Did you know that the Lasers have been in production since 1971? That’s over 50 years ago! And in that time, over 220,000 boats have been built.
With that many boats out there, it’s pretty important to know how old your boat is when you’re looking to upgrade or sell. I’m going to show you in this post how to calculate the age of your boat, and use that knowledge to figure out how much your boat is worth.
How Old is My Laser (ILCA)?
Since the 100th boat was produced, all Lasers have been numbered in numerical order. That means, if you have a boat which has a hull number which is 200000, your boat is Laser number 200,000.
But that’s not the whole story.
At the time of writing, there are 8 registered Laser/ILCA manufacturers around the world. These factories are all building boats concurrently, and don’t have any system to coordinate when boats get sold/produced.
To maintain the class sail and hull numbering system, each factory requests a certain number of ‘plaques’ from ILCA throughout the year. Plaques are the stickers on the back of the cockpit which certify that your boat is an ILCA approved ILCA (Laser). Plaques are applied to your a new Laser hull right before it leaves the factory (not when it is made).
The plaque speicifies the hull number and are sequential. One factory might request 100 plaques and be given the numbers 230000-230100. If it takes that factory 2 years to sell the 100 boats necessary to fulfill those plaques, then some of these boats may have ‘older’ sail numbers than those sold at the exact same time from a factory which sells more boats. Similarly, if a factory has a stock pile of boats ready to be sold, some boats which are sold with ‘new’ plaque numbers may have been at the factory for a while.
Not that this particularly matters for the age of your boat. In general, the hull number will be the best indicator for how old your boat is. ILCA has compiled an up to date list of how boat ages correlate with hull numbers.
YEAR Sail Numbers
1977 35265 – 42273
1978 42274 – 56277
1979 56278 – 72998
1980 72999 – 86490
1981 86491 – 93254
1982 93255 – 104928
1983 104929 – 112845
1984 112846 – 118022
1985 118023 – 123688
1986 123689 – 128595
1987 128596 – 132231
1988 132232 – 136322
1989 136323 – 139659
1990 139660 – 142789
1991 142790 – 145705
1992 145706 – 148322
1993 148323 – 152360
1994 152361 – 155822
1995 155823 – 158264
1996 158265 – 161382
1997 161383 – 164398
1998 164399 – 166270
1999 166271 – 168874
2000 168875 – 171536
2001 171537 – 173950
2002 173951 – 176694
2003 176695 – 179554
2004 179555 – 182213
2005 182214 – 185370
2006 185371 – 188573
2007 188574 – 192439
2008 192440 – 194846
2009 194847 – 197063
2010 197064 – 200309
2011 200310 – 202431
2012 202432 – 204542
2013 204543 – 206662
2014 206663 – 208458
2015 208459 – 210618
2016 210619 – 212235
2017 212236 – 214962
2018 214963 – 216182
2019 216183 – 217579
2020 217580 – 218359
2021 218360 – 220548
2022 220549 – 222993
What is My Laser (ILCA) Worth?
It’s one thing to know the age of a boat, but how does this affect the price?
Over the years of selling Lasers, we’ve collected data on prices of new and used boats to model how the boats devalue over time. What we’ve found is that a boat loses roughly 10% of its value per year. This results in a price graph which looks something like this.
(Note: this is an old graph from 2015)
This is the price for a complete boat without a dolly. Naturally, the biggest loss in ($) value is going to occur in the early years of a boat’s life.
Updated for 2023 boat prices, this means that complete boats (without dollies) will be worth roughly:
| Boat Manufacture Year | Value ($AUD) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $11,319 |
| 2022 | $10,187 |
| 2021 | $9,168 |
| 2020 | $8,252 |
| 2019 | $7,426 |
| 2018 | $6,684 |
| 2017 | $6,015 |
| 2016 | $5,414 |
| 2015 | $4,872 |
| 2014 | $8,092 |
| 2013 | $7,283 |
| 2012 | $6,554 |
| 2011 | $5,899 |
| 2010 | $5,309 |
| 2009 | $4,778 |
| 2008 | $4,300 |
| 2007 | $3,870 |
| 2006 | $3,483 |
| 2005 | $3,135 |
| 2004 | $2,821 |
| 2003 | $2,539 |
| 2002 | $2,285 |
| 2001 | $2,057 |
| 2000 | $1,851 |
If you’re looking at a boat built pre-2000, you could continue this trend to work out the value.
It’s also worth noting that this calculation doesn’t include any upgrades to the parts of the boat, and market values will be a bit skewed after the introduction of the composite mast sections.
Now that you know how to value a second hand boat, it’s time to get moving on upgrading to your newer Laser, or purchasing your first boat. If you don't know what you're looking for, we have a guide on buying a used Laser. If you're trying to sell your boat, we will advertise it for free on our Used Laser Gear page. I also actively maintain the largest Facebook Marketplace Group for buying and selling used Lasers and parts in Australia. Advertise your boat there and you'll be able to reach over 300 Laser sailors all around Australia.
If you’re looking for extra tips on sailing your next boat better, I also have a Youtube channel where I post weekly videos about Laser sailing. I’ll see you there!