dsm iso l4k comp review

8/6/2019 Dsm Iso l4k Comp Review

1/9

vs

50 w w w . d

i n g h y s a i l i n g m a g a z i n e . c

o . u k

Laser4000 ISOReview category Asymmetric double handers

with single trapeze

Wind speed: 12-15 knots

Photography: Emily Brown

C O M P A R A T I V

E B O A T R E V I E W


2/9

51 w w w . d

i n g h y s a i

l i n g m a g a z i n e . c

o . u k

These single wire asymmetrics helpedrevolutionise high performance sailing forlightweights when rst launched over a decade

ago. Despite modern developments, both havestood the test of time. But how do they stand upto each other? We went aoat to nd out.

The review team

AndyPalmer-FelgateWeight: 65kgHeight: 57

Has been sailingLaser 4000s for ve years.

Nick AlpWeight: 76kgHeight: 59

Seven years competitive Laser4000 sailing, coming third atthe European Championshipsthis year.

Andrew GouldWeight: 82kgHeight: 59

Andrew has beensailing the ISO forten years and is an ex-NationalChampion of the class.

Vicki GouldWeight: 60kgHeight: 53

Sailing with Andrew for ten years competitively in the ISO, Vicki is also an ex-NationalChampion of the ISO eet.

Laser 4000First built three years afterits big sister, the Laser 5000,the Laser 4000 wasimmediately popular withlighter crews who could nothandle the Laser 5000. The

high performance sailingoffered by the boat attractedlarge numbers in its rst veor six years, but then theintroduction of the Olympicclass 49er and otherlightweight skiff-likedinghies caught the eye ofmany. However, there is stilla large following loyal to theclass, and a very activeevent (and social) calendar.The low maintenance cost of

the boat attracts many younger people to the class.

ISODesigned and launched in1993 from the drawing boardof Ian Howlett and JohnCaig, Toppers ISO was agroundbreaking dinghy forthe time. The ISO introduced

many sailors to theaffordable joys of fastasymmetric sailing. TheClass Association works tomaintain and increase thestrength and popularity ofthe class. The class benetsfrom an active racing circuit,including a bi-annual xtureat Lake Garda, and althoughthe eet does not attractnumbers like those of theLaser 4000 the racing is

friendly with a laid-backstyle that makes protestsalmost unheard of!

C O M P A R A T I V


...both beingstrict one-designs,there haveonly been afew smallmodicationsto designsince theboats wererst built...


3/9

52 w w w . d


o . u k

O nshore next to each other theISO and the Laser 4000 lookvery similar in size, length and beam.

The only difference upon rst sightwould be the optional solid wings on

the ISO, and the adjustable racks onthe Laser 4000.

The group thought that both boatswere very similar when manoeuvringand launching. Even when the Laser4000s racks are fully extended andthe ISO has the wings in place,neither is difcult to move around.

Andy thought that The 4000 isprobably slightly heavier and itsprobably about 20cm shorter, but stillnot hard to move. The othersagreed with this statement, and the

builder statistics conrm that the ISOis the lighter boat by 12kg.

However, one difference that Andynoticed was that the Laser 4000 hasthe easier rudder system with thetraditional tilting blade, whereas theISO has a kick-down system. Heasked Andrew how effective this isand Andrew replied; Although it iseasy to use, it needs to be tied downto prevent it popping up by accident,which adds another stage tolaunching. Andrew added; From

2005 the ISO class rules haveallowed any rudder system, thoughno-one has bothered changing it, somaybe its not that bad!

The whole group agreed that prior

to launching, the rigging of the boatswas very similar. However, a few keydifferences were exposed. Andrewsaid, The ISO has a mast gatewhich means it can be rigged by one

person. In contrast, the Laser 4000needs another person to hold themast whilst the shrouds areattached. Nick also pointed out thatthe only other rigging issue on theLaser 4000 is the spinnaker polewing-wang system, and Andrewadded that, After it has been riggedonce, you hopefully shouldnt haveto do it again.

With sails hoisted both boats havefully battened main sails, somethingto keep an eye on when launching

as you have to control the boatscarefully. However, our test team didnot have any problems with this, orany trouble getting in and out of theboats with the racks and wingsto negotiate.

Sailing and performanceOnce launched and out in to a bitmore open space the crews wereable to show off their skills in theirown boats before swapping. Therewas a little debate about which boat

was the faster. On paper, the Laser4000 has the lower PN but also thesmaller sail area. Andy said that,Sailing in a straight line the Laser4000 is signicantly quicker for me.

The sail is quite at and the boatseems to have less resistance in thewater and sails, it just feels a bit

more responsive and when there is agust the boat tends to acceleratebetter. Whereas on the ISO the sailshape varies from being a really deepsail to a very at sail and you can do

an awful lot with the rig to depowerit. In some ways the rig on the ISO ismore versatile. Nick agreed that theISO rig felt more elastic, and sailand rig alterations were morereceptive than the Laser 4000.

Andrew agreed with both Andy andNick saying, The ISO sail is generallytoo full and you end up whacking onmassive amounts of cunningham toatten it off, but you can get itcompletely at by bending the mast.We never let the cunningham right off

in the ISO, and have crinkles upthe mast.

The speed debate was settled withNick thinking that; The overall boatspeeds are almost identical, I foundthat downwind there is nothing in it.However Andrew thought that; Inlight winds the ISO is slightly fasteras it has the slightly bigger rig, but instrong winds I think the 4000 hasthe edge.

Andy and Vicki agreed with theresponsiveness of the Laser 4000,

and its better acceleration in thegusts, particularly downwind. This isdue to the Laser 4000s longerbowsprit. However, Andy added that,I think the ISO has a bit moremomentum to it, going through thelulls a bit better.

With Nick and Vicki crewing bothboats, both commented that thetrapezing and sitting position in theboats is very different. Vicki said that;This has a lot to do with what youare used to, and if I had always

sailed a Laser 4000 Im sure Iwouldnt have had any problems.

Vickis ISO trapezing technique is tohook on before going out on the wireand therefore she naturally sits down,yet the Laser 4000 requires crews tobe on their feet a lot more. Nickthought that the ISO offers arelatively stable platform for going outon the trapeze, and that the wholeboat generally felt steadier in astraight line and through the corners.Both Andrew and Andy, helming the

boats, felt the sitting and hikingposition was very similar, and neitherwas uncomfortable or difcult to getinto the correct place.

Laser 4000 ISO

Year of design 1995 1992

Length (m) 4.6 4.7

Beam (m) 1.5 2.3 1.7 2.2

Weight (kg) 107 95

Rec. crew weight (kg) 120 180 130 170

Main (m 2 ) 10.8 10.0

Jib (m 2 ) 3.9 5.0

Spinnaker (m 2 ) 17.1 21.0

Trapeze 1 1

PN number 908 926

Builder Laser Topper International

Crew 2 2

Construction GRP foam sandwich Foam sandwich

Racks/wings Racks Wings

Class Association www.laser4000.org.uk www.isoracing.org.uk

Statistics

C O M P A R A T I V



4/9

53 w w w . d

i n g h y s a i


o . u k

C O M P A R A T I V



5/9

54 w w w . d


o . u k

Boat handlingSome major differences between thetwo boats were revealed intheir handling.

Nick said, The major differencehas to be the height of the boom; it

is so much lower in the ISO. Youvegot to get on your knees! I wasgetting my back caught on theboom, not able to get it low enough!However, ISO crew Vicki was havingthe opposite problems, Whilst youwere nding it difcult on your kneesin the ISO, I was nding it difcultgoing through manoeuvres standingup on the Laser 4000! This drawsattention to the different techniquesrequired for sailing each of the boats.

Andrew highlighted that; Tacking

is easier in the ISO as you dont getstuck in irons. The problem with theLaser 4000 is that you have to pullthe jib in quickly; if you dont you can

get stuck. Whereas in the ISO youcan get away with anything, becauseit has that little bit more momentumthrough manoeuvres, compared tothe Laser 4000 which slows down a

lot. When it came to gybing, thehelms both agreed that there washardly any difference apart from thewing-wang. This system allows thespinnaker pole to be canted to oneside in light winds, so a deeper anglecan be sailed. Andy said; This canbe another complication when sailingsometimes. It is nice in light winds asyou can swing the pole back and saila lot deeper that way, but when it iswindy pretty much everyone sets it inthe middle the whole time, and you

just have to remember to let it off when you drop the kite. The entiregroup agreed that this could poseproblems if forgotten about!

Our crews did not have anyproblems hoisting or dropping eitherboats spinnakers and gybingseemed to go smoothly. Vickicommented, In the ISO, Andrewpulls up the kite, so when I had tohoist the Laser 4000 spinnaker I wasunsure of what position to stand in.But saying that, the spinnaker wasnot heavy or hard to pull up. Nick

added; I thought the loads on thekite uphaul and downhaul whereactually a bit higher in the ISO, buton the other hand I thought the sheetloads were lower. The groupdecided that this could be due to thecut of the ISO kite, which has ahigher aspect ratio. Nick thought thattrimming the ISO felt easier, but saidthat it is a very small differencebetween the two.

Coming out of tacks and gybes, Andy observed that the ISO allows

slightly more time for the crew tocome out of the manoeuvre. In theLaser 4000 the power is instantly on,whereas because the ISO rig is a bitmore elastic it powers up gradually,which gives you a bit more time.

Vicki agreed with this; Coming outof a gybe the Laser 4000 spinnakerlled very suddenly and ew off,whereas in the ISO you can feel thepower coming on slowly and youbear away and accelerate and thenyoure in control I didnt feel that as

much with the Laser 4000.

Layout and control linesWhilst both boats are minimalist andaim to have a tidy layout, the ISO isprobably the more rope free of thetwo, without the wing-wang lines.However, that said, the traditionalkicker on the ISO, as well as thelower boom, further limits the spacefor the crew when crossing the boat,whereas the Laser 4000 gnavcreates much more space. Yet the

Laser 4000 also sports lowershrouds, which adds anotherdimension to rig set up, as well asmaking it trickier for the crew to

C O M P A R A T I V



6/9

55 w w w . d

i n g h y s a i


o . u k

move around comfortably in front of the mast in light winds.

The kicker and cunninghamcontrol lines in the Laser 4000 areboth led up on to the trampoline onthe rack. Nick said; This meansneither helm nor crew have to lean into the boat to make an adjustment.Whereas on the ISO, thecunningham is in one place and the

kicker is in another, but I supposethey still both come out to the sidebut not onto the wing. Andrewreplied that he thought the kickercould be easily pulled on andreleased in both boats, but thoughtthe Laser 4000 cunningham wasoccasionally hard to let off, due tohaving no elasticity in the release.

Whilst discussing the layouts of the boats, the topic of durability wasraised. Both being strictone-designs, there have only been a

few small modications to designsince the boats were rst built. Vickisaid; We have an older ISO and it isstill very competitive and robust.

Andy said that this applied to theLaser 4000 as well; In terms of buildquality the 4000s that were built tenyears ago, like the one we weresailing today, are still competitive andthey still tend to last as a boat and adesign. Nick added that thisrobustness extended to the sails aswell as the boat itself; The main sail

lasts really well, and the only thingthat you probably would do everytwo or three seasons if you reallywanted to stay competitive, isreplace the jib as they tend to get abit stretched along the foot. Andrewsaid the same about the ISO sails,and that the things that end upbreaking eventually is more likely tobe something like the eye ttingsrather than the cloth itself!

CapsizingOf course the nature of the boat testand the hot summer weather of thetest day meant a capsize wasnecessary. Regular Laser 4000

C O M P A R A T I V E B O A T R E V I E W


7/9

56 w w w . d


o . u k

sailor Andy was surprised that hecould right the ISO very easily

without help, whereas he cannotsolely right the Laser 4000. Hethought that this was mainly due tothe hull shape and the rig rather thanthe weight of the boats.Nick thought that the ISO oatedhigher in the water when capsizedcompared to the Laser 4000 andwas not inclined to turtle as easily,but whether this had anything to dowith Andy being able to right the ISOwith more ease was notdecided upon!

Amongst the group all thoughtthat in both boats, climbing onto thedaggerboard over the wings or racksdoes not pose a problem, andrecovering the spinnaker from thewater is also not an issue, as long asthe Laser 4000 wing-wang isnot forgotten!

Once righted, both boats drainefciently, yet Andy commented,When the ISO is upright it seemsmore stable, as although both boatshave fully battened mainsails the

Laser 4000 tends to generate morepower when its not sheeted in. TheISO is more like a conventional boatin that it does not try and sail off as

soon as the boat is upright.

Weight equalisation As with all dinghies there is arecommended crew weight, yet withboth boats this spans a widebracket. Everyone agreed that theseare not the sort of boat where youhave to have a heavier crew or worryabout being too light for the boat.

The Laser 4000 has a weightequalisation system that consists of a matrix of combinations of rackpositions and lead weights that canbe added to the boat. Nick explained

that; The Laser 4000 probably hasone of the most graded systems interms of weights and racks and itdoes work very well in the eet. AtLake Garda and at the Nationals,there were two small girls in the topve as well as a 105kg man. Everycombination works really. I think thatthis is a genuine advantage of theeet. The system makes nodifference to handicap racing or joy-riding but I think in the eet it makeseveryone feel that its down to their

skill and experience rather than thatthey just happen to be theright weight.

On the other hand, the ISO has a

C O M P A R A T I V



8/9

57 w w w . d

i n g h y s a i


o . u k

much simpler method with thewings, which can be detached. Vickiexplained, You can either have themon or off, and there are no otherweights to put in or take out. The

wings weigh about 15kg and whenracing, if the crew is over 78kg thewings are not allowed. Andrewadded, Heavier crews therefore saveon the 15kg weight of the wings butlose some leverage. It wasconcluded that overall the separateweight equalisation systems do workwithin their class, as shown by a veryvaried weight range of people gettingresults at both class nationals.

C O M P A R A T I V

E B O A T R E V I E WFinal thoughts

Vicki

Andrew

...We have a lot of youngpeople that come into the ISOeet, and there are actuallyquite a lot of events, as well asclub racing. The circuit is not asbig as the Laser 4000, we dontget as many boats by anymeans, but it is such afriendly class...

...I have sailed both the Laser4000 and ISO competitively andit is very difcult to choosebetween the two. Both classeshave good racing and trips toLake Garda. However, the ISOis such a joy to sail in the lighterwinds, and it means we can dowell in handicap racing...

Andy

...I think the main difference is that the ISO isso much more forgiving in so many waysincluding tacks and with the spinnaker andeven on shore it is a bit easier to movearound. Therefore it is probably more suitablefor club racing and people who want to go outsailing but dont want to really ne-tune theirtechniques to be able to handle the boat.Whereas the Laser 4000 is slightly morechallenging, and because acceleration isbetter it is a bit more exciting, although speedwise there is not much in it...

Nick

...I think that the Laser 4000 is a bit moreuncompromising in the sense that you wouldntbuy one if you just wanted to have fun andpotter around on the water. Its denitely forracing, although having said that I think bothboats could suit anybody who is looking for asingle trapeze asymmetric, there are justdifferences that in time become second nature...


9/9

58 w w w . d


o . u k

C O M P A R A T I V


toRightreply

Many thanks to both crews for taking

time out to do this comparison withDinghy Sailing Magazine. It isexcellent to have the current ISOEuropean Champs and Laser 4000National Champs as part of the testteam on the water far more expertthan me!

The ISO is a superb boat whichfills a unique slot in that it offers veryeffective displacement sailing in lightwinds - you can almost match thepoint of a symmetric boat downwind- as well as being thoroughly

exhilarating right up the wind rangeto as brave as you wish to be. Asthe crews noted, the highlycontrollable rig elastic conveysthe wrong impression enables it tobe powered to the right degree tomatch crews abilities andconditions. It is a highly robust boat,taking serious punishment fromnovices and/or weather month afterexhilarating month.

This controllability, taught in ourClass Coaching courses and through

the Pro-Am matching at events,enables all mixes of age groups andphysiques to sail together and enjoya superb race circuit organised by

Bob Ladell , ISO Class Chairman

the class volunteers; combining

quality family time with good sailing inexcellent venues like Garda, LaRochelle, Isle of Sheppey,Weymouth, Restronguet, Draycote,King George to name a few.

As the crews noted, the Laser4000 sheet loadings are a littlehigher, perhaps suiting the morephysical sailors. There is clearlyopportunity to run more inter classevents with the Laser 4000 and otherclasses, presenting a well-roundedset of asymmetric fleets to suit all.

To this end our calendar isbecoming more Multi-Gala oriented,adding to the interest for everyone inall classes. Were all real people withday jobs - just like you. Come and

join us in the best bangs for yourbuck on the water!

We are looking forward to workingwith a new Licencee in the nearfuture, enabling the class to reallypromote the fun of asymmetricsailing. We hope to have someimportant announcements to make

very soon and present the benefitsat the Dinghy Show 2007. Keepwatching this space.

Hugh Watson , Laser 4000 Class Chairman

Its very interesting to read acomparison between these twoboats which on paper are very similarbut are so different visually.

The designers and manufacturersof both boats have clearly done agood job in providing durable, lowmaintenance boats, whichstructurally have stood the testof time.

Having never sailed an ISO myself

I was intrigued to see that thedifferences found fitted exactly withthose you would expect from lookingat the boats, the most obvious of these being the high boom and gnavsystem of the Laser 4000 whichwere noted provide a great deal of extra space for the crew to work in.

Also the sophisticated rack styleweight equalisation system on theLaser 4000 has done so much toallow crews of all shapes and sizesto compete equally with each other.

I think the findings of the test teamwhen sailing the two boats that theLaser 4000 feels more responsiveand less forgiving reflect the fact thatthe boat was conceived as athoroughbred skiff style racer andthat it is this fact that has helpedmaintain the size and standard of thefleet over the years.

Clearly both boats now offerexcellent value for money and as thisreport doesnt show either as havingany particular vices Im sure they will

give a great deal of pleasure tocrews looking for low cost, lowmaintenance asymmetricdinghy racing. DSM

dsm iso l4k comp review

Documents