The laser Rebuild!

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02s2knick

New Member
Here is a short story about this Laser. My father bought it before i was born, im now 21, and went sailing in her when i was younger, then the deck started to have soft spots, and the hull weighed way more than what it should have. The Laser is one of the prototype lasers and has no HIN number. From what dad was told that it can not be raced due to it is a prototype. The hull and deck was seperated when i was roughly 13yrs old, then dad got busy with work and had no time to work on it, till i finally took over this well over due project. Inside the hull had foam layed down with fiber glass on top, and the foam was acting as a sponge and holding water. After 4hrs of work ive stripped all the foam out and started sanding down fiber glass to get ready to lay down more fiber glass. ill post pictures later tonight.
 
Interesting story. Have you chacked all of the usual places for a HIN? Also, when are you going to post some pics???? :D
 
Student Driver said:
Whoa, so you're basically making a new deck and hull, using the old ones as your template? Why not just acquire another laser?
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no i have the deck and hull. im having to strip out the foam and replace it with couple layers of fiber glass, i think thats the route im gonna go. its just rebuilding.

powergroove said:
For you West Sytem newbies, check these videos out.
Me likee the Carbon skimboard...
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/how-to-use-demos/
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thanks ill definitly use that link!

Bungo Pete said:
Interesting story. Have you chacked all of the usual places for a HIN? Also, when are you going to post some pics???? :D
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i checked the transom and it wasnt there. and sorry i keep forgetting to post pictures been busy with work. ill post now tho :D. now to for warn you she does look a little rough lol
 
The hull. i kinda forgot to snap some pictures of the deck, but i will take some pictures of the deck some time this weekend. And the trailer is from my 14 foot fishing boat, it needs some fiber glass work on the hull so this is good timing for it.

DSC_0298.jpg



Pulling the fiber glass up that was coated over the foam.
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bow needing to be sanded. to get rid of the foam that is stuck to the hull.
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foam is all stripped out, and sanding has begun!
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My Mckee fishing boat figured id post for laughs
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ill be working on the hull more this weekend, i think im gonna try to copy the newer ways the laser's hulls are built. the newer ones have a piece of wood incased in fiber glass that runs down the center of the boat, but i need to find out if they still have the foam or if its lost of fiber glass layers. Advice would be greatly appreciated, also i know it be easier to pick up a new laser hull, but ive been wanting to learn how to fiber glass and further my knowledge about boats even further before i try to attempt to replace the stringers in the 79 Ski nautique my dad passed down to me. But let me know what you think and im open to all comments :cool:
 
the new lasers do not have the foam,

i rebuilt a FJ a while ago and the foam was all waterlogged, it was a big pain in the butt.

but totally worth it.

good luck with it, and btw dont sell it if youre going to do all this work. thats the only thing i wish i didnt do.

keep this thing updated. haha
 
readyjimm said:
the new lasers do not have the foam,

i rebuilt a FJ a while ago and the foam was all waterlogged, it was a big pain in the butt.

but totally worth it.

good luck with it, and btw dont sell it if youre going to do all this work. thats the only thing i wish i didnt do.

keep this thing updated. haha
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would you be able to email me on what you did to help me out...any advice is helpful if you dont care could you email me at [email protected]
 
I've seen people completely separate deck/hull joints before. There is a reason your boat sat in this condition for so long.

If it were me, I would have just looked for another boat, However, I can understand wanting to have a project and the satisfaction of doing something yourself.
 
torrid said:
I've seen people completely separate deck/hull joints before. There is a reason your boat sat in this condition for so long.

If it were me, I would have just looked for another boat, However, I can understand wanting to have a project and the satisfaction of doing something yourself.
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only reason it sat like this for so long, was because dad became a plant manager after he decided to work on the boat and had no time to work on it.
 
02s2knick said:
....had no time to work on it.
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That is EXACTLY my point. Had he gone and bought a boat in sailing condition, I'm sure he could have found the time to sail it for a couple of hours on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Other that practicing fiberglass skills (which I think you are trying to do), I see no point in a doing a repair like this. It adds no value to the boat, and it will never be as sounds as the original deck-hull joint.
 
torrid said:
That is EXACTLY my point. Had he gone and bought a boat in sailing condition, I'm sure he could have found the time to sail it for a couple of hours on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Other that practicing fiberglass skills (which I think you are trying to do), I see no point in a doing a repair like this. It adds no value to the boat, and it will never be as sounds as the original deck-hull joint.
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its more or less that it was a family boat, it doesnt matter the price of the boat,

but the sentimental value of the boat. i would do the same thing.
 
I agree that the boat has value to you beyond just its ability to sail. I still use my father's hand tools even though in some cases I might have something better. Get her back in shape and back on the water. For me, messing about in boats is also therapy.

Secondly, if it is indeed a prototype, then as you said, it is quite rare and has some historical value. And if you don't find any sort of HIN, then there is only one thing to put on the sail...
TGIF
 
Well it'll definitely be lots of good, hands-on fun. Also cool that you're restoring the old family boat. Definitely post lots of photos of your progress and the finished product! Also, if there's a local laser class association near you and you can definitively show that yours is a prototype then you should definitely show her off!

Incidentally, besides the apparent lack of HIN and your dad's account, how do you know it really is a prototype and how did your dad come to possess it?
 
Student Driver said:
Well it'll definitely be lots of good, hands-on fun. Also cool that you're restoring the old family boat. Definitely post lots of photos of your progress and the finished product! Also, if there's a local laser class association near you and you can definitively show that yours is a prototype then you should definitely show her off!

Incidentally, besides the apparent lack of HIN and your dad's account, how do you know it really is a prototype and how did your dad come to possess it?
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he bought it from a local guy who tried to race it and they wouldn't let him compete in the races due to it being a prototype and its definitely a little different than the rest of the lasers. due to the flotation in the boat was foam encased in fiber glass that gave the hull its strength. instead of the hull being strengthen by fiberglass, and the newer lasers use jugs for flotation inside the hull
 
Keep us up to date on your progress. I have an uncle in Ohio that I may be taking his boat (which has a nice hole in it) to fix up for my daughter who is brand new to sailing (she's 8 and refuses to sail anything buy my Laser - Just bought her a 4.7 rig)
 
torrid said:
That is EXACTLY my point. Had he gone and bought a boat in sailing condition, I'm sure he could have found the time to sail it for a couple of hours on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Other that practicing fiberglass skills (which I think you are trying to do), I see no point in a doing a repair like this. It adds no value to the boat, and it will never be as sounds as the original deck-hull joint.
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once upon a time it was in sailing condition. but yes it is more of a way for me to learn how to fiber glass on a smaller boat, which this is leading to a much bigger of a project i have planned in the near future, restoring my 1979 Ski Nautique. the stringers are starting to become rotten and replacing them is in the future for sure. For the laser im debating about keeping the orange hull, or going with a white. personally i like the white much better, but being a UT fan the orange is kinda nice even tho its a red/orange. and yes i know UT will do terrible this year!
 
I was going to suggest painting it maroon, but I see from the "TN" numbers on the hull I was thinking of the wrong school.
 
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