The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) has announced its provisional list of new builder applicants for Laser class boats amid a process that began last autumn.
Manufacturers that have been approved to move forward in the application process are, in alphabetical order: Devoti Sailing in Poland; Element 6 Evolution in Thailand; Nautivela in Italy; the UK’s Ovington Boats; Qindao Zou Inter Marine in China; Argentina’s Rio tecna; and US firm Zim Sailing.
These applicants will now be subject to a further technical review to ensure compliance with the class one-design principles.
They will be required to obtain certified moulds and tooling from the ILCA and produce a number of pre-production boats to verify adherence to the strict specifications.
Meanwhile, under the terms of the Olympic Equipment Policy, there are other applicants in the approval process at this time that may also receive provisional approval at a future date.
At present the list does not include Laser Performance, which was removed as an approved builder in early 2019 over alleged breaches of the ILCA construction agreement.
Later the governing body announced the new ‘ILCA Dinghy’ title for class-approved boats, a move reportedly made necessary as Laser Performance holds the trademark to the ‘Laser’ name.
