" that means it should be dry. The weight should remain within the class spec.
LaLi
Well-Known Member
Weighing Lasers is something that is done quite rarely, and I doubt that anyone has any reliable statistics over the weights of different vintages by the multitude of builders. There is no minimum weight as in most other classes, but the ”factory” hull weight is, I believe, 59 kg. What the +/- is, is known only by the few who have access to the near-mythical Construction Manual.
Anyway,
76 kg sounds crazy. If the extra mass is all water, where in the structure does that 17 litres (!) even fit?
_
Anyway,
76 kg sounds crazy. If the extra mass is all water, where in the structure does that 17 litres (!) even fit?_
Last edited:
NSlaseroldie
New Member
About 20 years ago I bought a heavy Laser and was told it was waterlogged. It already had two inspection ports. I was able to move it to a heated basement for the winter (here in Nova scotia we can't sail in to winter) and took the cubitainers out and left it for about four months with a lightbulb hanging in one of the inspection ports. My partner and I can't remember what it initially weighed, using two bathroom scales, but at the end of the four months the boat had lost just over 20 lbs. 9 litres of water disappeared somehow. We sealed her up and sailed her happily for years.
"We'd take a scale to the dealer and weigh boats before we bought them. Boat 15453 weighed 128 pounds. Following boat 308XX weighed 133."
forums.sailinganarchy.com
128 and 133 is 58 and 60.5 kg
Laser Construction Details
Starting a new thread for people to post pictures of Laser construction details. Hopefully we can compare hulls from different builders over the years. I’ll be posting photos from a 1974 Don Trask (I think I have that right) hull and a Vanguard hull. I would love to see pictures of hulls from...
forums.sailinganarchy.com
128 and 133 is 58 and 60.5 kg
This summer I opened up a club Laser about 37000 something.
The inside was wet and as hot as a Sauna.
After many years of this I can imagine that there could be considerable weight gain, the laminate must be saturated so several kilos easily. What happens with all that water when it freezes?
One Laser book I read. Tiller? Recommended a hatch both ends and ensuring ventilation during storage.
If I had my own now I would fit the hatches and a higher cover so there was a permanent airflow through the hull.
Mostly I have wood boats and it is the lack of ventilation and winter freeze thaw that kills off old ones. The ply literally delaminated.
Would you leave a Steinway Grand outside under an old Tarp all winter and expect it to play well in the spring? Well, lots of owners do!
I expect that GRP boats made from styrene resin like the Laser also really need looking after.
The inside was wet and as hot as a Sauna.
After many years of this I can imagine that there could be considerable weight gain, the laminate must be saturated so several kilos easily. What happens with all that water when it freezes?
One Laser book I read. Tiller? Recommended a hatch both ends and ensuring ventilation during storage.
If I had my own now I would fit the hatches and a higher cover so there was a permanent airflow through the hull.
Mostly I have wood boats and it is the lack of ventilation and winter freeze thaw that kills off old ones. The ply literally delaminated.
Would you leave a Steinway Grand outside under an old Tarp all winter and expect it to play well in the spring? Well, lots of owners do!
I expect that GRP boats made from styrene resin like the Laser also really need looking after.