Laser as first sailboat.

Woodenboat's "Living with Small Boats" supplement from about three years ago had some very smart car topping ideas on display. There were systems for helping load & unload singlehanded.

My son's boat get car topped - it has traveled from here in Canada to Connecticut, and goes from here in Ottawa to my parent's place on Lake Huron as well - both about 8-9 hours travel time at highway speeds. Car topping can avoid trailer speed limits in some states as well as lower tolls in traveling. It really is easy once you work out a "system" on how to do things.

Yakima racks - Nice because I can adjust width size with an Allen key and the same set works on two cars. Round metal bars are strong and all kinds of third party attachments (Thule etc.) work fine. Whistle a bit at speed to tell you to slow down.

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CutOnce

 

My son lived in an apartment in Seattle for a few years and faced similar but more restricted problems. He only had a parking space in a first floor garage. He kept his Laser on the roof of a Dodge minivan most of the time. had a bottom cover on it and drove all over that way. Sometimes parked on the street and sometimes in the garage. Rarely was there any other space for the boat. Not an ideal situation but the boat was always ready.

 

I'll check to see if they have better ideas than what I've already seen. I see I can get a PDF version, but I'll check at the library too.

 

My city is a PITA, but I've already figured out most of what I need to get around them. I already have figured out how to manage a hovercraft, motorcycle, car, gantry crane and trailer in among a garage full of tools and work benches that would be considered full by anyone else even if it was just tools.

If all else fails, I can open a door into the underside of my deck. It won't hold the laser because it's not tall enough, but it would hold some other things if I made racks down there to slide stuff in and out of. Some corrugated plastic or tin will keep my stuff from getting wet. I've been thinking of putting the mower and snow blower under there for awhile now.

I have what it takes to build a steel version of any rack or loading device I can find or imagine. Don't have the setup to weld aluminum but I could probably convert with not too much effort.

Considering how light the laser is, I will probably just make a double T arrangement, where at least one of the T's swivels. Put one end on it, slide it back to where it's manageable, then walk the other end around to the other T. Strap down and you're done. One on the trunk and one on the hood, mounted so they slide into the gap between the fenders and hood/trunk.

I used to hang 12 foot drywall on the ceiling by myself for a living. It's been awhile, but loading big awkward things is all about education, leverage and planning. I can get a laser that only weighs 33 lbs more than the sheet rock from a dolly onto a car that's half as high, and I can do it without bending over. I've already loaded a laser a couple times onto a taller car with essentially no help, so I know exactly what sort of pain it is.

 

Why not build the boat of your choice with a couple of extra bulkheads and then saw it into sections? Do not mock. That's how Nestaway got started

http://www.nestawayboats.com/

 

Remeber...with a Laser its common to join a sailing club, then for a small monthly charge, store your Laser on the clubs dingy racks. The local club has a dingy rack for 50 boats. This is the most civilized way to enjoy your laser.

 

@Pericles,

If I were to build a boat, it would be to make a beautiful boat. I'm not so strapped for space that I wouldn't be able to store it. I'd just have to get rid of other toys to do it.

@micheal pierzga,

There are several lakes around me that are closer than the big puddle east of Chicago. I would want to be able to take it to any of these, and NOT have to drive an hour to get to the boat. I've gone through that sort of thing before. If you guys think that assembling a boat before use puts a damper on your enthusiasm, how about driving an hour in the wrong direction to get your boat?

If I were only interested in racing, only interested is sailing with a small group of people, then I can see storing it at a harbor.

 

Laser

Lasers have their good and bad points but as mentioned as a first sailboat the simplicty and ease of rigging allow you to have the freedom to sail when you like, and not be reliant on crew.

I started sailing radials at 14 and now at 31 I have bought another one.....talk about going full circle skiffs offshore back to the trusty Laser.

I can only speak for my own club but there is generally a friendly group of skilled sailors will to pass on the knowedge, give you tips etc. Since ive been sailing them again which was last season I am yet to hear of a protest go to trial.

Furthermore the fleet is world class literally, from the local club im at where we have an olympic coach and 1 ex and 2 hopefulls (off top of head).

You will not find any better racing in any other class except possibly the Etchells or Star but they dont attract 90 boat fleets.

As said about buying one is like buying a car, you go to the dealer and check them out.

My 2 cents

 

Buy one

No one has asked, but the "ideal" laser sailor is young strong, and about 6'-180lbs. Everybody else enjoys them too, and there are optional rigs to suit size and conditions. Lasers do get used up, and if you are strong and can hike hard in waves, you definitely need to get one in decent condition. ( I have heard that the wind sometimes blows around Chicago) It is hard not to like sailing a fast responsive boat like the laser. Every sailor should at some point try one, and there are very good reasons for their popularity. B

 

Laser as First Sailboat

If you can find one cheap, maybe. Easy to sail, difficult to sail well, if it can be sailed well, as someone already alluded too above.

Look for delaminated deck (low bubble surface), and check mast step carefully for cracks and crazing.

Check spars for straightness...they take a set; hull bottom for warped surfaces fore to aft.

If intending to race, the class is overly strict on using stock components.

Forget car topping, even trailing will deform hull.

Very flimsy hull.

If in Chicago proper get down to Belmont harbor and the club and ask around...if in burbs, better to check local water to see what is active as you may have to travel a bit to compete.

Also, depending on location, north versus south, get to nearest harbor to see what classes are popular and the problems encountered.

Choices are Wilmette on the north all the way to Burns Ditch on the south end. Lots in between.

While Chicago is not that difficult to get around, with a boat that changes, and put in at the harbors is not so easy.

Do not rush into it.

If you are just goofing or day sailing, you might want something like a Hobie 16 or similar.

Lightning is excellent boat, but it is big and not super fast, but sails well, easily raced and family will enjoy, even in Michigan chop water.

Laser it only if need to race and know the boat.

 

One thing to add to the above is that car topping upside down, with the boat tied down by the dolly, is fine. So is trailering if the boat is supported at the gunwales.

If the boat's hull bottom is the contact point on the trailer, it can get floppy.

My Laser's been lent out since the Masters worlds, but the only day I managed to get it back I was delighted how fun it was to sail. Compared to (say) a Tornado or windsurfer in a breeze it's not fast, but you're so close to the water, the boat is so responsive, and the racing is great.

 

Laser as First Sailboat

Yes, I will agree with CT 249, being close to water is fun, on warm days. That is for sure. Warm water is near necessity if in Lake Michigan for fun, wet suit or not.

However, I will add that a Force 5, Sunfish, Hobie 14 or similar boat offer similar experiences, as does the venerable Kite Dinghy, if one is not racing. The Kite may be hard to find, however, as no longer made, but unequaled dinghy.

All, IMO, are best transported with trailer. A 13 foot boat at 100+ lbs, with mast and boom as well is close to unmanageable. Hitch and trailer makes like much easier, believe me, and even then, mast sections and boom remain issues.

These boats are not as flimsy either.

 

@BobBill,

That's exactly the sort of information I was looking for.

The woman I know who has a Laser puts it at Belmont Harbor. I've met a few people there including the Harbor Master, but that was last year.

As for car topping, it would be upside down and onto a rack specifically made for the Laser, with the dolly on top. I have a router and can make forms which exactly match the deck shape, and the car I would use is in rough enough shape I don't care how many things I have to change to make it safe for the boat. I know how heavy the boat is, and I CAN load it myself.

I'm a bit worried about sails. If I have to buy a new sail that could put a dent in things, but I think if that happened I would immediately make a Tyvek pattern and use Tyvek sails for practice.

Yes, I might be a redneck.

Thanks.

 

Laser Sail

You might want to get with the commodore of the (Corinthian?) yacht club at Belmont also.

You have been at Belmont, so you know how to put boat in water, but if car-topped, plan ahead and carry dolly, as the only place it is easy to put in is where the tenders are kept, as I recall and walking around with the hull topside skull can be unwieldy at best. The trailer can be hand wheeled in and out of the fenced area.

I do not know about in harbor motor requirements for dinghy in harbor during normal mooring period in summer.

If not racing, go here for new sail for under $200: http://www.intensitysails.com/saforlara47.html

 

Good points on all that.

They have a Laser launch there, basically a ramp down to about 12" above normal water level covered with that green outdoor carpet. I've pulled Susan's Laser out on my own, which is incidentally easier than if she helps.

There's no way I'm humping a boat in and out of there without a dolly. A canoe maybe, but not a Laser.

There's no motor requirement for the harbor for small boats. There is, however, an endless supply of drunk people who have somehow managed to find a boat to stand on and yell bad advice on how to sail. Sometimes the term "stand" might be a bit optimistic.

IMO if I buy a sail it will be a genuine racing sail. I can see myself going there, and even so a brand new rarely-used official sail would be a significant selling point. But I've seen some Tyvek sails and while they're obnoxious to look at and to listen to, they gotta be the cheapest way to get a sail. I have a nice big driveway that I've made hovercraft skirts on, so space is not a problem.