The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one design class of small sailing dinghy. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes simplicity and performance. The dinghy is now manufactured by several boat manufacturers worldwide (see External Links).
The Laser is one of the most popular single-handed dinghies in the world. By 2007, the number of boats produced exceeded 190,000. A commonly cited reason for its popularity is that it is robust and simple to rig and sail.
"Laser" is mainly used to refer to the Laser Standard (the largest of the sail plan rigs available for the Laser hull), but this can be very confusing as there are a series of other "Laser"-branded boats using different hulls. Examples include the Laser 2 and Laser Pico, but these may be called Laser 2, and a Pico.
