Can Anyone Identify this Boat ?

[barney]

I have recently acquired a small sailboat, at a yard sale, that does not have any manufacture identification information. There is a small plaque in the cockpit that reads:
Rainbow Yachts Inc.,
7500 14th Ave
Sacramento, CA
Hull # 20
Sail #129.
The hull seems to be in relatively good shape however the mast and boom are missing, see attached pictures. Can you identify the manufacture/make of this boat? anyone have access to a compatible mast and boom solution? The research I have done suggest a mast and boom from a Laser or a LEHMAN 12 might work.

Specification;
Length: 10ft 9in
Width:~51in
Diameter of mast step: 2 ¼ in
Distance from mast step to transom: 91in
Approximate weight: 150-175 lbs

[Full Sail]

It could be a Moth. They were popular here on the East Coast and Great Britain in the early 70's. Died in the mid to late seventies when the Laser became popular

[barney]

Thanks Full Sail,

I think you’re on to something. It seems the Moth design went through several iterations, some look like my boat. I will continue my research.

[Full Sail]

If I remember correctly, the Moth had only 3 criteria, length, beam and sail area. The Laser was basically a one design Moth. It got expensive to build a new boat every year to stay competitive, hence the popularity of the Laser. It was a long time ago, and I was into Sunfish back then, so I don't have a clue to the dimensions anymore.

[speedoo]

Yeah, fix her up with a Laser rig (modified as needed to fit the mast step) and it should be a blast to sail! Or maybe a Phantom rig. I recall that the Phantom was a Laser knockoff..

[barney]

Thanks everyone for your input. I am convinced it is a Classic Moth class boat. I weighed the hull with a more accurate scale and found it to be 95lb. At 10’9” long and 51” wide it fits within the Classic Moth specifications.
I am definitely going to fix it up.
A quick search indicated the outside diameter of a Laser mast is 2.5”. The inside diameter of my mast step is 2.25”. How would I make that work? Still searching for outside diameter of Phantom mast.

[speedoo]

barney, I would strongly recommend not messing with the mast step at all.

If you are able to find a Laser rig, you might be able to simply replace the mast tube with an extrusion of the size you need.... remove the fittings from the Laser mast and replace them on the new extrusion, then you could use the Laser boom and vang as they are.

Or, you could have someone modify the bottom of the Laser mast to fit. I think this would amount to cutting off the bottom of the Laser mast and welding on a new smaller diameter bottom with a sleeve weld. It might actually be simpler to just replace the mast extrusion as above.

[barney]

Thanks for the reply Speedoo,

If I am understanding you correctly, your suggesting I use some marine grade aluminum tubing for the mast, 2.25” OD and ~20’ long, then use the components and boom off a Laser rig. Sounds good to me!
Can you think of any other considerations in replacing a mast in this manner? Also, there are no anchors on the hull for shrouds.

[speedoo]

barney, that is exactly what I am suggesting. But my guess is finding a Laser rig in good shape and cheap won't be easy, so you might have to build the entire rig from scratch. This would not be that difficult, if you are reasonably handy and are able to obtain both the tubing and the rig hardware.

Laser rig requires no shrouds, the only things that need to be attached to the deck are the traveler fittings (back by the transom) and the sheet block (in the footwell). To attach these you will probably need to open up the hull (and then close it with inspection ports), so you need to be very sure where the hardware will be going first.

(edit: looking at your pictures more closely, I can see a sheet block just aft of the daggerboard trunk, so you may already be all set for that)

Try to buddy up with a local laser sailor to see exactly what is needed... the hardware you will need is really minimal and pretty easily obtained, IMO.

Used Laser sails are sold all the time on ebay. I assume you have the rudder and dagger board.

One concern I have is that your boat is a lot shorter than a Laser, and a standard laser rig might be too much sail although the most important consideration is the amount if live ballast you put on the boat and you sailing ability and agility. There are smaller laser rigs available if that turns out to be true.

The other consideration is the balance between the sail and daggerboard centers of effort. If the distance from the mast step to the daggerboard trunk on your boat is reasonably close (eg an inch or two) to that of a laser, you should be ok.