Laser SB3 planing keelboat
Tillerman at Proper Course is a competitive Laser sailor and he recently blogged about the larger and keeled big brother of the original laser, the SB3. Although the O’Day 22 is not a performance oriented boat and my modest sailing goals are mainly cruising the California coast, I must admit that a light yet stable keelboat with such a huge sail plan that planes in relatively light air makes my saliva flow and pupils dilate just a little.
Even since I played Virtual Skipper 4 during my sailing hiatus and piloted the digital rocket sled, I’ve been dreaming about sailing a planing, keeled sloop. The SB3 is similar to the Melges 24 but a couple of feet shorter and a little less expensive (relatively). The big problem is that it is not that readily available in the US.
Here is a little video of rigging the SB3
Sailing the SB3
One day I will own a fast keelboat. One day.