Laser Vago
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2020}}
{{short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name = Laser Vago
|insignia =
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|image boat = File:Laser Vago sailboat 3378.jpg
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|designer = Jo Richards
|architect =
|location = United Kingdom
United States
|year = 2005
|no built =
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = LaserPerformance
|role = One-design racer
|boats =
|crew =
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|3.77|ft|m|abbr=on}} with daggerboard down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|234|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|hull type = Monohull
|construction = Rotational moulded polyethylene tri-skin foam sandwich
|loa = {{convert|13.78|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl =
|beam = {{convert|5.12|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
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|engine =
|appendages =
|keel type = centreboard
|ballast =
|rudder type = transom-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = Bermuda rig
|I =
|J =
|P =
|E =
|mast length =
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|sails =
|sailplan = Fractional rigged sloop
|sailarea main = {{convert|81.38|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea headsail = {{convert|29.92|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea spin = {{convert|116.79|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea gen =
|sails other =
|sailarea upwind =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total = {{convert|139.00|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|rating =
|d-pn =
|rya-pn = 1074
|phrf =
|status =
|previous =
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}}
The Laser Vago is a British/American sailing dinghy that was designed by Jo Richards as a one-design racer and first built in 2005.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/vago|title= Vago sailboat |access-date= 29 September 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200929204248/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/vago|archive-date= 29 September 2020 |url-status= live}}
Production
The design was built starting in 2005 by LaserPerformance in United Kingdom and in the United States, but by 2022 production had ended.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/builder/laserperformance|title= LaserPerformance|access-date= 29 September 2020|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2020|archive-url= https://archive.today/20200816194613/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/laserperformance|archive-date= 16 August 2020 |url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://laserperformance.com/boats/|title= Boats|access-date= 11 September 2022|author= LaserPerformance|author-link= LaserPerformance|work= laserperformance.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220911211908/https://laserperformance.com/boats/|archive-date= 11 September 2022|url-status= live}}
Design
The Laser Vago is a recreational sailboat, with then hull built predominantly of rotational moulded polyethylene tri-skin foam sandwich. The hull has a sharply single chined design. It has a fractional sloop rig, a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable daggerboard. It displaces {{convert|234|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|3.77|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the daggerboard extended. With the daggerboard removed the boat can be beached or transported on a trailer or car roof rack.
There are "standard" and XD "race" models, with the latter model equipped with sails of larger area. The boat is rated as a skill level of intermediate to advanced.
For sailing the design may be equipped with an asymmetrical spinnaker, flown from a retractable bowsprit and a single trapeze.
The design has a Royal Yacht Club Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 1074 and is normally raced with a crew of one or two sailors. The optimal crew weight is {{convert|176|to|331|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/technical/Web%20Documents/PY%20Documentation/PN%20List%202017%20(Web%20Version).pdf |title=Portsmouth Number List 2017 |publisher=Royal Yachting Association |access-date=19 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630075649/http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/technical/Web%20Documents/PY%20Documentation/PN%20List%202017%20(Web%20Version).pdf |archive-date=30 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}
Operational history
File:Laser Vago sailboat 3376.jpg.]]
The boat was named Sailing World magazine's "Best One-Design Dinghy" for 2007.{{cite web|url= https://www.sailingworld.com/sailboats/laser-vago-xd-review/|title= Laser Vago XD: Review|access-date= 29 September 2020|last= Allen|first= Chuck |work= Sailing World|date= 12 December 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170822192243/https://www.sailingworld.com/sailboats/laser-vago-xd-review/|archive-date= 22 August 2017|url-status= live}}
In a 2007 review for Sailing World, Chuck Allen wrote, "This boat is designed to be many things; singlehander, doublehander, fast trainer, and all-around fun, planing dinghy for whoever feels the need for speed in an inexpensive, durable design. Several key design features enable this 13'9" rocketship to get on a plane sooner than similar dinghies. The hard chine Richards designed into the hull combines with its rocker, which makes the boat handle like a dream during maneuvers. Its flared gunwales provide flotation and good righting moment. The XD version, which has 30 more square feet of sail area than the standard Vago, as well as a trapeze, is, quite simply, a ton of fun to sail ... Overall, sailing the boat is a great experience mostly because of the speed."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscat}}
- {{Official website|https://laserperformance.uk/collections/vago/products/vago}}
{{Laser Boats}}
{{Classes of World Sailing}}
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs}}
Category:2000s sailboat type designs