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Laser Vago
Development
Designer	Jo Richards
Location	United Kingdom; United States
Year	2005
Builder(s)	LaserPerformance
Role	One-design racer
Name	Laser Vago
Boat
Displacement	234 lb (106 kg)
Draft	3.77 ft (1.15 m) with daggerboard down
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	Rotational moulded polyethylene tri-skin foam sandwich
LOA	13.78 ft (4.20 m)
Beam	5.12 ft (1.56 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	centreboard
Rudder(s)	transom-mounted rudder
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
Sails
Sailplan	Fractional rigged sloop
Mainsail area	81.38 sq ft (7.560 m2)
Jib/genoa area	29.92 sq ft (2.780 m2)
Spinnaker area	116.79 sq ft (10.850 m2)
Total sail area	139.00 sq ft (12.914 m2)
Racing
RYA PN	1074
	[edit on Wikidata]

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.^[1]

Production

The design was built starting in 2005 by LaserPerformance in United Kingdom and in the United States, but by 2022 production had ended.^[1]^[2]^[3]

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 234 lb (106 kg).^[1]

The boat has a draft of 3.77 ft (1.15 m) with the daggerboard extended. With the daggerboard removed the boat can be beached or transported on a trailer or car roof rack.^[1]

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.^[1]

For sailing the design may be equipped with an asymmetrical spinnaker, flown from a retractable bowsprit and a single trapeze.^[1]

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 176 to 331 lb (80 to 150 kg).^[1]^[4]

Operational history

The boat was named Sailing World magazine's "Best One-Design Dinghy" for 2007.^[5]

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."^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g McArthur, Bruce (2020). "Vago sailboat". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
^ McArthur, Bruce (2020). "LaserPerformance". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
^ LaserPerformance (2022). "Boats". laserperformance.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
^ "Portsmouth Number List 2017" (PDF). Royal Yachting Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b Allen, Chuck (12 December 2007). "Laser Vago XD: Review". Sailing World. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2020.