More than 400 boats were built in the years after its introduction. The class attracted a promotional campaign involving Volkswagen, fielded 26 boats at the Primo Cup in Monaco, and expected 100 entries at 2008 Cowes Week. Sailing World’s judges named the SB3 the overall Boat of the Year for 2008, and its testers called it the best boat they had sailed in all their BOTY years.
Design and Construction
Laser asked Castro to produce something really special that others had failed to do. His answer was a small, lift-keel sportboat with a moderate hull shape, no hollows forward, a moderately firm turn to the bilge, and a flat run.
The hull is built from foam-cored epoxy laminate, with internal frames and bulkheads providing strength and rigidity. The low-aspect T-bulb keel sits well aft. It has a stainless steel main member, an epoxy foam core, and a polyester skin, and carries a lead bulb weighing roughly 770 pounds. A removable gantry raises and lowers the keel for trailering. The rudder is epoxy over an epoxy foam core, with carbon reinforcement.
One decidedly unglamorous detail is the “coffee can lid” hull-to-deck joint. The manufacturer’s own notes concede that it isn’t pretty. More important on the water are the boat’s very high ballast ratio and stiff behavior, both products of that deep, aft-placed lead. Stainless steel rails along the deck edge physically prevent hiking, enforcing the sit-in rule that the SB3’s high stability makes possible.
Rig and Handling
The SB3 is a fast, exhilarating three-person sportboat with a powerful modern rig. It uses a deck-stepped Proctor Selden 4028 alloy double-spreader mast, fitted with a 400mm angled backstay crane, and a super-stiff Selden boom. Swept shrouds and masthead cap shrouds support the large asymmetric chute, while a split backstay leads through tackles to eyebolts at the transom corners.
The generous sail plan includes a non-overlapping, battened jib with a three-hole clew plate and a non-reefable Mylar Combitec mainsail with one full-length and three short battens. A 46-square-metre gennaker, flown from a retractable carbon pole, provides excellent downwind pace.
Writing in Sailing World, testers found that the boat locks into a groove upwind without a fight. Downwind, they described it as an incredibly stable platform with remarkable speed, noting that it was nearly impossible to fall off a plane unintentionally. The flared gunwales also keep the boat relatively dry upwind.
A long-throw traveler makes it easy to control twist in light air. When a puff might tip a dinghy, the high-aspect keel helps keep the SB3 on its feet.
Cockpit and Crew
This is a legs-in sportboat: everyone faces into the cockpit, making communication easy and the ride comfortable and dry. Castro’s layout works for three or four sailors. A fourth crew member is permitted if needed, within an upper crew-weight limit of 270 kg.
The cockpit is clean and uncluttered. Most controls are grouped around the mast base, and rope tails lead into pockets on the gennaker bag. The enormous launching bag at the forward edge of the cockpit simplifies gennaker sets and takedowns.
Large windows in the Mylar mainsail and jib provide wide visibility while racing. Internal loads are light—closer to those of a high-performance dinghy than a keelboat—so a three-person crew can race without the aches associated with highly physical sailing.
Equipment, Rules, and Ownership
The class rules keep a tight rein on modifications. Boats come complete, nothing can be changed, and sails are available only from Hyde Sails through Laser. One reviewer identified that sail arrangement as a potential cost consideration rather than a fault.
Because the SB3 is a strict one-design, there is little to refit. It is economical to buy and maintain, and the complete factory fit-out includes Harken Carbo Block and Hexaratchet equipment, plus a Spinlock halyard-cleating system.
Two people can rig and launch the boat in about 45 minutes. At roughly 1,309 pounds, it can be towed behind a mid-sized car. Its ease of handling and suitability for all age groups explain much of the class’s fleet growth.
The Verdict
The Laser SB3 is a genuinely clever small sportboat: a stiff, dry, legs-in platform that planes readily, trails easily, and races under tight one-design control that protects fleet value. Its limitations come with the format—no reefing, no hiking, and a closed equipment specification—but for three or four sailors who want exhilarating one-design speed without dinghy-level punishment, it is hard to better.
Pros
- Incredibly stiff and stable for its size, with a high-aspect keel that prevents tipping
- Quick to rig, launch, tow, and trailer, thanks to the lift keel and retractable rudder
- Clean, legs-in cockpit with controls at the crew’s fingertips and excellent visibility
- Strict one-design rules and a complete factory fit-out that protect class fairness and resale value
Cons
- Non-reefable mainsail and deck rails that physically prevent hiking
- Sails available only from Hyde through Laser, creating a potential cost constraint
- No owner modifications permitted under the tight class rules
