What substrates are Lasers constructed of?

R

RudeJoe

New Member
Been searching and I can't find the answer... Is there a plywood structure under the deck on the Laser?

I ask because I've been looking at a Laser that has been stored upside down in a garage for most of its life. The owner says its not been sailed much, maybe a few times a year.

If there is wood on the underside of the deck and the boat had any water in it when put away then the wood may be bad. Its a bit of a drive from me so I can't just pop over and take a look.

The owner says its solid with no delamination anywhere.

Thanks
 
The deck is a sandwich of fiberglass top+bottom, with a foam core in the middle. There are a couple small blocks of wood embedded in the underside of the deck to anchor fittings. In my opinion + experience, upside down in a garage is a very good way for it to spend years. Unless it was very wet inside the boat, and/or extremely damp inside the garage, it's likely to be in pretty darn good shape. The most common problems with old boats are usually caused + aggravated by being stored outside, and right side up. Arguably the most common, most destructive, and most expensive is water sitting in the mast step hole, freezing+ thawing. That often weakens the joint between the bottom of the mast tube and the inside/bottom of the hull. In older boats (pre- mid-90's???) that joint was built in a way that was relatively weak to start with. It has failed in many boats, and the falling mast tears the deck up badly.

I'll attach a couple pics of a disassembled hull that somebody else took, that I thought were so useful I saved them.

Hope it helps, hope the boat works out, or another one.

z 80 laser sea mist 010.JPG


z 80 laser sea mist 009.JPG
 
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and here's a pic of the cross section of my deck, from where I cut an inspection port. (my boat is early 70's). The topside of the deck is at the top of the pic.
scale- it's a bit over 1/2 inch, ~14mm thick

deck cross section.jpg
 
Interesting pictures!

The coring on the deck looks pretty much like I would have expected, although I'm not sure what purpose the 6 or so small rectangular 'doubled up' patches serve. Owner additions?

The hull is a bit more confusing. I had the impression it was all cored like the deck, but this one seems just to have two long 'stringers' running each side of the centreline. The other stringers again look like owner additions. Am I right?

Thanks for posting these.
 
Correcto !

Your concerns about damp penetration into the two ply runners - don't worry. The boat would have to have been submerged for extended periods ( months not minutes ) even then, the ply has been soaked in resin...the cut edges are like sponges to the resin.
To hurt them one would have to jump up and down on the upturned hull to force a crack. Hanging around for a few years ought not to have caused any issues unless the hull was resting on something and ( heavy) gear was placed on top.
 
Thanks for the information and great images! It helps me out immensely and puts my mind at ease that this boat should be in good condition 'all up in there'.
 
Another question...

What are the blades made of? I just bought the boat I mentioned in my first post and since the paint has worn off the leading edge of the dagger board I'd like to paint it. The material doesn't look like wood. It almost looks like foam. How should I prep and paint this material? I saw an old thread that mentioned Interlux Perfection paint system. I assume I should prime and paint with a material like this? Do I need to seal the material before painting?

I probably should have started a new thread... Thanks
 
It is a plastic foam, there are steel rods running vertically which in time eek rust in spots.
You can paint it with regular car paint and no primer to keep things simple, several light dustings and a very gentle rub down with v fine grit paper later to finish.
If you really want to do a full on cosmetic & protective job, international perfection, thinned right out and sprayed, wet sanding to flat after each coat for six coats..finishing with gentle wet sanding with successive grits - 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, talc or t cut or similar.
Sounds mad but that will give a mental & resilient finish but will take approx 4 days from first scratch to final buff, four light dustings with a £7 / $10 can of spray will take about an hour n half then the gentle rub over with 2000 grit ? 20 mins so two hours..
 
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