Laser Stratos
Encyclopedia
Laser Performance
-History:Up until around 2007, boats were built under the Laser brand name by several boat builders each allocated an exclusive geographic sales region. The builders were Performance Sailcraft Europe, Performance Sailcraft Australia and Vanguard...
, the same company as the famous Laser Standard dinghy. It is built from fibre-glass and foam sandwich. The Laser Stratos comes in two forms, one with a keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
(similar to most yachts) and one with a centreboard
Centreboard
A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...
(like nearly all dinghies). The centreboard version is red and the keel version is blue. The Stratos is quite spacious and most of the rigging
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
is kept out of the way. The boat can optionally be fitted with trapeze lines and an engine bracket for carrying an outboard engine.
Dimensions
The Stratos is 4.94 metres (16.2 ft) long, its beam is 2 metres (6.6 ft) and its mastMast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
height is 7.1 metres (23.3 ft).
Special features
The Stratos can be reefedReefing
Reefing is a sailing manoeuvre intended to reduce the area of a sail on a sailboat or sailing ship, which can improve the ship's stability and reduce the risk of capsizing, broaching, or damaging sails or boat hardware in a strong wind...
in less than a minute to reduce the amount of power from the mainsail
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
. The Stratos' Combi-Tec Mainsail includes short batten
Batten
A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...
s and a full-length top batten. The Stratos also has a furling jib
Jib
A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
, which means the Stratos can be fully depowered in less than 10 seconds.
Safety
The Stratos has many features that make it safe and fun to use for family day cruising. The Stratos has a unique system called SailSafe, which floods and self-drains tanks in the sides to help recover and keep the dinghy stable immediately after a capsizeCapsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
.
There have been questions over the safety of the trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
lines when a boy drowned after he was caught in a trapeze line under a turtled
Turtling (sailing)
In dinghy sailing, a boat is said to be turtling when the boat is fully inverted with the mast pointing down to the seabed. The name stems from the appearance of the upside-down boat, similar to the shell of a sea turtle....
Stratos in Hong Kong. A similar tragic accident happened in Kielder Water, UK with 2 deaths.
Racing ability
Although the Stratos is mostly for cruising it is fairly competent at racing as well, with an asymmetrical spinnaker (gennaker) as well as an optional trapeze kit. The RYARoyal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
2010 Portsmouth Yardstick
Portsmouth yardstick
The Portsmouth Yardstick or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a system of handicapping used primarily in small-boat yacht racing.The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the corrected time can be used to compare widely different sailboats on even terms. Portsmouth Numbers are...
(PY) Number for the Stratos without the trapeze kit is 1087 and with the trapeze kit is 1077. This is very good considering the popular 420
420 (dinghy)
The International 420 Class Dinghy is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with centreboard, bermuda rig and centre sheeting. The name describes the overall length of the boat in centimetres . The hull is fibreglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 is equipped with spinnaker and optional...
's PY Number is 1087, even though the 420's design is much older. The Stratos, however, lacks many of the features of purpose-built racing dinghies.
Laser Cease Production
Over the Christmas period of 2008/2009 Laser PerformanceLaser Performance
-History:Up until around 2007, boats were built under the Laser brand name by several boat builders each allocated an exclusive geographic sales region. The builders were Performance Sailcraft Europe, Performance Sailcraft Australia and Vanguard...
announced that they are going to cease production of the Stratos Centerboard Version immediately (possibly due to the Laser Bahia), although the keel version will still be available.