Why Frensi?
The starting point
It is sad to see older Lasers unused year after year. The Laser is a classic, tough, proven design and great to sail. The really competitive Laser/ILCA sailors upgrade to newer boats and the three rigs for them are aimed at racers in different body weight classes.
So the Frensi is an attempt to answer the question: what to do with an older Laser? And can a Laser/ILCA dinghy be used by someone new to sailing or who sometimes wants to do more than race?
The summary
It's different and a lot of fun
Rig your Frensi (or de-rig) in less than 2 minutes!
It uses the Laser/ILCA hull - a stylish, tough, proven design
With the sail down, it is easy to launch in any wind direction
Keep it simple
No knots (it uses loops and shackles)
No kicker
No permanent changes to your boat needed
No heavy lifting required
Long sail bag to keep the whole rig in
It could help re-use older boats
An inexpensive way into sailing if you are new to the sport
For sailing clubs: it's a great club boat
Keep everything in the boat (if you want)
Take it on holiday or on your next adventure
Colourful sails that you choose
Re-use what we have
If you look around the boat park at many sailing clubs some boats are not on the water very often. And a lot of them are Lasers, partly because the sailors who race upgrade them regularly, so the older boats can get left behind. The Frensi rig is versatile - you can race of course, but it is also a good choice if you just want a quiet sail or a boat to take on holiday. Re-use a secondhand Laser - it is a proven design, strong, easy to repair, great to sail and there are plenty of good ones to choose from.
A better path into dinghy sailing
A Laser is inexpensive to buy and virtually maintenance-free, but can be tricky at times even for experienced sailors. Lifting the sail + top mast + lower mast all together up on to the boat when rigging can be a challenge unless you are fairly tall and strong.
And launching is not easy when the wind is blowing on to the shore. Putting the boat in backwards with the sail up is impossible - the wind would blow the boat off the trolley. Do you jump into the water and pull it forward off the trolley? Or undo the mainsheet to let the rig swing over the bow and then try to re-thread it on the water? Do you take the mast off when you want to stop for lunch, or leave the boat capsized?
The Frensi gives you a better option - just lower the sail when you need to.
A better club boat?
Is it your turn to manage the club's boats? I have been there. People want help rigging the club boats and that can take a lot of time. With a Frensi, everything can stay in the boat AND rigged.
How do you rig a Frensi? Take the cover off, put the Laser lower mast into the mast hole, put the rudder on the back and you are ready to launch. On the jetty you pull the sail up, pull down on the kicker to tension the rig and sail away.
Rigging time: 2 minutes.
Not all about racing
I really enjoy racing, but I also like to relax every now and then. The Frensi rig is light and - as mentioned - quick to rig and easy to launch. If you don't want to race today, why not go exploring, sail from a beach, tie-up somewhere, just enjoy being on the water?
A different sailing experience
The Frensi rig is more like a windsurfer than a conventional sailing dinghy rig. There is no kicking strap (or vang). Like a windsurfer, once the sail is up you tension the rig. In a Frensi, there is a tensioner that pulls down on the lower boom using a cleat attached to the Laser kicker fitting at the bottom of the mast. In a gust, the rig flexes a little as the wind hits but there a more even upward pressure on the boom than a normal Laser rig.
The power in the Frensi rig is lower down and across the boat, so less need to hike and the helm is very neutral. The Frensi accelerates smoothly with no quick tiller movements required to stay on course. If you like planing on a breezy day, give the Frensi a go.
Here's the Frensi presentation