Laser SB3
Two of our Learn2Sail team were invited to try the Laser SB3 (SportBoat, 3 people) and they were delighted to accept – all in the name of work of course.
The conditions were lively when we arrived in Cowes to commence the demo sail, and we were assured by the Laser marketing department that the boat excelled in such conditions, having been blasting at 15 knots the previous week. The excitement built up as we rigged the boat and cast off – this process only taking about 15 minutes and a painless one at that. Being in the water already we had to believe the marketing material when it states that the boat is easily trailer sailable and easy to launch…. looking at the package we tend to believe that. The boat has some ingenious features such as an inverted kicker which saves space in the cockpit. Deck hardware has been selected to get “best-of breed” – from manufacturers such as Spinlock and Harken. An outboard bracket means a small engine can be clamped on to get out to the start lines and back to the bar before the beer runs out.
First impression underway is that this is a big dinghy rather than a small yacht, but with the behaviour to go with it. Being a dinghy sailor at heart the author felt at ease and was soon blasting across the Solent, 3 sail reaching. All controls are easily to hand, behaviour is predictable and performance is awesome. Hoisting the large asymetric spinnaker was easy once one knew which control lines to pull and the performance increase lead to whoops of joy from all 3 crew! Manouvering the craft was easy with the rudder providing plenty of feel, meaning tacks and gybes are a pleasure and can be controlled easily.
- Laser SB3
Recent events have been Cork Week which saw several SB3′s competing and enjoying some very high level racing, the Round the Island race which 2 SB3′s competeted in, finishing well up the rankings (full reports on the Laser website). Currently the Warsash Spring Series is seeing a healthy turnout of SB3′s regualrly racing and providing some very competitive one design racing. Laser have hit upon a winning formula with this boat and we have been told the sales figures reflect this with a fleet in the UK exceeding 20 boats in just a few months. Roll on the Nationals!
