partly because i suck, partly because i guess we were too narrow cast in the boats that we covered but, yeah, super disappointed that the series didn't take off.
One of my favorite things about these SA retro boat videos is the history you give behind each boat and the building methods which makes each one unique. Keep up the great work guys!
I co-owned boat 228 (sail number 73228; built 1987) "Dark Star" in 2001-2004 and sailed it in some of the Lake Superior Offshore series, the Bayfield Race weeks, as well as the Onigaming YC series. Its great in light to medium air or even heavy air with relatively small waves. Big waves can almost stop you; its a light boat. It is hard to sail to its Lake Michigan PHRF (126) especially in offshore when you have to carry a raft, life sling, food & water, fuel, etc. Being light its very sensitive to payload weight. At the bar in the old Thunder Bay YC (ex RR station) I was told that Buddy Melges raced the prototype and was so good that it drove the PHRF down. Don't know if it is true but it makes a neat story. Planing under spinnaker is skittery. Build quality is excellent. Aft of the head, there actually was a pipe berth in Dark Star. The companion-way steps have compartments. The steps pull out to get to the engine. The Bukh engine is nicely engineered but even back then some parts were hard to get. I don't know about now. As to tippy, I bought the boat without sailing it. During first sail, the heel startled me but after a few hours it, it didn't feel off. You can go hard upwind with only three people. The main trimmer can run both the sheet and traveler such that the rudder load is reasonably light and the boat keeps going. The only reason I sold is that we could be friends or co-owners but not both. He still has the boat. We're still friends.
I built the prototypes in the early 80's in Cornwell UK. The boats IOR rating was approximately a 2 tonner, its a pocket rocket. It achieved 15 knots when planing.
Hey Scot! Thank you for the presentation of the Laser 28. I've got one (probably the only one in Germany) sailing the northsea of Germany with lots of wind. Perfect boat.
I owned a Laser 28 for 14 years and absolutely loved the boat. I raced her with crew and single-hand (symmetrical chute). I also did a lot of cruising on this boat staying out weeks at a time. These were super boats all around for their day. They sailed well across a broad range of conditions and were fun to sail. There are a number of things that I would like to add to the video. I found that the 109% working jib was actually competitive down (PHRF) to around 5 knots. The hot ticket under PHRF is to get it made in a light weight laminate AP jib that has excessively high modulus reinforcing, then get the boat rated for that jib (3-6 second a mile credit). That AP jib basically replicated the one design sail which had a long head batten and a lot of roach. It was cut slightly full with a little bit of headstay sag which greatly increased light air performance. As the breeze came up it could be bladed out with backstay tension and with the over reinforcement, stretch was next to nil. That was the hot ticket for the upwind and close reaching legs in anything over around 3-5 knots and up to around 20 or so knots (with the mainsail reefed). That worked great whether or not there was crew on the rails. Of course, it is a little sticky off the wind so there is a tendency to use the chute in anything under 10 knots when cruising. The nice thing is that the fractional chute was very easy to fly, even single-handed. In stock form these boats came with a lot of nice standard features: -Kevlar hull reinforcing and cross linked foam coring -Some middle production run boats had vinylester resin -They had a great ergonomics that included a boom mounted spinnaker pole launcher, twings and barber hauls, and a mainsail control panel that had the back stay adjusters, mainsheet, traveler, and mainsheet fine tune, located where either the helmsman or mainsail trimmer could easily play them, and all major control lines were led back to the cockpit. -Aft of the head was an enormous storage area. It was big enough that I could throw a couple bicycles and inflatable Kayaks in there when I was cruising. -The Buhk diesel had great accessibility, was very fuel efficient and was easy to work on. On the other hand, I don't know about parts access these days. -There was a mast tabernacle that made them pretty easy to trailer to regattas. -There was a ton of storage that was easy to get to. and compared to the Laser 28, a J-30 had all of the thrills of kissing your sister. (as the expression goes). I liked that boat so much that I ended up buying its bigger sibbling, a Farr 38, but that's another story for another time..... Jeff
Kudos for an accurate and pretty thorough review. I've had mine for 27 years. There are a few more in the Pacific NW and Bay area, but most are in the Great Lakes region, closer to the factory, which was near Toronto. Parts for the Bukh engine can be tricky to locate, but it's a reliable little motor. Since PHRF racing is petering out in my area (Oregon) I might look into adding a sprit, and some more cruisy bits, but I've taken mine cruising a few times for a week at a time. It's very trailerable as well, and has a single point hoist feature.
Thank you for this episode. I was really hoping you would show this boat on Retro Boat. Love, love these series! I am in the Toronto region and have researched a lot of boats and it all came down to this boat for what I am looking for. Everything you said. Performance, simple, and comfortable enough to cruise. Well built and a great all round boat. I am planning to completely refit a Laser 28 inside and out. Thanks again and looking forward to the Olson 30. We have one at our club....another Great boat! Happy to support this series.
Heard great things about the Laser 28, never sailed on one but I did put a buyer in touch with a seller ( You're welcome Charlie! ) Nice video I understand the enthusiasm now.
I have one in dana point southern california - is a great boat in light wind. the boat is entirely kevlar construction. It has a trailer and single point lift. I would consider 14 k.
Crewed one of these for a few years in the '90s on the Chespeake. Very nice boat with one complaint from me. In light air when you need to put the crew forward on the lee rail it's very uncomfortable due to the curvature of the deck. Always felt like I was about to slide into the water. A number of them came down from Canada and cleaned up when we hosted the North American's one year as part of NOOD. Probably quite a few still in Canada.
He missed the table opens to be like chart table storage , as do the stairs for storage and that the "lounge" he is sitting on turns into a U shape with a pair of cushions from the V birth . Also the Jib is very roachy and very good
I used to race against one of those many moons ago and always found it ironic how much it was like a better Kirby 30. _(for those that do not know, Bruce Kirby designed the Kirby 30 and also the Laser)_
i am looking forward to this one because I also have same type of boat. I also am thinking of building a bowsprit like I see in preview photo. I race my boat weekly singlehanded.
@@faircompetition1203 I don't know where hamilton is, but my harbor LOA is strict so the sprit I build would have to be removable, also I would like to put in an anchor roller to my design. I am retired marine composite engineer so no problem, I have lots of carbon fiber and materials laying around my home shop.
@@mailbagps Hamilton Ontario - guy's name is Greg and you can find him on the facebook Lake Ontario laser 28 page . He moded it without a PHRF hit in SS and it looks great .. I would love a bow roller and a bigger anchor locked to fit my cruising anchor .
The comment that they are too tippy and sail on their ear is not true . They do like weight on the rail if you are racing but because they are high powered one needs to take their foot of the gas earlier if you are short on crew - like a 600hp car in the rain . You will find yourself out cruising with a reef in the main long before others to keep her on her feet . You will also leave them far behind and be out sailing on days when stiffer boats must use the motor . When it blows the boat is fine too , Have raced in 30 knots just fine . The down wind performance is epic with hours long sustained double digits common . Cruising comfort is darn good to for the size , v birth is larger than many 35 foot boats and the galley works well - superb cooler space . Head tankage a little low . The anchor locker is a bit too small .
the Laser 28 was on the UK tv show Howards Way's intro- ua-cam.com/video/dwoeSQMz7VU/v-deo.html it reminds me a bit of my 1988 Jeanneau sundream 28 but mine has a bigger interior
How did this series not take off? These are great I love watching them wish there were more. Bring it back please.
partly because i suck, partly because i guess we were too narrow cast in the boats that we covered but, yeah, super disappointed that the series didn't take off.
One of my favorite things about these SA retro boat videos is the history you give behind each boat and the building methods which makes each one unique. Keep up the great work guys!
I co-owned boat 228 (sail number 73228; built 1987) "Dark Star" in 2001-2004 and sailed it in some of the Lake Superior Offshore series, the Bayfield Race weeks, as well as the Onigaming YC series. Its great in light to medium air or even heavy air with relatively small waves. Big waves can almost stop you; its a light boat. It is hard to sail to its Lake Michigan PHRF (126) especially in offshore when you have to carry a raft, life sling, food & water, fuel, etc. Being light its very sensitive to payload weight. At the bar in the old Thunder Bay YC (ex RR station) I was told that Buddy Melges raced the prototype and was so good that it drove the PHRF down. Don't know if it is true but it makes a neat story. Planing under spinnaker is skittery. Build quality is excellent. Aft of the head, there actually was a pipe berth in Dark Star. The companion-way steps have compartments. The steps pull out to get to the engine. The Bukh engine is nicely engineered but even back then some parts were hard to get. I don't know about now. As to tippy, I bought the boat without sailing it. During first sail, the heel startled me but after a few hours it, it didn't feel off. You can go hard upwind with only three people. The main trimmer can run both the sheet and traveler such that the rudder load is reasonably light and the boat keeps going. The only reason I sold is that we could be friends or co-owners but not both. He still has the boat. We're still friends.
I built the prototypes in the early 80's in Cornwell UK. The boats IOR rating was approximately a 2 tonner, its a pocket rocket. It achieved 15 knots when planing.
Hey Scot!
Thank you for the presentation of the Laser 28.
I've got one (probably the only one in Germany) sailing the northsea of Germany with lots of wind. Perfect boat.
I love that they are foam core and Kevlar. No rot , nice and stiff .
I owned a Laser 28 for 14 years and absolutely loved the boat. I raced her with crew and single-hand (symmetrical chute). I also did a lot of cruising on this boat staying out weeks at a time. These were super boats all around for their day. They sailed well across a broad range of conditions and were fun to sail. There are a number of things that I would like to add to the video.
I found that the 109% working jib was actually competitive down (PHRF) to around 5 knots. The hot ticket under PHRF is to get it made in a light weight laminate AP jib that has excessively high modulus reinforcing, then get the boat rated for that jib (3-6 second a mile credit). That AP jib basically replicated the one design sail which had a long head batten and a lot of roach. It was cut slightly full with a little bit of headstay sag which greatly increased light air performance. As the breeze came up it could be bladed out with backstay tension and with the over reinforcement, stretch was next to nil. That was the hot ticket for the upwind and close reaching legs in anything over around 3-5 knots and up to around 20 or so knots (with the mainsail reefed). That worked great whether or not there was crew on the rails. Of course, it is a little sticky off the wind so there is a tendency to use the chute in anything under 10 knots when cruising. The nice thing is that the fractional chute was very easy to fly, even single-handed.
In stock form these boats came with a lot of nice standard features:
-Kevlar hull reinforcing and cross linked foam coring
-Some middle production run boats had vinylester resin
-They had a great ergonomics that included a boom mounted spinnaker pole launcher, twings and barber hauls, and a mainsail control panel that had the back stay adjusters, mainsheet, traveler, and mainsheet fine tune, located where either the helmsman or mainsail trimmer could easily play them, and all major control lines were led back to the cockpit.
-Aft of the head was an enormous storage area. It was big enough that I could throw a couple bicycles and inflatable Kayaks in there when I was cruising.
-The Buhk diesel had great accessibility, was very fuel efficient and was easy to work on. On the other hand, I don't know about parts access these days.
-There was a mast tabernacle that made them pretty easy to trailer to regattas.
-There was a ton of storage that was easy to get to.
and compared to the Laser 28, a J-30 had all of the thrills of kissing your sister. (as the expression goes).
I liked that boat so much that I ended up buying its bigger sibbling, a Farr 38, but that's another story for another time.....
Jeff
And 155 is still sailing enjoyed by crew and friends still!
Kudos for an accurate and pretty thorough review. I've had mine for 27 years. There are a few more in the Pacific NW and Bay area, but most are in the Great Lakes region, closer to the factory, which was near Toronto. Parts for the Bukh engine can be tricky to locate, but it's a reliable little motor. Since PHRF racing is petering out in my area (Oregon) I might look into adding a sprit, and some more cruisy bits, but I've taken mine cruising a few times for a week at a time. It's very trailerable as well, and has a single point hoist feature.
Thank you for this episode. I was really hoping you would show this boat on Retro Boat. Love, love these series! I am in the Toronto region and have researched a lot of boats and it all came down to this boat for what I am looking for. Everything you said. Performance, simple, and comfortable enough to cruise. Well built and a great all round boat. I am planning to completely refit a Laser 28 inside and out. Thanks again and looking forward to the Olson 30. We have one at our club....another Great boat! Happy to support this series.
Crazy this was built at the same time as my old Catalina 25, this is miles ahead in tech and design.
Foam core and Kevlar hull and deck - no rot , weighs 4000 lbs
I was listening for the word "KEVLAR."
Great job as always Scott. You really know your boats.
thanks brother
Very nice boat!!
Very nice video!!!
Thanks it was a fun one and nice owners too
Heard great things about the Laser 28, never sailed on one but I did put a buyer in touch with a seller ( You're welcome Charlie! ) Nice video I understand the enthusiasm now.
FYI, In '86 Hank Dekker, a blind man, solo sailed the Laser 28 "Outta Sight" in the TransPac and came in 3rd in his class. Great boat!
you could sail a 28 ft boat in transpac back then?
Amazing
That exact boat is listed for sale right now on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon
LOVE THIS BOAT! There is one in SLC, Utah for $14,000! I should look. Might be a great boat to have in SoCal
I have one in dana point southern california - is a great boat in light wind. the boat is entirely kevlar construction. It has a trailer and single point lift. I would consider 14 k.
@@mailbagps still open to 14k?
Cool boat Joanne. The interior looks amazing.
Crewed one of these for a few years in the '90s on the Chespeake. Very nice boat with one complaint from me. In light air when you need to put the crew forward on the lee rail it's very uncomfortable due to the curvature of the deck. Always felt like I was about to slide into the water. A number of them came down from Canada and cleaned up when we hosted the North American's one year as part of NOOD. Probably quite a few still in Canada.
Another great video!
Nice boat! I sail an Edel 665 (22') and this caught my attention as the lines are very similar! The window is identical! Thanks for the review!
a laser that is a little tippy, imagine that lol.. cool boat though, I never knew laser made bigger boats.
Olson boats Rocks!
He missed the table opens to be like chart table storage , as do the stairs for storage and that the "lounge" he is sitting on turns into a U shape with a pair of cushions from the V birth . Also the Jib is very roachy and very good
And the table drops down to become a bunk for 2. Great boat!
the things i don't know would fill the oceans...
@@SailingAnarchyUSA Was still a great review - owners lover these boats and its one of those boats you love even more after a few years .
Foam core fiberglass and Kevlar construction if I’m not mistaken. Kind of a big deal for this size and vintage.
Very strong even now, walk on the deck and there are no "soft" spots.
I used to race against one of those many moons ago and always found it ironic how much it was like a better Kirby 30.
_(for those that do not know, Bruce Kirby designed the Kirby 30 and also the Laser)_
i am looking forward to this one because I also have same type of boat. I also am thinking of building a bowsprit like I see in preview photo. I race my boat weekly singlehanded.
There is one in Hamilton with a very well executed bow sprit . Lets him fly a code 0 and an A chute
@@faircompetition1203 I don't know where hamilton is, but my harbor LOA is strict so the sprit I build would have to be removable, also I would like to put in an anchor roller to my design. I am retired marine composite engineer so no problem, I have lots of carbon fiber and materials laying around my home shop.
@@mailbagps Hamilton Ontario - guy's name is Greg and you can find him on the facebook Lake Ontario laser 28 page . He moded it without a PHRF hit in SS and it looks great .. I would love a bow roller and a bigger anchor locked to fit my cruising anchor .
The comment that they are too tippy and sail on their ear is not true . They do like weight on the rail if you are racing but because they are high powered one needs to take their foot of the gas earlier if you are short on crew - like a 600hp car in the rain .
You will find yourself out cruising with a reef in the main long before others to keep her on her feet . You will also leave them far behind and be out sailing on days when stiffer boats must use the motor . When it blows the boat is fine too , Have raced in 30 knots just fine .
The down wind performance is epic with hours long sustained double digits common .
Cruising comfort is darn good to for the size , v birth is larger than many 35 foot boats and the galley works well - superb cooler space . Head tankage a little low . The anchor locker is a bit too small .
The window is the hull side silhouette without the cabin.
A look at the inboard would have been nice.
My oday 28 has tie downs for shrouds has alot in common my oday 28 wasn't built to race but she will fly
Built in Montreal
No sailing=no Patreon
the Laser 28 was on the UK tv show Howards Way's intro-
ua-cam.com/video/dwoeSQMz7VU/v-deo.html
it reminds me a bit of my 1988 Jeanneau sundream 28 but mine has a bigger interior
This guy asks for money like my wife.
To spend with two random guys and a video camera.
I’d be worried if your wife is asking for money for two random guys and a video camera