Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Racing Lil-Laser

Tried the Racing Lil-Laser in the waters around Tradewinds. Its a fun little thing. It doesn't look excactly like a Laser, but the resemblance is definately there. It comes with a nice looking hull, a rather nice sail, and a BWind sail-engine inside. That means it sails well, and it handles sim crossings almost as if they aren't there.
Somewhere south of TYC.
What's more interesting is, that it has a wind vane; Something I have wished for - for a long time - so that I can sail by feel and not by numbers. Yay!
It gets even better. The vane changes colour according to the sail trim. While that is not a realistic feature to have, it is far more fun to look at the vane than staring at sheet angles in degrees or radians. Still, I miss looking at the sails to sail.
South of Tradewinds.
The vane is positioned quite unrealistically on the hull after the mast, but as I said... it is much better than a hud full of numbers. While the sail looks rather good with stretch-lines and all, it is flat like a pancake. The depth of the sail cannot be adjusted. Also the centerboard is fixed, and you cannot balance the boat by moving around. More ways to sit would be nice. The Racing Lil-Laser is  good for casual sailing, a fun race and for beginners learning. If you know sailing from RL, I think you would quickly find it too easy and start looking for something else.
You can get a Lil-Laser at Tradewinds for a bargain price. No hesitations needed. Support Becca's work with the low lag BWind sail engine. It's definately a good thing.

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