Laser Stratos Keel Buyer's Guide
The Laser Stratos Keel on the brokerage market is the keel-bearing sibling of Phil Morrison’s Stratos family, built by LaserPerformance and distinguished from the centerboard version that the builder announced it would cease producing over Christmas 2008/2009. Buyers shopping used will find a foam-sandwich dayboat with a fixed keel, blue as the reference color for the keel form, and a brief that runs from fast two-person passages to family meanders. Because the centerboard version was dropped while the keel version continued, the used pool is weighted toward the more yacht-like hull.
Layouts on the Used Market
The keel version presents as quite spacious, with enough space for a clutch of children and consumables rather than a conventional cabin plan. It is an all-round cruising and racing boat, and the layout keeps most of the rigging out of the way to preserve that open room. The SailSafe system is part of the design, with side tanks that flood and self-drain to help recover and keep the boat stable immediately after a capsize, a feature that matters more in a family-context listing than in a stripped racer.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
From the factory the Stratos can optionally be fitted with trapeze lines and an optional trapeze kit, and with an engine bracket for carrying an outboard engine. The rig itself includes the Combi-Tec Mainsail with short battens and a full-length top batten, plus a furling jib, and an asymmetrical spinnaker (gennaker) is part of the racing competence. Hull and sail color options exist, though the keel version is recorded as blue. None of these are universal on every used boat, so the presence or absence of the engine bracket or trapeze is a boat-by-boat question rather than a standard fitting.
What to Inspect
The documented concern centers on the optional trapeze. There have been questions over the safety of the trapeze lines when a boy drowned after he was caught in a trapeze line under a turtled Stratos in Hong Kong, and a similar tragic accident happened in Kielder Water, UK with two further deaths, one related to entanglement in the trapeze and one not. A used boat offered with the trapeze kit fitted should be inspected for line routing and release hardware, and buyers uninterested in trapeze work should confirm it is absent or removable. The SailSafe tanks should be checked for free flooding and draining as designed.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
No regional market data is recorded for this model, so availability should be judged from general brokerage presence. For a buyer, the takeaway is straightforward: confirm keel version rather than centerboard, verify SailSafe function, and treat any trapeze fitment as a serious safety item rather than a casual option.
- Confirm keel version (blue, fixed keel) not centerboard
- Verify SailSafe side tanks flood and self-drain
- Inspect or remove optional trapeze lines given documented fatalities
- Check for engine bracket if auxiliary power is desired
- Review rig for Combi-Tec mainsail, furling jib, and optional gennaker
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Laser Stratos Keel. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 2 | $8,187 | — |