Laser "Bug" Dinghy experiences please.

[Franziska]

Hi,

when cruising this summer, I saw few Laser "Bug" Dinghy around.
Looks like a pretty clever all-round dinghy to me.

Anyone around who has one? What are your experiences?
General handling?
Sailing fun in a blow?

I weigh about 65kg (Confession! ;-) ) and wonder if sailing it is still fun at that weight.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Welcome to the Woods Mira 35 - Catamaran Lady Rovers Website!

[Franziska]

Noone?

Sent from my P1035X using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Franziska]

Maybe someone from the UK uses one?

www.ladyrover.com

[UNCIVILIZED]

It seems to have gotten good reviews, & is designed for crews from 30kg - 70kg. But seems to do okay with a 90kg skipper in the video. And if there's any breeze, an Optimist Pram does okay with heavier crew than that, so...

Also I'd imagine that there are places that you could try one out prior to buying, or at worst, rent one for a few hours. Just wear a drysuit this time of year

Laser Performance Bug: Best Dinghy | Sailing World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quOh8SQCtlQ

[Franziska]

Hey looks like enough fun and usability.

Thank havens I'm not weighing in 90kg :-)

It's not quite a Laser Radial which I love to sail, but probably closest in sailing performance to it when it comes to using it as well as dinghy.
The Laser is to big for my stern arch...

Thanks again.

Cheerio Franziska


www.ladyrover.com

[UNCIVILIZED]

If you want a winter project that both sails & rows well, you could build a PT11/PT Spear dinghy from a kit, www.ptwatercraft.com Don't know if it'd fit in your arch or not?
That, or Danny Green's Chameleon; less money, less performance.

[Franziska]

Hey uncivilized,

thats also a VERY cool little boat & I surely could adapt it to my needs.
Would make the aft sidedeck a bit wider for more compfy hiking (to keep it light I'd just add some simple plates with 3 wodden triangles below for support).

Definetly an option, but they have no plans for sale and shipping to Europe is to expensive ;-(
I really love the PT11 very much, but a used "Bug" will be a lot cheaper and the rotamolded hull makes it pretty rugged as well.
Fits in one piece under the arch as well.

Unfortunately it depends also a bit where my next job takes me to & if I would find a building shed I could use.

Cheerio,

Franziska

[UNCIVILIZED]

Yeah, I fell in love with it at first glance. Back when she was Russell's prototype/trial horse in '05 or so. And he wouldn't even hear of me taking a set of lines off of her so that I could cobble one together. Stating only that the design was a joint venture, & "classified". So I just drooled over her varnish work & her scalding sailing performance. Only to hear Paul Bieker's name associated with her years later. And I'd still love to have a set of lines :-)

Edit: Usually building sheds aren't too hard to find, even/especially if you rent one for a time. That or build a temporary one in a corner of a boatyard. Or garages, parking lots behind various shops, anywhere there's 10sqm really.

[Franziska]

This could be a starting point for something similar to the PT11:

Weekender 12' - Study Plans

To add nesting, lightweight rigging and board & rudder would mean a bit of drawing work but should be possible.

I guess addying rig, centerboard case, double floor (for nesting) and a wider sidedeck aft would perhaps work when increasing the displacement by that amount.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Franziska

This could be a starting point for something similar to the PT11:

Weekender 12' - Study Plans

To add nesting, lightweight rigging and board & rudder would mean a bit of drawing work but should be possible.

I guess addying rig, centerboard case, double floor (for nesting) and a wider sidedeck aft would perhaps work when increasing the displacement by that amount.

Thanks for the linky. I'll tuck this one away for safe keeping, as she looks promising. Might have to raise the gunwales a touch, which is a common design hiccup. Even on the PT11, oddly. But I can't say for certain at first glance. And I'd be tempted to add more flare. But hey, I'm hooked on dorys. For good reason.

A great book to pick up is Stan Grayson's The Dinghy Book. As it covers a lot of the key design features, & dimensions needed so that a dinghy is ergonomically correct. Such as the height of the oarlocks/gunwales as compared to the seat height. It's a gem.

You also might want to take a quick look at the dinghy on Snowpetrel's blog. Kind of neat to see one done from scratch, coming straight out of someone's head.

Though between you, him, & a few other enablers, I'm stuck looking for a boat with 12' of deck space for a hard dink. Ugh! I love it