A BRIEF HISTORY of the RCLaser         Olympic Class Laser Dinghy Designer Bruce Kirby at the controls of his RCLaser (USA National Championships 2001) Photograph courtesy Nigel Seary

How it all Began. The Laser story began in 1969 when a conversation between Ian Bruce, an industrial designer, and Bruce Kirby, led to a revolution in sailing dinghy design.
The initial objective was to design a sailing dinghy that could be carried on the roof of a car. This project, initially called the ÔWeekenderÕ, developed into what we all know now as the Olympic Class Laser Dinghy, one of the most popular sailing classes in the world.

The Radio Controlled Laser is Born. During the 1990s Bruce Kirby began to work with Jon Elmaleh to create a radio controlled, quarter scale version of the Laser dinghy. Jon, of course, is very well known in international radio controlled racing circles and has some 30 national championships and several top designs to his credit. Between them they produced an exciting RC model racing yacht. Unlike its full-size counterpart, the RC Laser, at 1.04 metres long, needs neither a car rooftop (nor trailer), nor lifejackets nor wet or dry suits, before the skipper can be on the water and racing. The RC Laser is designed to be up-and-sailing, out of its box, in under seven minutes.

Delivered Ready to Sail. There is no need to worry about epoxy glues, carbon or glass fibre construction, shroud and backstay adjustments or sail design. All you need is two feet of water, a desire to sail and some wind. Just snap in the keel and rudder (no screws needed), slip the sail luff pocket over the glass fibre mast, insert the boom into the rigid goose neck, clip on the sail lines, put the revolving mast into the deck, clip on the mainsheet, insert the batteries and you are ready to go. When you have gone through these motions a couple of times the seven minutes can include plenty of time to get something better than a clubhouse trim on the sail too.

An Unusual Design Feature. One interesting feature of the RC Laser is the rigid gooseneck not dissimilar to the swing rigs currently being used on some classes of radio controlled yachts . What is not often known is that the prototype design for the original car toppable Laser also featured a rigid gooseneck. However production difficulties at the time meant the idea had to be dropped.

Everything Goes in the Bag. If you really want to get smart, there is a padded combi bag in which you can transport all you need for a days racing - hull, fin, rudder, mast, boom, sails (there are three sizes of sail available) transmitter and even a stand all fit neatly into the bag. A team of three UK skippers took their RC Lasers to the USA National Championships in 2001 using only the padded combi bag as packing. All three boats arrived safely (via the cargo hold) and ready to race the next day.

RC Laser Attracts New Blood. The RC Laser is already bringing many new faces into the sport of RC yacht racing, particularly from a group that want to sail competitively without any desire to construct a yacht nor, since it is a strict one-design class, have no wish to become involved with continuous development and the resulting cost of upgrading the boat at regular intervals. As all the boats are the same the racing is close - very close - and if you've got the edge on the other skippers then it's all down to you. Conversely if you are at the back of the fleet you have only yourself to blame.

'Big Boys Toys?' A more recent development both in the USA and here in the UK has been the purchase of boats by active yacht and dinghy skippers whom have recognised, in the RC Laser, an opportunity not only to be able to practice their tactical skills and rules application but also to have some fun when time or weather may not permit racing their big boats. At least two yacht clubs in the USA now regularly races well over 40 RC Lasers.

An Active Class Association. The UK RC Laser Association was formed by and for owners in the Autumn of 2000. Since then the Association has registered more than 350 boats. Each year since then many have taken part in the seven or more events held at various venues around the country under the auspices of the Association.