RIP...another notable death...

[Iain C]

No doubt the dinghy/Y&Y lot is already aware of this, however for the rest has anyone here actually NOT sailed a Laser at some point in their sailing career?

Well, in the latest twist in the story of the world's most numerous boat, it's RIP Laser, hello Kirby Torch.

http://www.kirbytorch.com/home

Moths for Rio 2016...please...

 

[EBoat126]

Nope, I've never sailed a Laser and never want to, hateful boat in my opinion.

Terrible rig with little or no control (I'm told that the XD kit helps a bit but at over £200 for a block and some string)
Terrible hull, everyone I know who's sailed one says it's uncomfortable.
Prone to death rolls.
Hugely overinflated price for everything as you must use Laser branded bits if you want to race in class.
Terrible foil shape made of heavy plastic.

Just because there are a lot about doesn't make it good....for example a lot of young people seem to think 1 Direction are good.

 

[boguing]

I don't how you can be so wrong eb. I've sailed more than a hundred boats, and the Laser was more fun per pound than any of the others.

Any boat will death roll if you so wish, uncomfortable? Not if you have some muscles. Rig, simple. Ever rigged an Oppie?

 

[Blueboatman]

If I had designed a dinghy on the back of a cigarette packet as Bruce Kirby is said to have done , I would be pretty happy with the ensuing sales.

Otoh an aged active friend who perhaps should have known better , sailed to windward in one, had an exhausting time coming back downwind to a Dorset beach, staggered out of the water and his heart gave up. Horrible.

 

[dunedin]

IMHO the original Laser was one of the best boat designs ever - and probably given more affordable, fun club racing across the globe than any other boat design.

Not perfect - the mainsheet hooking on stern when gybing if don't do properly, original 3:1 kicker hopelessly insufficient to flatten the sail for lightweights (before they added the wimps Radial rig) and original mast tubes suspect

But beautifully balanced, fun in all conditions - and death roll generally user error (boom too far out and or kicker too slack)

Got my (second hand) Laser in 1978 and still got it. Total cost over 35 years under a grand - except when added a wimp rig

 

[Neil_Y]

I should order a new torch sticker for my chinese copy sail. I do think there should be a fleet of boats to race with pattern parts, non Laser sails are £120 instead of £450, a boom from Laser is 165.00 and a copy is £70.00. That would get all the old boats out more often (the local winter series seems happy with pattern boats I'm pleased to say, maybe as I haven't managed to win yet?)

I actually find the rig reasonably good for a very simple set up, you can flatten it quite a bit with downhaul, and I still have the old system with not much purchase. It is a pig dead downwind but in a fleet that makes it quite challenging, keep it the right way up and you can do quite well in a breeze when many will be swimming. Best thing is you can hit rocks at full tilt and nothing really breaks (I lost 2" of dagger board) You can sail them with a full rig in 40knts although the bare away gets interesting.

I do think Kirby was quite fortunate that the boat was chosen for the olympics as it isn't a great design and he would not have made much from licencing it as another simple play boat. The whole design should have meant it was a cheap boat with straight tubes for the rig, a simple sail, hardly any string or deck hardware. The raw material costs must be a fifth of the selling price and I'm sure you could put all the bits together in a few hours.

Somebody on the dinghy side suggested we should combine the Torch and Laser and sail Tasars insead?

 

[tokoloshe]

The Laser was introduced to the UK International 14 Fleet at the 1972 Prince of Wales week in Poole in 1972.
Bruce Kirby was then a hot "14" designer and the his Laser, a "one design" in the true sense and a departure
from what was available at the time.

I am not privy to what is happening in the Laser world today. it is sad that, forty years on, there is a battle
of commercial interests where sailing common sense and a meeting of like minds amongst the interested parties
should prevail.

The current stramash is not a rerun of the Hoyle Schweitzer Windsurfer v sailboard battles but lessons on
the damage to the sport should be noted.

 

[PhillM]

I remember testing laser 2 at Bala lake in 1982. Early spring. Quite cold.

Great sailing but I seem to recall the mast got a bit s shaped when we played with twin trapeze.

Also remember uncliping, going about, missing the hook and then swimming.

 

[fastjedi]

I've owned Laser 88645 since 1983 (hell fire, thats 30 years!)

We usually go on a quest to sail every boat at Sunsail Vounaki ... Love them all (except Laser Pico's) but the original Laser beats them all for fun

 

[fireball]

LaserPerformance haven't been doing much for quite some years - we could see the writing on the wall ...

They had a wonderful boat in the Laser2k - but failed to promote it and even dropped it's position on their website - the class association were dumbfounded at this disregard for a popular boat - but are happy (or happier) now it's moved into LDC's stable.

The Laser is also a good one design boat - it may not be the fastest/most stable/most responsive boat - but it means that if you win - it's down to your performance on the day (plus a good bit of luck at my level!) rather than because your boat is better than theirs ... (sail condition not withstanding)

The Laser3000 bit the dust quite some years ago - now the 3000class - built by Vandercraft - although attendance to their nationals is still low (9 for the last 2 years) ...