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SandS said..Chris 249 said..SandS said..
the foiling idea is already creating a new class in racing . a dude in perth has been foiling a laser and has decimated the fleet because the boat is legal ........they had to create anther class for him once another foiler turned up to get the old boats back racing again
As others have said, it would never have been within a million miles of being legal in the first place. I'd be interested to hear more but the foiling Laser I sailed wouldn't normally have been remotely competitive from what I could feel. One of the things about foilers is that they really need a rig with low aerodynamic drag and a lot of righting moment, and the Laser has neither.
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cant find the WA vid of the race where he tears through the fleet , your probably right about being not legal , but everything starts off as being not legal .... and if its on you tube isn't it true ?
as for laser not suitable for foiling there is plenty of footage of lasers foiling check out the link above
I've sailed a foiling Laser years ago, which is why I mentioned I could feel its performance. I didn't say they weren't suitable for foiling. They can do it, but to do well they really need a low drag rig and lots of stability. A foiling Laser may tear through the fleet downwind in the right conditions but I think it would be way too slow upwind to beat the fleet normally.
If Laser sailors wanted a fast boat, they wouldn't have got a Laser. Foilers are fun, but they are still a small minority of boats and they are growing very, very, very slowly compared to other trends.
Oh, and it's not "probably right" that the foiler is illegal - it is DEFINITELY right. At Laser titles they even roll your spars on a jig to make sure they are straight, they often make you tape the rudder bearing pin to ensure it's within half a degree of the right angle, they stamp all the gear - the rules are strict and simple and foilers are banned.