Inspection is a quick check over the Laser and its equipment to ensure compliance with the Rules. Its purpose is to determine any changes not permitted in the Class Rules that may have been made to the standard boat. It should take 5 - 10 minutes per Laser.
The person doing the inspection must be familiar with the layout and equipment of the standard Laser supplied by the manufacturer and be fully aware of, and able to identify, the few changes that can be made to a Laser as permitted by the Class Rules.
It is important to be aware of the principle of the Class Rules, namely “NO CHANGES TO THE BOAT ARE ALLOWED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY PERMITTED BY THE CLASS RULES”. This makes the inspector’s job very easy because if he or she finds changes to a Laser that are different from the standard, the owner can be challenged to show where the change or modification is permitted in the Class Rules. It is not the responsibility of the inspectors to explain why a Laser is illegal except to quote the Fundamental Rule from Part 1 of the Rule Book.
Most deviations from the Class Rules are made out of ignorance rather than a calculated effort to gain an advantage. However there is a possibility that someone will try something more extreme by using non-standard spars or sails, altering the shape of foils or fiddling with fittings to try to gain an advantage.
Where it is found that a sail, mast, hull or fitting has been modified or is not "as supplied" by an ISAF licensed manufacturer, a detailed statement of the particular case must be sent to the Chief Measurer of the Class at the address below together with the name and address of the competitor and inspector concerned.
Any interpretations required on the Class Rules should be addressed to:
Jean-Luc MICHON (chiefmeasurer@laserinternational.org)
Chief Measurer
International Laser Class Association
An example inspection form can be seen below.
