Where to buy national letters for laser sail?

Alex Walters

New Member
I have been wanting to add my national letters to my laser sail, but cannot seem to find them for sale anywhere online. The closest I have found were the digital "8" letters that I could use to make the letters "U" and "S" but those cannot be used to make the letter "A." Can anyone send me a link to where I can find them for sale. I am in the United States, so I will need "USA".

Thanks,
Alex
 
Any sailmaker will have them.

UK, North, and Quantum all have lofts in your area (these 3 are all in Annapolis), among smaller ones. Choose your favourite font and colour!
 
Here are the APS pre-cut sail letters/numbers:

12" Pre-Cut Sail Number (1 digit)

You most certainly can make an "A" from the digital "8"s. It is no worse than an "S" that looks like a "5". Most people will get it, though I think I remember some ruling saying it wasn't kosher at high-level events.
 
The ILCA do not want you using the digital letters Ang. They lead to confusion the A is the same as the R. K & H, O & D, M & N,

Use the digital letter letters and see if you can pick the difference between AUS (Australia) and RUS (Russia)
 
I never though about that. Makes sense. I dont think any one in my team has the precut usa
 
Are the country codes mandatory at anything other than worlds level events, or ones like the Miami OCR catering only to Olympians?
 
This is what the RRS says (emphasis mine):

G1 ISAF CLASS BOATS
G1.1 Identification


Every boat of an ISAF Class shall carry on her mainsail...

(b) at all international events, except when the boats are provided to all competitors, national letters denoting her national authority from the table below. For the purposes of this rule, international events are ISAF events, world and continental championships, and events described as international events in their notices of race and sailing instructions;


http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/ISAFRRS20132016Final-[13376].pdf (page 108)

In practice, this is largely a cultural thing. In this country (FIN), everybody has the letters, even on non-international classes and even if they never race. It's seen as a proper thing to have on your sail. The Laser class was actually an exception for a long time, but from 2000 or so on, we've all had them, too.
 
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Country codes are probably more important in a place like Europe where countries are smaller and closer together.
 
The Star class had a system of "districts" which did not care about national boundaries, at least in Europe, and some sailors in the class even developed "District Pride". Very refreshing in an increasingly nationalistic world.
 

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