Laser Pico

Topcat47

Topcat47

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A friend has bought one of these for his son, who weighs in at a little over 5 stone dripping wet. He doesn't sail, nor does his partner. The lad's got a level 1 and is going for level 2 but seems a little light for such a sporty craft. I don't want to be a party pooper. I've not sailed one, or indeed any dinghy since around 1986. Am I being concerned over nothing?
 
Topcat47 said:
A friend has bought one of these for his son, who weighs in at a little over 5 stone dripping wet. He doesn't sail, nor does his partner. The lad's got a level 1 and is going for level 2 but seems a little light for such a sporty craft. I don't want to be a party pooper. I've not sailed one, or indeed any dinghy since around 1986. Am I being concerned over nothing?
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I've sailed one as have my kids and it didn't feel nearly as twitchy as an Laser so I think it will be fine.

Richard
 
Topcat47 said:
A friend has bought one of these for his son, who weighs in at a little over 5 stone dripping wet. He doesn't sail, nor does his partner. The lad's got a level 1 and is going for level 2 but seems a little light for such a sporty craft. I don't want to be a party pooper. I've not sailed one, or indeed any dinghy since around 1986. Am I being concerned over nothing?
Click to expand...

A Pico with a standard/training sail can be reefed quite easily by wrapping the sail around the mast. Once the lad is confident and put on a bit of weight, a racing sail will turn it into a sportier craft.
 
Yes the Pico can be a "sporty" training craft. I have both the racing and standard sails and the setup with toe straps so you can hike out. It is a bit like driving a go-cart; being low down it feels faster than it probably is. As said it is easy to reef and if sailed with the jib it makes a great little boat for 2 people.
Depending on how you set it up it will suit a wide range of skills. An added bonus is the roto-moulded hull which is very tolerant of running up on the beach or bouncing off rocks.
 
What's the difference between a standard and a racing sail? What system is used for reefing? As I said, it's been a while since I sailed any dinghy and while I did enjoy the Mk1 laser, I was close to three times the weight of this little lad.
 
I've never sailed a Pico, but I have a Topper Topaz that is very similar. The standard sail is rolled around the mast to reef it. The race sail is battened and a bit more high tech, as far as I know can't be reefed. I only have the standard sail and jib and have some really good sails when the wind gets up a bit. Equally with the sail reefed or in light conditions it is an ideal learning boat for kids through to adults.
 
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It's a brilliant boat. Tough, stable, beautiful to sail, easy to maintain and goes like the clappers in a decent wind. Ideal learning/teaching boat, but great to sail for anyone.
 
Laser Pico ideal size/power to let a smallish kid sail fairly fast, and fast = fun. It's exactly what the boat was designed for. When I was teaching dinghy sailing I much preferred getting kids into Toppers rather than Optimists, as in Optimists you never got the broad grins and shrieks you got as the Toppers got up onto the plane with one light kid on board. The only boats I had available were Oppies and Toppers, plus bigger dinghies for adults. The Toppers, if you don't know them, are roughly comparable in size/speed/power to the Pico.

I understand that Optimists are better for "race training", as they are much less weight/speed sensitive and give a more level playing field for practicing tactics, reading windshifts etc. But they are really boring to sail, and I preferred having most kids enjoy sailing an go on to more, than just a few ending up enjoying racing.
 
Should be fine, in sensible weather. Obviously with safety boat nearby. Singlehanded is by far the best way to learn in my opinion.
 
My children sailed a Pico and I agree with other comments, that its an excellent beginners boat.

I would consider a safety boat very important, a great backup if anything goes wrong, you don't want a little scare to put your child off.
 
Our club has a fleet of Pico's ( and others,I forget which as I'm out of track with modern small dinghies ) for use by the Junior Section; the section is very popular so I guess they're getting it right inc choiceof boats - incidentally the Optimists which used to be available have long since been pensioned off.
 
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