Standard Laser Rig for Spindrift 11N

[Dwilly]

I am currently still in the process of building a Spindrift 11n. 
I had seen a number of posts stating that a Laser rig can be used in place for of having to build it all. 
I have acquired a standard ILCA 7 sized rig and upon putting the mast together it looks very large. 
My question is will the S11 be overpowered by the standard laser rig? Would I be best to look to getting a radial rig?
I have seen that people say you can reef the laser sail by rolling a few turns around the mast? Or could I even modify the standard laser sail by sticking a slab reef into it? 

[Captain Tim]

The Laser radial is just about the same size as the Spindrift 11' sail.

I think rolling the Laser sail while underway would be a trick. I think you could work out a reef by cutting the sleeve similar to the Spindrift sail. You could open the head to raise and lower the Laser sail with a halyard. The single line reefing works.

 

[Aphers]

As Tim says, the Radial is a better fit. You're looking for just over 6m² sail area. I think the luff and foot measurements are very similar as well. 

Another rig that is a close match for dimensions is the Zuma.

Personally I think the sail area is fairly generous. For a few years I was using a 5.5m² windsurf rig and it seemed like the right amount of sail for my tastes- but I use the Spindrift as my daily driver so capsizing isn't an option. 

I'm now using a 4.3m² standing lug sail and it is definitely a bit underpowered.

[Starboard]

I have my S10-N set up to use a Laser rig. I never had the Radial size so I went with the full. When sailing by myself in 10+ knots it was overpowered and of course had no way to reef the sail, so I had a couple of capsizes that were hard to recover from with the nesting design as I had it then, which I modified with more forward floatation to make it easier to recover from capsizes. I'm sure the radial would be a better fit, but the lack of easy reefing and a harder to recover design than a Laser has made me want to consider other options if I'm going to sail it. But since that time we got a free 420 from the local yacht club, so that will be the dinghy we use instead of the Spindrift. 

[Aphers]

A full laser rig is pretty big. 

I'm thinking of a Radial or Zuma for my S11N, it would work out very close to the as-designed sailplan.

 

But then again my little lug rig is so easy to use... it's really just when we have three of us aboard in light winds, or when trying to go upwind in very strong conditions, that the lug lets me down.