The Laser 3000 is a racing sailing

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

crewed by two persons with a

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

for the crew. Launched in 1996, the 3000 was developed from the

Laser 2 The Laser 2, or Laser II, is a sailboat that was designed by New Zealander Frank Bethwaite and Canadian Ian Bruce as a one-design racer and first built in 1978. Production The design was built by Bruce's company, Performance Sailcraft, in ...

, using the original

Frank Bethwaite Francis Dewar Bethwaite (26 May 1920 – 12 May 2012) was a New Zealand naval architect, author and Olympic meteorologist.

-designed planing hull combined with a brand new self-draining deck by Derek Clark. Clark also re-designed the rig, using spars and sails from premium proprietary sources and replacing the symmetric spinnaker of the Laser 2 by a larger

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing downwind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", or "A-sail" it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but, the asymmetrical spinnaker is not ...

. The gennaker is chute-launched and retrieved using a single halyard line, and is set on a retractable bowsprit. Helm balance and handling were improved using a shorter-footed mainsail with two full-width battens giving a larger roach. A mast with conventional spreaders replaced the now-unusual diamond arrangement of the Laser 2. The 3000 offers fast, exciting yet easy sailing, particularly for lighter sailors - couples, parent-child and teenage combinations are common at 3000 events. A modest rig size and forgiving nature means that if other classes are sailing on a windy day, any reasonably competently crewed 3000 will be able to join them and enjoy a sparkling sail. Originally built by Laser, boats tagged 'V3000' currently built to the design by VanderCraft are constructed from woven glass and epoxy resin using vacuum-bagging to produce a boat which is very stiff and light yet durable. These boats race together with Laser 3000's in races within the 3000 Class. Again, while the original Hyde sails are still competitive, North Sails now offer a cheaper alternative using the latest cloth technology. The centre-sheeting optionally via a deck-mounted jammer or directly ‘off-the-boom’ may include a centre or an aft bridle, and a compression-strut kicker (‘Gnav’) is allowed which gives the crew much more space than the conventional kicking strap. The boat is easy to sail singlehanded, optionally using the jib, gennaker and/or trapeze, the latter being easy to use thanks to the deck layout and lack of racks. Most boats are sailed two-up, however, and class events presently cater for this crew format. The class association organises open meetings, including a national championships and, recently, coaching days. The atmosphere at all these events is friendly, with plentiful advice available for newcomers.

Price

The Laser 3000 is no longer in production and second-hand boats can be obtained from around £1300 upwards, depending upon age and condition. Current 3000 Class boats are made by Vandercraft, see below.

References

External links

UK 3000 Class Association Web Site

Builder’s (VanderCraft) Web Site
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Two-person sailboats 1990s sailboat type designs Sailboat types built by LaserPerformance

Price

See also

References

External links