I'm gonna buy a laser.
Should I buy new, recent used ?
I can probably afford new but am I wasting the extra couple of $K?
If you are new to sailing then never buy new cos ur gonna do damage. If you have sailed a fair bit (up to the point were ur doing club racing) then its hard. Better value for money to buy second hand. But then again can you imagine having a brand new hull!! Man I dream about stuff like that. Imagine pulling back the vacum pack (thats if they come in one dunno) and seeing that gleam of a new laser..... PHOWOARRRR!!!! Rubbing ur hand along that perfect finish thats never seen salt water.....woowee
And then imagine the heartache the first time you ground the dagger board or rudder. (or is it only me that does that)
i bought my boat pre owned, first by a local junior college [high school] that used it just for races, so it cant have been on the water more than 40 days, and bought it off my training partner who had just bought himself a championship boat. it was good value but the daggerboard housing needed some work because it leaked from there. then i bought a sails and a standard rig. all in all it was SG$5500, which was OK. lasers are pretty hardy boats but i think 2nd hand and lightlyused would probably be the way to go. boat shopping is 1/2 the fun! enjoy
For $100.00 more US you can get a brandy new one, (or at least one with one regatta on the hull and no time on the sail).