prototypes were built and the first sailed in the early summer of 1981 in Falmouth, England, with the second in the water that autumn. Originally fitted with a large genoa foresail the second prototype used a 108% "lapper" jib, that proved superior in winds over and was easier to handle by short-handed crews, as well as cheaper to produce. The prototypes were tested in severe conditions, including broaching and intentional knockdowns with the spinnaker flying, in winds that left the cockpit dry and with no equipment failures. With $1,000,000 invested, to get the design from testing to production, a new firm was created by financial consultant Piers Phipps, Precis Ninety Nine Limited. The design was licensed to Performance Sailcraft to produce. Design The Laser 28 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fibreglass, with a Termanto PVC foam hull and deck. It has a fractional sloop rig and a spinnaker, an internally-mounted spade-type rudder and a fixed fin keel. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard fin keel. The prototypes were fitted with Honda four-stroke gasoline engines, coupled to a Volvo saildrive, but there was resistance to using gasoline engines in Europe, due to the fire hazard. The production boats were therefore delivered with a Bukh 8SME diesel engine of . Production sails include mainsail, a 106% "lapper" jib of , a working jib of , a #1 spinnaker of , a #2 spinnaker of and an optional genoa of . The boat has a hull speed of and a PHRF racing average handicap of 123 with a high of 117 and low of 132. Operational history The Laser 28 was not sold though the existing Performance Sailcraft company dealer network, but rather through direct representatives who owned and sailed Laser 28s and organized events for them. Robert Dunkley of Nassau, Bahamas, took delivery of his Laser 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and sailed directly to Nassau with a crew of three, the same day. They sailed in north winds in the Gulf Stream and encountered waves en route, but completed the voyage without incident, although the rigging required tightening at destination. Judy and Frank Button from Vancouver, British Columbia won the IYC winter series in their Laser 28, for the fourth time in a row. The company's San Francisco Bay representative, Paul Kaplan, sailed his Laser 28 single handed