The Laser 4.7 or ILCA 4 is a
one-design dinghy class in the
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
series and is a one-design class of sailboat. All Lasers are built to the same specifications. The Laser is 4.06 m (13 ft 10 in) long, with a
waterline length
A vessel's length at the waterline (abbreviated to L.W.L)Note: originally Load Waterline Length is the length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (the ''waterline''). The LWL will be shorter than the length of the boat over ...
of 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in). The hull weight is 59 kg (130 lb). The boat is manufactured by ILCA and World Sailing approved builders.
Lasers are
cat-rigged
A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are ...
, meaning they have only one sail. The 4.7 uses the same hull and top mast section as the
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
, but has a different bottom mast section as well as a smaller sail. The bottom mast section is already bent which effectively reduces the power of the rig, and the sail is only 4.7 square meters, as opposed to 7 for the
Laser Standard or 5.7 for the
Laser Radial
The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, w ...
. The smaller sail means that the 4.7 can be easily sailed by sailors weighing only 50–65 kg (110–145 lb), though this boat can still be sailed competitively under and over the ideal weights.
[http://www.laser.org/]
Description
The Laser 4.7 has been increasing in popularity around the world since the late 1990s. In some areas it is less popular than the
Byte
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
dinghy, a very similar class also designed as a youth single-handed racing trainer, but the interchangeability of the rigs of the Laser series has always made them popular. It is popular among youth sailors graduating from the
Optimist sailing dinghy, and many 4.7 sailors graduate to the Laser Radial as they progress their sailing abilities.
Events
World Championships
Boys
Girls
See also
*
Laser (dinghy)
The Laser is a class of Single-handed sailing, single-handed, one-design dinghy sailing, sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength an ...
*
Laser Radial
The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, w ...
*
Laser 4.7 World Championships The ILCA 4 World Championships, until 2020 the Laser 4.7 World Championships, have been held every year since 2002, organized by the International Sailing Federation. The event is open to sailors under the age of 18.
Editions
Medalists Open
Boy ...
References
External links
Manufacturers websiteGuide to the various sizes of Laser sailboats
{{Sailing Dinghies and Skiffs