Practice Sails

Greenwich Laser Racing accepts 'practice sails' that mimic the size, shape, and cut of class legal Standard/Radial sails such as those supplied by The Boat Locker for regular Sunday fleet racing to help control costs. Save your crispy Dacron for official regattas, that require expensive class approved sails.  Larger sails such as Intensity's Power Head sail or Rooster8.1 rig are not permitted.

A choice of rigs for different-sized sailors means three boats in one. See Equipment for more detailed boat diagrams. 

• Are your children reaching the age when they want to go sailing in an ILCA by themselves?

• Does your husband or wife fancy the occasional sail in your ILCA?

• When you drive two hours to get to the water, have you found it is too windy for you to go sailing?

• Are you too light to sail with the ILCA 7 rig?

The ILCA formula is the answer to all these questions. By changing only the sail and lower mast, an ILCA dinghy can be sailed comfortably in a great variety of wind conditions and provide exciting but controlled sailing even for sailors weighing as little as 35 kg. The ILCA formula is a three-rig option that has been adopted by a number of sailing schools as a simple and economical way for sailors of different sizes and abilities to sail in a wide range of winds and reduce the amount of “downtime.”

The ILCA 4 uses a short pre-bent lower mast to maintain a balanced helm and a sail area that is 35% smaller than the ILCA 7. It is ideal for the lighter-weight sailor graduating from Optimist.

The ILCA 6 is the next step up in size. It uses a more flexible and slightly shorter lower mast together with a sail area 18% smaller than the ILCA 7. The ILCA 6 has a large following with national and international regattas and World Championships for men, women, and youth, attracting as many countries and competitors as the ILCA 7. Many countries support a full ILCA 6 youth program. In addition to having a strong following among lighter-weight sailors, the ILCA 6 is the women’s single-handed dinghy at the Olympic Games. 

The ILCA 7 can be sailed by any weight in light winds, but as the wind increases, it is better suited to higher sailor weights. The ILCA 7 is a single-handed dinghy for men at the Olympic Games. 

In addition to the strong second-hand market for the ILCA 7, there is an even stronger second-hand market for ILCA 6 and ILCA 4 lower masts and sails, sold as a separate package from the hull.

As always, please contact our Fleet Captains or with any questions.