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Rippin’ ‘Round the Bay on an SB3

If you’re curious, like we were, about Laser Performance’s new-to-the-States 20-ft sportboat, the Laser SB3, you’ve got a chance this week to put one through its paces. Yesterday afternoon we did just that and were pleasantly surprised.

A dockside view of the Laser SB3’s wide-open cockpit and simple set-up.

latitude/Rob
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC

We found the boat’s reputation as being fairly forgiving for a wider range of ages and athletic levels — hiking is prohibited by class rules — to be spot on. What we weren’t expecting is how quick and lively it is. We popped the kite just outside the Gate and it didn’t take long before we were romping along at speeds in the high teens in about 20-knots of breeze. The boat accelerated easily and was responsive to both helm input and sail trim, both of which required enough attention to be fun but not so much as to be onerous. We also never got any nasty surprises — there was always sufficient warning to keep the boat under the kite.

We have to admit that before we sailed the boat, we were a bit skeptical. We wondered about it having an aluminum instead of carbon fiber rig, and that in pictures the boat just looked a little, well . . . ‘agricultural’ for its all-inclusive $39,500 price tag. When we saw the whole package together — sails, trailer with conformal bunks, tapered rig, wireless Tack Tick compass system with a thru-hull speed and depth transducer which is powered by an integral solar panel, and details like the upside-down vang or "gnav" which frees up the cockpit — it starts to make more sense. It’s a pretty well-sorted boat.

When we first started hearing about the four-year-old design and the 100-boat fleets it was getting for Cowes Week in the UK, we wondered if the design would ever make it westward across the pond. With the 2007 merger of Vanguard Boats and Performance Sailcraft Europe to form Laser Performance, that abruptly became a reality. The boat’s westward expansion has taken awhile — in fact we suspect the demo boat may have been towed here behind a covered wagon — but Laser Performance now has a few examples on the West Coast. There’s one here on the Bay through the week, so if you want to give it a go, Laser Performance’s Ned Jones and Zack Maxam will be taking people out on the Cityfront today and Friday, and tomorrow they’ll be at Treasure Island Sailing Center. Give it a whirl! You might be pleasantly surprised and it’s a great reason to leave work early!

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