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Members of the Canadian Sailing Team – Click for larger image
With well over 180 000 boats produced since 1970, the Laser is perhaps the world’s most popular sailboat. The Laser’s widespread acceptance is a testament to the strength of its design – often praised as the perfect balance of simplicity and performance. The Laser is a single-handed boat (sailed by one person) that’s relatively affordable and easy to transport and launch (the original inspiration was to create a car-top recreational boat). The simplicity of its single-sail design is well suited to both novice and expert sailors. Lasers are often used in sailing schools to perfect the basics and the standard rig can be replaced with smaller sail setups (known as the Radial and the 4.7) to accommodate lighter or less skilled sailors. When sailed by a skilled helmsman, Lasers are high performance boats, used in serious international competition. The Laser became a men’s Olympic-class boat in 1996 and the Laser Radial will be used in women’s Olympic competition beginning in 2008.