History of the Laser 28

Below is an article that was published in March 1985. While not a complete history of the boat, it does offer insight into the early years.
Laser International now has a year under its belt in the manufacturing and marketing of the Laser 28, and this newsletter is an update for existing owners and for the nearly 5,000 people who have so far expressed an interest in the boat.

The development of a new product, and in this case a totally new concept in a racing-cruising sailboat, is never without its problems, and the Laser 28 has followed the normal pattern. As most people have shown interest in both the manufacturing and marketing of the boat and the development of the Class, we will treat all of these items separately.

Manufacturing

Production
Manufacturing started in March of 1984 and, despite my best will and intentions, we were unable to achieve the production levels we had hoped for and only demonstrator boats were built for our representatives during the summer. The first customer boats were delivered at the time of the Annapolis Boat Show in October 1984 and since then our output has steadily increased to the point where, at the time of writing, the factory is producing in excess of three boats per week. That level will increase to four by the end of March, and if our level of quality can be maintained, we will be at one a day by early summer.

No changes have been made to the basic layout, rig, or structure of the boat, but those of you who saw the original prototype in Annapolis in 1983 would find the quality of the interior significantly improved in the small detailing.

Closed Mold Process
All of the first boats were produced using the hand-laid method for the decks which were then subsequently finished by hand. The level of this finishing has constantly been improved to the point where, at most boat shows, visitors to the boat have to be told that the deck is not produced in the closed-mold.

Perhaps because of the importance given to the closed-mold in the original literature, a mystique appears to have built up around the process, which is really without foundation. The raison d’être for the closed-mold has always been a reduction in the cost of manufacturing the boat as no liner or interior finishing is needed. There are no performance advantages of one over the other. The weight differences are within the normal tolerances of the hand-laid process and no one who has a hand-laid deck will be at any advantage or disadvantage on the race course. We have shipped three boats so far with closed-mold decks and are slowly changing over the line as all the small technical bugs that relate solely to the quality of the finish are ironed out. Sometime in 1985 we will be fully converted.

Marketing

Prior to starting on the Laser 28 project, Laser International made the basic decision not to market the boat through its existing network of some 300 dealers. Instead, we opted to market the boat directly to the consumer and to use “Representatives” in fairly large areas who were extremely enthusiastic about the product. In return for their support they would receive a small commission on all boats sold in their territory. These territories are much larger than would normally be covered by a “dealer” but, the Rep’s main responsibility is not to stock and sell boats but to create visibility for the boat and to organize and create Class activity. As this activity expands throughout the area, the Reps continue to receive their commission and hence to stay interested in the development of the Class. This concept is working extremely well and, of paramount interest to the consumer, results in a considerably lower purchase price for the boat as there is no built-in dealer margin.

... [Additional History Content] ...

Good sailing!
Ian Bruce