LaserPerformance is an

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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, whic ...

manufacturer- the world's largest producer of small sailboats. LaserPerformance manufactures many sailboats including:

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 ...

, Sunfish,

Laser Pico The Laser Pico dinghy is a small sailboat designed by Jo Richards in the mid-1990s and used primarily for training and day sailing. It can be crewed by one or two children or an adult. Current models come equipped with both a mainsail and a jib, ...

, Bug, Laser Vago, Laser Bahia, Club FJ,

Club 420 The International 420 Dinghy is a sailing dinghy popular for racing and teaching. The hull is fiberglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 has a bermuda rig and an optional spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and ...

, Z420,

Vanguard 15 The Vanguard 15 is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Bob Ames as a one-design racer and first built in 1992.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 54-55. Houghton Mifflin C ...

Dart 16 The Dart 16 is a one-design 4.80 m long sailing catamaran. It is designed to be sailed by two people. It races off a Portsmouth Yardstick of 863. History Design The Dart 16 is a modern beach catamaran that is fast, affordable, and seaworthy. L ...

, Funboat and Optimists. They are most well known for the ''Sunfish'' and The Laser – a single handed boat which is sailed in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

. Over the last 60 years, the Sunfish has become the most popular recreational sailboat in history. The Laser is widely accepted as the world’s most popular adult & youth racing class. LaserPerformance is also well known for its Sunfish Stand Up Paddleboards and Seitech dollies and racking systems.

Background

On a phone call between

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce in 1969, the pair discussed the possibility of a car-topped dinghy (a boat small enough to be carried on a roof rack of a typical car) for a line of camping equipment. Kirby resultantly sketched out what would be known as "the million dollar doodle." Following his "doodle" Kirby developed working drawings that Ian Bruce used to develop the Laser. The plans stayed with Kirby and Bruce until 1970 when ''One Design and Offshore Yachtsman'' magazine held a

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wat ...

for boats under $1000, called "America's Teacup." After a few sail modifications, the Laser easily won its class. The prototype was originally named the "Weekender"; the sail held the letters TGIF, a common American abbreviation for "Thank God It's Friday." Ian Bruce renamed the boat the "Laser" (after the scientific mechanism), and officially unveiled at the

New York Boat Show New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in 1971. The first world championship was held in 1974 in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. The Laser became a men's

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

-class boat at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, with a special Olympic edition of the boat released that year in commemoration. A version with a smaller sail, 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, ...

, was first sailed as a women's Olympic-class boat at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. Followed by a youth version known as the 4.7.

History

Neither Bruce nor Kirby had the financial or manufacturing capability to mass-produce and market the boat, and so sold a series of manufacturing licenses to existing boat manufacturers, each with an exclusive geographic sales region: *Europe: Performance Sailcraft based in

Long Buckby Long Buckby is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. In 2020 the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf, was estimated to have a population of 4,303. Long Buckby is hill top village, ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

*North America:

Vanguard Sailboats Vanguard Sailboats was one of the most successful sailboat builders. It was founded in 1967, and is now owned by LaserPerformance. History Vanguard Sailboats was founded in 1967 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA by Peter and Olaf Harken. The brothe ...

of Portsmouth, RI *Australia and Oceania: Performance Sailcraft Australia Each was licensed to manufacture the basic craft, under strict one design rules. Each builder produced the Laser 1 and 2 but it was LaserPerformance Europe which diluted the brand most by introducing boats such as the Laser 2000, Laser 4000, Laser 5000, Laser Bahia, Laser SB3. The company was also responsible the Dart Catamaran brand, and a range of rotomoulded plastic dinghies. In 2007 Performance Sailcraft Europe and Vanguard merged to create LaserPerformance. This changed the business model from being a licensed boat builder, to a lifestyle brand that manufactured and distributed dinghies and other water sports related products. LaserPerformance also introduced SailLaser centers with the goal of promoting sailing and bringing the community of sailors together through training programs, events, leasing of boats and social activities. Sailors are globally connected to pursue common interests by becoming members of LaserPerformance United, where LaserPerformance helps facilitate activities and suggests member-run initiatives.

Sunfish

The Sunfish sailboat is a personal size, beach launched

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls: * the sails * the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth) * the trim (forward/rear angle o ...

utilizing a pontoon type

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

carrying a

lateen A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The settee can be considered to be an associated type of the same ...

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails ma ...

mounted to an un- stayed

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

. Sunfish was developed by ''Alcort, Inc.'' and first appeared around 1952 as the "next generation" improvement on their original boat, the

Sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...

. In contrast, the Sunfish has a wider beam for more stability, increased

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

and the addition of a foot-well for a more comfortable sailing position. Sunfish began as a wood hull design and progressed to

fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

construction just a few years after its introduction. Having a

sail with its simple two line

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they ar ...

makes a Sunfish simple to learn sailing on and to set up. Upgrades can be added to enhance sail control for competitive sailing, making the boat attractive to both novice and experienced sailors alike. Due to the broad appeal of the Sunfish, in 1995 it was commended by The

American Sailboat Hall of Fame The American Sailboat Hall of Fame is a defunct hall of fame honoring 26 production sailboats built-in the United States. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Sail America, a trade association for the U.S. sailing industry, to recognize ...

for being "the most popular fiberglass boat ever designed, with a quarter million sold worldwide" (at that point in time). Today, the Sunfish brand-name has become so widely known it is often misapplied generically to refer to any brand board-style boat sporting the characteristic

sail. Currently manufactured by LaserPerformance.

Litigation and controversies

Breach of contract, unlawful Counterfeiting and Trademark Infringement

On March 4, 2013, Bruce Kirby, Inc., filed a complaint in the U.S. Federal Court District of Connecticut, alleging unlawful counterfeiting of the Kirby dinghy globally recognized as the Laser by LaserPerformance. LaserPerformance is the legal intellectual property owner of the Laser brand globally except in Oceania (includes Australia, New Zealand), Japan, and Korea. This case also names the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) and the

International Sailing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ISAF) alleging they assisted LaserPerformance by continuing to supply ISAF plaques to the builder, after Kirby had given them formal notice to stop. On June 13, 2013 LaserPerformance filed its Answer and Counter Claims in the United States District Court, District of Connecticut, alleging a scheme by Bruce Kirby, Inc., Global Sailing Limited, and Performance Sailcraft Pty. Ltd. On February 14, 2020 a Connecticut Court gives $6m verdict in favor of Laser designer Bruce Kirby in long running dispute with LaserPerformance.

Laser Class

On March 27, 2019, laser class revoked LaserPerformance's license to build Lasers.

Today

LaserPerformance now builds and sells a wide range of racing and recreational

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

dinghies 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 ...

, including the

, Laser Pico,

Laser Bahia 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 ...

, Laser Vago, Sunfish, Club FJ,

, Dart 16, and Bug. At 2022 new boats Cascais and Portstar As of summer 2021 LaserPerformance remains in negotiations with the ILCA and has not signed a Builders Agreement for Laser dinghies.

References

External links

Company website
{{Laser Boats LaserPerformance