I was given a 76 laser radial and its a POS. I knowyou all say to cut it up, but I am going to use it for fun and teaching others. It had a bow damage that i fixed, mast tube was fixed ok and i will add more glass to do it right. they glassed over the bailer on the outside and inside.I have already fixed that. It had cracked the cockpit inside.I know that was from the cockpit seperation. It is now tested and watertite. I was going to cut 4- 1 1/4" in the hull under the cockpit one third in all the way around so I can sand, acetone and glass the area to rebond it. The plywood supports are rotted and gone. I figured this will add 4 lbs. to it. Does anyone have a better and easier way to do this repair. Remember this is not a racer but just for fun.
soft hull
- Thread starter mac08226
- Start date
laserxd
Member
There is nothing wrong with sailing a POS for fun, I suggest repairing any of the spots that are supersoft and/or leaking, keep in mind that you probably won't be standing on the cockpit deck so if its not cracking when you stand on it it will probably be ok for fun sailing, if you want to stiffen the boat up that should be fine also just as long as the boat is watertight, don't be afraid to add weight to the boat.
mpickering
New Member
No one has told me to cut up my old '73 Laser. Yes, it has a crack on the aft deck that has been somewhat poorly repaired. Yes, I have repaired the mast step and it no longer leaks. Yes, I dropped it off the roof of my truck onto its dolly and opened up a four inch gash in the bow that required me to add a 5th inspection port to glass in the damage which still needs smoothing and painting on the outside. Yes, the class spars appears to be as old as the boat and would best be used as tent supports. Yes, I put more money into the boat than she is worth by a factor of two.
But she sails, she doesn't ship water and she's mine. She lets me get out and look at lots of other Laser transoms as I slowly learn the art of racing in a friendly fleet. She has character being the only 5 digit sail number in the club. When I am ready to replace her, she will serve the role as my club loaner or I'll give her away to some deserving student desperate to get on the water but lacking the funds to do so.
I've received nothing but encouragement. I say fix her to the limits of your patience and enjoy her. Even a clapped out old Laser will fetch a few hundred dollars on Craiglist as long as it sails. At worst, I could strip off all the Laser Race hardware, sell the boat with the old hardware for $100-$200 and then sell the dolly, Harken parts and the rest of it and more than make my money back.
Fun is what it is all about. I never even made the race course today but boy did I have fun trying and just being out there!
Matt
But she sails, she doesn't ship water and she's mine. She lets me get out and look at lots of other Laser transoms as I slowly learn the art of racing in a friendly fleet. She has character being the only 5 digit sail number in the club. When I am ready to replace her, she will serve the role as my club loaner or I'll give her away to some deserving student desperate to get on the water but lacking the funds to do so.
I've received nothing but encouragement. I say fix her to the limits of your patience and enjoy her. Even a clapped out old Laser will fetch a few hundred dollars on Craiglist as long as it sails. At worst, I could strip off all the Laser Race hardware, sell the boat with the old hardware for $100-$200 and then sell the dolly, Harken parts and the rest of it and more than make my money back.
Fun is what it is all about. I never even made the race course today but boy did I have fun trying and just being out there!
Matt
I know this is an old thread, but I haven't been on here for a while. In fact, the site was on a different server and everything was simple!
I've regularly been rubbished at races around europe for turning up with my 30-something age laser, and second hand sails. Plus me being a bit on the heavy side. But after the first race, especially if there's been some breeze, things have been different.
IMHO any old Laser that isn't too heavy, and doesn't leak can embarrass a lot of people in shiny brand new ones. Just before leaving Europe to come back to NZ, I borrowed a near-new laser hull for a regatta, and had my worst performance in years, despite using all my rigging, spars, and sail.
At the end of the day, it's mostly in your head. Enjoyment, fun, excitement, even race performance to a large degree, comes down to how you feel.
If you're out there having fun, that's the most important part. And an old boat can still be just as much fun as a new one, and for a lot less cost.
Keep the old boats sailing!
I've regularly been rubbished at races around europe for turning up with my 30-something age laser, and second hand sails. Plus me being a bit on the heavy side. But after the first race, especially if there's been some breeze, things have been different.
IMHO any old Laser that isn't too heavy, and doesn't leak can embarrass a lot of people in shiny brand new ones. Just before leaving Europe to come back to NZ, I borrowed a near-new laser hull for a regatta, and had my worst performance in years, despite using all my rigging, spars, and sail.
At the end of the day, it's mostly in your head. Enjoyment, fun, excitement, even race performance to a large degree, comes down to how you feel.
If you're out there having fun, that's the most important part. And an old boat can still be just as much fun as a new one, and for a lot less cost.
Keep the old boats sailing!