sailor hiking out

The Laser Standard

Laser Standard - Side view

Righting a capsized boat

This article focuses on the Laser Standard dinghy. For the smaller editions of this boat see Laser Radial and Laser 4.7

The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard, is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes simplicity and performance. The dinghy is now manufactured by Performance Sailcraft, Vanguard Sailboats, and Primex SA (see External Links). A gaff-rigged cutter flying a mainsail, staysail and genoa jib For other uses, see Sail (disambiguation). ... Deaf President Now (DPN) was a student strike at Gallaudet University, the liberal arts university for the deaf in Washington, DC, pushing for the universitys selection of a deaf president. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (801x1209, 141 KB) User:Etnoy in his Laser Standard dinghy #160588 File links The following pages link to this file: Laser (dinghy) ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (801x1209, 141 KB) User:Etnoy in his Laser Standard dinghy #160588 File links The following pages link to this file: Laser (dinghy) ... Image File history File links Laser_dinghy. ... Image File history File links Laser_dinghy. ... Image File history File links User:Etnoy is rightening his capsized Laser Standard dinghy File links The following pages link to this file: Laser (dinghy) ... Image File history File links User:Etnoy is rightening his capsized Laser Standard dinghy File links The following pages link to this file: Laser (dinghy) ... The Laser (often called Laser Standard to avoid confusion with the laser variants) is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. ... The Laser 4. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... 2 GP14s, a Topper and a Graduate Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using (1) the sails and (2) underwater foils (centreboard and rudder). ... A Canadian newspaperman and former editor of Yacht Racing (predecessor to Sailing World), Bruce Kirby (b. ... Vanguard Sailboats was founded in 1967 in Waukesha, WI by Peter and Olaf Harken. ...

The Laser Standard is one of the most popular single-handed dinghies in the world. By late 2004, the number of boats produced exceeded 180,000. A commonly cited reason for its popularity is that it is robust and simple to rig and sail, while the performance characteristics match those of more complex racing dinghies. Another reason is that unlike other one-design racing classes, the Laser allows very few changes, so aside from adding a cleat or two and some fancy lines, there is nothing that can be done to the boat to make it go faster. This makes maintaining a boat in top racing condition much less expensive than in other classes.

"Laser" is mainly used to refer to the Laser Standard (the largest of the sail plan rigs available for the Laser hull), but this can can be very confusing as there are a series of other "Laser"-branded boats using different hulls. Examples include the Laser II and Laser Pico. The Laser Pico dinghy is a small sailboat designed by Jo Richards in the mid-1990s and used primarily for training and day sailing. ...

History

The boat's long history started with a phone call between Canadians Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce. While discussing the possibility of a car-topped dinghy (a boat small enough to be carried on a roof rack of a typical car) for a line of camping equipment, Bruce Kirby sketched what would be known as "the million dollar doodle". The plans stayed with Kirby until 1970 when One Design and Offshore Yachtsman magazine held a regatta for boats under $1000, called "America's Teacup". After a few sail modifications, the Laser easily won its class.

The prototype was originally named the "Weekender"; the sail held the letters TGIF, a common American abbreviation for "Thank God It's Friday". It was renamed Laser and officially unveiled at the New York Boat Show in 1971. The Laser became a men's Olympic-class boat in 1996, and a special Olympic edition of the boat was released that year in commemoration. A version with a smaller sail, the Laser Radial (see below), will be a women's Olympic-class boat beginning in 2008. Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Laser (often called Laser Standard to avoid confusion with the laser variants) is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The first world championship was held in 1974 in Bermuda. Entrants came from 24 countries, and first place was won by Peter Commette from the United States. It then became an Olympic venue at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The greatest champion of Laser Class is Robert Scheidt (nickname "El Demolidor") from Brazil; he won the world championship eight times and won two gold and one silver Olympic medals. The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... Robert Scheidt (born April 15, 1973) is a renowned Brazilian sailor. ...

Design

As a one-design class of sailboat, all Lasers are built to the same specifications. The hull is 4.23 metres (13 ft 10.5 in) long, with a waterline length of 3.81 m (12.5 ft). The hull weight is 56.7 kg (125 lb), which makes the boat light enough to lift onto a car-top rack. This is a sailboat term for the length of a boat at the point where it sits in the water. ...

The various sizes of Laser are all cat-rigged; they have only a main sail. The Laser Standard sail has sail area of 7.06 m² (76 ft²) and, especially in higher winds, is most competitive when sailed by a muscular person weighing more than 80 kg (175 lb). A dinghy that is Cat-rigged has the pulley(s) for the mainsheet located much further forward than the rudder, in the manner of a catamaran. ...

Parts of the boat

• Lines

There are four main lines known as the main sheet, Cunningham, boom vang and outhaul. The standard length for the main sheet is 42 feet long. It is attached to the traveler and controls how far the sail goes out. The Cunningham controls the fullness of the sail. It also holds the mast to the boat when the boat is capsized. The boom vang’s primary job is to pull the boom down to prevent capsizing and overpowering. It holds the boom to the gooseneck of the mast. The last line is the outhaul. It controls the shape of the sail and also extends stretches or extends the sail lengthwise.

• Foils

There are two foils in a Laser, the daggerboard and rudder. The daggerboard is in the middle of the boat and is a moveable keel which limits the amount to which the boat side-slips when the boat is subjected to lateral forces. Unlike the weighted keels in larger boats it does not assist in righting the boat when heeled over (movement of the crew must be utilised to keep the boat upright and prevent capsizing). The rudder is used to steer the boat. It has a tiller; attached to the tiller is the tiller extension, enabling the skipper to hike. The extension should be 40-44 inches.

• Sail

The sail has the standard parts (head, leech, luff, clew and tack). The sail incorporates a pocket that runs the entire length of the leading edge; this pocket is slid down over the mast before the mast is erected. Thus it is not possible to lower the sail without removing the mast altogether.

• Hiking strap

The hiking strap enables the skipper to stick their feet under the pad and lean over the edge of the boat, thereby flattening it.

• Spars

There are two spars, the mast and boom. The mast is two separate pieces attached and mounted vertically to hold up the sail. The boom is horizontal and is used to control the angle and shape of the sail.

In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control the moveable corner(s) of a sail. ... In sailing, a cunningham or cunninghams eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. ... A boom vang is an item of rigging in a sail-powered vessel (usually small ones, but it is sometimes found on larger ones as well). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... A mechanical traveller is a moving part of a machine, typically a ring that slides between different positions on a supporting rod when the machine goes through its operating cycle. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... A daggerboard is a type of centreboard used by various sailing craft. ... Stern-mounted steering oar of an Egyptian riverboat depicted in the Tomb of Menna (c. ... // In boats and ships, keel can mean either of two parts; a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element; these parts overlap. ... A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post (American terminology) or rudder stock (English terminology) of a boat in order to provide the leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ... In sailing, hiking is the action of moving the sailors body weight as far to windward (upwind) as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways against the boats sails. ... diagram showing the names of the parts of a sail The lower edge of a triangular sail is called the foot of the sail, while the upper point is known as the head. ... In sailing, hiking is the action of moving the sailors body weight as far to windward (upwind) as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways against the boats sails. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... In sailing, a boom is a spar (pole) usually made of aluminum or wood, is connected to the foot of the mainsail and allows the crew to control the angle of the sail to the wind. ...

Identification

A Laser's date and place of manufacture can be determined by looking at the serial number stamped into the transom. This serial number is unique to the boat and is also the same number that is shown in the sail. The Laser is unusual in this aspect, since almost every other sailing craft has the numbers assigned by the national organization. This means that the same Laser can be moved between countries without having to change numbers. It also means that the Laser Standard has a six-figure number which reflects the large number of boats manufactured worldwide.

Other sizes of Laser sailboats

Laser Radial

Main article: Laser Radial

In Europe the smaller Radial has surpassed the original Laser Standard in popularity, and even has supplanted the Europe Dinghy as the Women's Singlehanded Dinghy for the 2008 Olympics. The radial uses the same hull and fittings as the Laser Standard, but has a smaller sail and shorter lower mast section. The Laser (often called Laser Standard to avoid confusion with the laser variants) is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. ... The Europe is a one person dinghy. ...

Laser 4.7

Main article: Laser 4.7

A smaller sail plan for the Laser was developed about a decade later. The sail area was reduced by 35% from the Standard, allowing even lighter sailors to sail. The same formula as the Radial is kept, the only thing you need to convert your Laser Standard into a Laser 4.7 was to change the lower mast and sail. The name, 4.7 comes from the sail area in square meters (4.7 m² / 50 ft²). The Laser 4. ...

Rooster 8.1

Main article: Laser 8.1

A company called Rooster has designed and created what is called the Rooster 8.1. This huge sail size is not for the faint at heart, and is specifically made for heavier sailors who want a wild ride.

Other designs

A third and lesser-known variant is the Laser M Rig. This sail was the first attempt at making a smaller rig for smaller sailors. It employed the same stiff lower mast section, but a shorter top section. The design failed. The M Rig was often more difficult to handle upwind than a standard rig, due largely to the very stiff mast sections, which prevented the effective depowering of the sail. Vanguard also makes a Laser 2 model, details of which can be seen at the external link to Vanguard below.

An even smaller boat in the Laser family is the Laser Pico. This is a recreational, family type boat, but one which can also be quite fun for the experienced sailor. Its length overall is 11 ft 6 in and it has a beam of 4 ft 8 in. It carries a mainsail of 64 sq. ft. and a small jib of 12 sq. ft. The Laser Pico dinghy is a small sailboat designed by Jo Richards in the mid-1990s and used primarily for training and day sailing. ...

Handling

Handling a Laser dinghy.

The Laser Standard is a quick boat for its size and width, mostly due to its light weight and relatively large sail area. A skilled helmsman can get the dinghy to plane on downwind tacks, lifting the bow of the boat out of the water and dramatically improving the speed. Planing is difficult and increases the risk of a capsize, but it is needed to achieve the potential of the dinghy. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Trimming

All sizes of Laser have three control lines (excluding the main sheet) from which the helmsman can adjust the rig, these are the outhaul, the boom vang and the cunningham (forward luff tensioner). In lighter winds, beginners can mostly ignore these tools, but they become more important in higher winds, and when trying to get the best performance out of the boat. In sailing, a sheet is a line (or rope) used to control the moveable corner(s) of a sail. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... A boom vang is an item of rigging in a sail-powered vessel (usually small ones, but it is sometimes found on larger ones as well). ... In sailing, a cunningham or cunninghams eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. ...

A diagram showing the different parts of the Laser Sail affected by the outhaul, the boom vang, and the cunningham.

The outhaul controls how tight the foot of the sail is, by pulling the clew away from the tack of the sail. Diagram showing the names of the parts of a sail File links The following pages link to this file: Sail Parts of a sail Categories: Images with unknown source ... Diagram showing the names of the parts of a sail File links The following pages link to this file: Sail Parts of a sail Categories: Images with unknown source ... For other uses, see Foot (disambiguation). ... A gaff-rigged cutter flying a mainsail, staysail and genoa jib For other uses, see Sail (disambiguation). ... In sailing, the clew is the lower aft corner of the sail. ... Tack is a term, that depending on its application has several different meanings. ...

The boom vang controls how tight the leech of the sail is, by pulling the clew edge of the sail away from the head of the sail. For other uses, see Leech (disambiguation). ... “Human Head” redirects here. ...

The cunningham tightens the luff of the sail by bringing the tack away from the head of the sail. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

When sailing upwind, one tightens all three until the sail is mostly flat and wrinkle-free. When the wind increases even more, the helmsman needs to reduce the amount of force being put into the boat by the rig, and to accomplish this the sail is flattened even more. In these winds, most sailors pull the outhaul to the maximum, the cunningham so much that the eye is forced down to the boom. The amount of boom vang used is up to the helmsman; most helms apply vang, or kicker, until the two mainsheet blocks on the transom and boom are touching. Large amounts of kicker are necessary in order to generate mast bend, and hence maintain sail shape. This does have the effect of stretching the sail, and it is not unusual for experienced helms to replace the sail regularly throughout the season as the sail quickly loses shape and hence performance. However, some helms choose to use the same sail over and over again as most of the gear on the one design laser is somewhat more expensive than comparable equipment on boats with less stringent equipment regulations. Windward is the direction from which a present wind is blowing. ...

On all downwind tacks, the outhaul is kept quite loose to increase draft, and the cunningham is completely loosened to open up the top of the sail. In lighter winds, the boom vang is loosened until the leech moves freely back and forward. The boom vang becomes crucial in when sailing downwind in a heavy breeze. If the vang is too tight the boat will be unable to sail downwards and quickly steer up to face the wind or capsize. If the vang is too loose, i.e. the boom is pointing upward, then air flow along the sail will be turbulent, and might vary direction of the flow depending on the heel of the boat. This situation is very uncomfortable and results in an uncontrollable boat and can cause the boat to take an unexpected and very quick turn, either into or away from the wind. This is dangerous, since turning too far from the wind will lead to an uncontrolled jibe, which might make the boom hit the helmsman with much force, before the boat capsizes. This very situation is called a death roll among sailors. Downwind refers to a position leeward of another (see Windward and leeward). ... A team at the 2005 ISAF Team Racing World Championship narrowly avoids capsizing. ... Turbulent flow around an obstacle; the flow further away is laminar Laminar and turbulent water flow over the hull of a submarine Turbulence creating a vortex on an airplane wing In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by low-momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and... A jibe or gybe is when a sailing boat (yacht) turns its stern through the wind, such that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. ... In a keel boat, a Death Roll is the act of broaching to windward, putting the spinnaker pole into the water and causing a crash-gybe of the boom and mainsail, which sweep across the deck and plunge down into the water. ...

In recent years, the basic sail controls have been upgraded by means of the XD performance kit. Fitting this kit allows the outhaul and cunningham to be adjusted more easily when under sail, by putting a pair of cam cleats on the deck so that the lines are always available to the sailor even when hiking.

Because the Laser has an unstayed rig, skilled helms are able to sail "By the Lee". This technique, employed downwind, involves letting the boom move in front of the mast, inverting the heeling moment of the sail. The advantage is the ability to steer the boat without the need to perform a gybe. This gives the helm flexibility to move the boat to take advantage of wave motion and windshifts. Downwind, a sailor may choose to go wherever the wind is, without losing speed from gybing. Stays are the heavy ropes on sailing vessels that run from the masts to the hull. ...

The Laser has a relatively small rudder, meaning that turns made by the rudder have to be larger than on similar dinghies. It is usual to see that helms make little use of the rudder, preferring to change the direction of the boat using balance and heel. The rudder acts like a brake, because every time the sailor moves it, the boat will slow down to some degree. Using heel, the boat maintains speed better. Stern-mounted steering oar of an Egyptian riverboat depicted in the Tomb of Menna (c. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Laser (dinghy)

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Class Associations

• International Laser Class Association
• UK Laser Association
• Laser Class North America
• Argentinian Laser Class

Manufacturers and Distributors

• Performance Sailcraft Europe Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa
• Vanguard Sailboats North America
• Performance Sailcraft Australia Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands
• Primex SA South America
• Boatspeed Brazil

Miscellaneous

• ISAF specifications.
• The Laser Forum