Lasers - Applying a Blow Torch

[Wess]

Good grief of course it’s ILCA. They are the ones promoting an endless series of changes to the boat and rig, a new builders paradigm (without the promised NA builder; where is my rum) and they make more and more money off sailors by doing so. Self dealing fools caring only about the rich old elite end of the class. Your ILCA committe of fools took a boat and rig that was affordable simple robust and strictly OD and made it anything but to the detriment of the grass roots sailors who built the very class the ILCA committee fools now prevert.

The best thing that could happen to the sport and class would be for 1.) Olympic sailing, 2.) WS, and 3.) your ILCA committee to simply be wiped from the face of the earth.

What Ian Bruce built these morons have corrupted.

 

[Bill5]

Good grief of course it’s ILCA. They are the ones promoting an endless series of changes to the boat and rig, a new builders paradigm (without the promised NA builder; where is my rum) and they make more and more money off sailors by doing so. Self dealing fools caring only about the rich old elite end of the class. Your ILCA committe of fools took a boat and rig that was affordable simple robust and strictly OD and made it anything but to the detriment of the grass roots sailors who built the very class the ILCA committee fools now prevert.

The best thing that could happen to the sport and class would be for 1.) Olympic sailing, 2.) WS, and 3.) your ILCA committee to simply be wiped from the face of the earth.

What Ian Bruce built these morons have corrupted.

 

[Wess]

The change to that right there let the genie out of the bottle.

 

[Xeon]

Mmmm that kicker takes me back to my first Laser, in fact it was my first boat ever. 😀

In fact my clubs only Laser sailor ( a man in his mid 70s ) still has one of the on his boat, probably because that’s what was fitted when he bought it new 😂.
Tbh it’s fine for him because ,
1) He never adjusts the kicker so the fact he couldn’t even if he wanted too is not a problem to him.
2) He never sails when it’s windy .

 

[Bill5]

The change to that right there let the genie out of the bottle.

 

[Xeon]

The change to that right there let the genie out of the bottle.

I sailed with that set up for over a decade . Held me back from learning the correct kicker skills at the time . 😕

 

[Wess]

Its rare we agree Bill but yes that too was part of the package deal that was the beginning of the end of a grass roots focused class. Opened the door to all the crap you see now. Its exactly why Xeon's whining about value of change in OD classes is shit.

 

[Xeon]

Bill5 you are being too nice to us.

Posting all this nostalgia 😀😀

 

[Xeon]

.

Its rare we agree Bill but yes that too was part of the package deal that was the beginning of the end of a grass roots focused class. Opened the door to all the crap you see now. Its exactly why Xeon's whining about value of change in OD classes in shit.

Love you too Wess 😘😘😘😘

Looking back , I sort of agree with you perhaps it would have been better if the Laser had stayed the same as when it came out of the box in 1970 .
Well it would have been better for all the boats that have competed against the Laser in that section of the market for the last 50 years 😂😂

 

[Xeon]

Utter tosh . I’ve only ever been rude to one man to man on y&y and that’s because he was and is a vile professional troll. And even then all I ever did was speak to him in the way he did to everyone that disagreed with him over the last 12 years and that’s why people left.
So please get your facts right .

I was having a think if I had been out and out rude to anyone else and I did remember some one else and it is sort of relevant to ILCA/Lasers.
A newbys first post on that forum was a suggestion that the best value way to get into sailing ILCAs was buy a new LP Laser then remove the LP plaque and replace it with a copy of a legal ILCA one .
No one though this morally bankrupt idea was a good idea 😂😀😀

 

[RobbieB]

Every relevant OD dingy and boat, (Sunfish, moth, Finn, Star, Scows, J24, J22 and so on...that is still around after 40+ years) has experienced various levels of class approved "Heating up" enhancements and changes. All the old school stuff is still class legal so if you want to sail it that way feel free! I for one rounded the corner on year 4 of my MKII 7 rig sail, (it's time to replace it). It was all I could do to get a competitive 1.5 yrs out of the MKI so mission accomplished there!

Oh- Welcome back Wess!

 

[Wess]

You truly are dense Xeon. Seem to have the Canntt gene in ya. What you fail to comprehend is that there are many boats that are technically "better" per your criteria than the Laser. Engage your brain you might even find a trial or two proving it (hint the Aero won as it should have per your version of better).

But here is the thing. None of them are taking over the world. Because none of them do anything that matters to most club level grass roots sailors. All those "better" than Laser boats are 1.) more expensive, 2.) more fragile, 3.) more complex. By miles and miles. All of that limits or diminishes access for grass roots sailors at the club level. All those "better" boats are aimed at a market of rich elites (and we wonder why the sport of sailing is dying). Sadly and stupidly your ILCA committee of self serving tools also abandoned grass roots sailors and targeted the same group of rich elites and so now we watch Laser turn into an expensive, fragile, OD but not really, ILCA. Just follow the money.

Laser used to be great because it was 1.) affordable (ie cheap), 2.) robust, 3.) simple, 4.) strictly and practically OD, and 5.) had a class focused on growing from the bottom. You can lie and BS all you want but any idiot that can fog a mirror knows that this is not what the ILCA is or what the ILCA is about. They abandoned grass roots sailors long ago.

PS - Never left Robbie. Just a lot of extended family health issue that I needed to assist with and focus on. That and a twerp or two or three (who aint) who left your neck of the woods, went to and ripped up Kirby's, and will soon head to Pearl. Those cheap LPEs sure do get around an fit right in no plaque required LOL!!

 

[Xeon]

Glad to have you back Wess . You always make me smile 😂😂😀

 

[Xeon]

Every relevant OD dingy and boat, (Sunfish, moth, Finn, Star, Scows, J24, J22 and so on...that is still around after 40+ years) has experienced various levels of class approved "Heating up" enhancements and changes. All the old school stuff is still class legal so if you want to sail it that way feel free! I for one rounded the corner on year 4 of my MKII 7 rig sail, (it's time to replace it). It was all I could do to get a competitive 1.5 yrs out of the MKI so mission accomplished there!

Oh- Welcome back Wess!

Totally agree . All OD and MOD change , most imperceptibly some drastically.

 

[Wess]

Just because they do... doesn't make it good. Point in fact with the Laser it was bad.

 

[Bill5]

Just because they do... doesn't make it good. Point in fact with the Laser it was bad.

What did you think when the Radial and 4.7 were launched? Good or bad?

 

[Wess]

Good generally speaking. Increased access without increasing cost. And didn't dilute the class as much as it opened the boat and class to a large group that otherwise could not realistically sail it. Even more so with the radial.

 

[Alan Crawford]

Time for this one again.

 

[Wess]

Time for this one again.

View attachment 545114

Imagine if they just kept it that way... and continued to focus on building from the bottom.

 

[Bored Stiff]

I was having a think if I had been out and out rude to anyone else and I did remember some one else and it is sort of relevant to ILCA/Lasers.
A newbys first post on that forum was a suggestion that the best value way to get into sailing ILCAs was buy a new LP Laser then remove the LP plaque and replace it with a copy of a legal ILCA one .
No one though this morally bankrupt idea was a good idea 😂😀😀

You are constantly disagreeable and unwilling to listen. I see you have done the same on some FB sailing pages too. To the point where people stop engaging. But whatever, you sail a minority boat on an inconsequential pond in a format that nobody uses, so you aren’t speaking for the masses.

The ILCA boat and class association is definitely better for having Ovington (and others) involved, but the route there was morally dubious. I’ve still not had a decent answer to why I have to import the Allen blocks rather than go to my local chandlery. If I have to do that why not cut the middleman out and buy directly from Allen?