laser sailboat tack

Rigging a Laser Sailboat: How To Rig & Launch a Laser Dinghy

• 1.1.1 Check The Weather
• 1.1.2 Pack Your Gear
• 1.2.1 Detach the Trailer/Dolly
• 1.2.2 Unpack Gear and Check
• 1.2.3 Start Rigging Your Laser
• 1.2.4 Attach the Rudder & Tiller
• 1.2.5 Tidy Up
• 1.2.6 Launching Your Dinghy
• 2 Laser Sailing Dinghy De-rigging
• 3 More Information

Before you head out on the water laser sailing, you have to rig your dinghy, and if you have never done this before, it may seem a little overwhelming.

There is no real order in which you should rig your Laser sailboat. There are many combinations and ways of rigging a laser sailboat, and that shown below is simply one combination. Talk to a few people as you rig up, have a few goes yourself, and you’ll work out which way works best for you.

It’s always good to rig up a few times at home before you head out laser sailing if it’s practical and safe to do so. This is recommended so that you are confident that you know what goes where, and so that you can remember how you tie the knots .

Rigging a Laser Sailboat Steps

As mentioned, there are many different ways when rigging a Laser sailboat. Below is 1 suggestion of the rigging sequence…

Before You Leave Home

Check the weather.

Check the forecast before you leave home, and look outside to check for yourself. Safety should be your first priority, so if the conditions are not suitable for your level of experience, then you may want to reconsider heading out.

Pack Your Gear

If you have been out sailing before, it’s a good idea to pack all your gear away neatly so that it is easy to find, This means that when you pack all your gear to head out sailing the next time, you will know where everything is and you won’t forget anything.

There is nothing worse than getting down to the waterfront and then start to rig your laser sailboat only to find that you have forgotten something crucial (eg. your sail or life jacket), and have to head home before you have made it out onto the water.

It’s easy to get excited about heading out for a great day on the water. However, before you leave, take a minute to check that you have everything packed.

When You Arrive At The Waterfront

Detach the trailer/dolly.

If the trailer has to be detached from the car when parked, do this 1st. Then slide the dolly/trolley off the trailer, and position it relatively close to where you will launch, with the bow pointing into the wind.

Unpack Gear and Check

Unpack all your other laser sailing gear , including sail, ropes, foils, and spars , and lay it out to make sure it is all there.

Some people like to get dressed in their sailing gear before they start rigging their boat. If you get dressed at the start, then as soon as you have finished rigging, you can hit the water immediately. It also means that your sail won’t flog as much and cause any extra wear and tear and that your boat won’t accidentally tip over while on the dolly… which may happen especially if there is quite a strong breeze blowing.

Start Rigging Your Laser

Lay the boom on the deck. Feed the mainsheet rope through the blocks and eyelet on the boom, and through the block in the cockpit and the traveler .

It is advisable to tie a figure 8 knot in both ends of the mainsheet rope so that it doesn’t pull through when out on the water. At the boom end, this is so that the mainsheet can be pulled fully on so that it is in the block-to-block position. At the other end so that it doesn’t pull through the mainsheet block in the center of the cockpit.

Leave it loose and un-cleated. Feed the outhaul rope along the boom also.

Next to the hull, lay the sail out and install the battens. Connect the 2 mast sections, and feed it up through the mast sleeve in the sail, making sure the boom spigot is in line with the sail.

Also be careful to ensure that there is no mud or dirt on the bottom of the mast (this may over time cause abrasion between the bottom of the mast and the mast step, which may eventually compromise the integrity of the hull).

Ensuring there are no overhead obstructions (including power lines), from the bottom ½ of the mast, lift it up almost vertical (slightly leaning into the breeze may make it easier to handle), and slot it gently into the mast step hole. This may prove to be a little awkward, so obtain assistance if required

With the mast in place, slot the boom into the mast, and tie off the outhaul to the sail clew using a bowline, as shown in the knots section. Then attach the clew tie-down , making sure to tie it underneath the outhaul.

Attach the vang and cunningham . Tie a small loop in the end of the cunningham and feed the end of the vang pin through it. This will keep the eye of the cunningham down low near the deck, stopping it from riding up (see photo below). Then feed the cunningham through the 2 eyelets in the rope itself, then down to the eyelet on the deck, and run it back to the cleat in the cockpit. Tie a bowline in the end for easy gripping when on the water.

A knot ( bowline or figure 8 knot ) in the end of the cunningham is essential, as it is the only thing preventing the rig from becoming completely detached from the hull when capsized.

Attach the Rudder & Tiller

Attach the rudder , making sure that the lift stop clicks into place, and leave it in the fully up position. Insert the tiller and fasten the retaining pin, ensuring that the tiller is underneath the traveler.

Lay the centerboard on the deck. Put in the drain plug in the stern of the hull.

With the mainsheet eased right out, the boat should sit quite contently while you tidy up your gear, sail bag, etc. However, if there is a breeze, be careful that your dinghy will not tip over while it is on the dolly, or that the boom will swing around and hit someone.

If it is windy, this is probably not the best time to be going out for a sail if you are a beginner.

If you are not already dressed in your wetsuit, rash vest , life jacket, hat , sunscreen , glasses, shoes , etc, now is the time to do so. It’s a good idea to get someone to keep an eye on your boat and laser sailing gear if you have to go to the change rooms.

Launching Your Dinghy

With the mainsheet eased, carefully wheel the dolly around, down the ramp, and into the water. Keep the laser sailboat pointing into the wind as much as possible, however as long as the mainsheet is eased you should be able to manage ok as long as the wind is less than 90° to the hull. If possible, do not allow the wind to exceed 90° to the hull.

Wheel the laser dolly into the water until it is fully submerged, and float the boat off the dolly. If you are on your own you may have to run the boat up onto the beach so that you can pull the dolly back out of the water (be careful not to damage the drain plug on the bottom of the hull, or the hull itself). Otherwise, get someone to pull your dolly out for you.

With the boat pointing into the breeze, slide the centerboard into the fin case so that it is most of the way up, but low enough so that the boom clears the fin when it swings around. Run the elastic retaining strap up to the eyelet at the bow and back to the centerboard or mast (the tension in the elastic creates friction so that the centerboard will remain in place when capsized ).

If you are in deep enough water, you will be able to push the rudder down or pull the rope attached to the rudder head, to rotate the rudder to its fully down position. If this can’t be achieved, then you may have to wait until you push the boat into deeper water to do this. Once the rudder is down, tie off the line, and make sure that you do not hit it on the bottom. Take every precaution to protect your foils.

Now, you’re ready for your 1st sail .

Laser Sailing Dinghy De-rigging

When de-rigging, simply reverse the order of the above steps.

If possible thoroughly wash all your gear in fresh water and dry all your gear before storage.

Also take care when folding the laser sail to not create a crease in the sail window, as it will weaken and eventually crack.

More Information

As mentioned, there are many different ways of rigging a Laser sailboat. Some have to do with personal preference of rigging order. Some differences also have to do with different types of gear and sailing accessories that you may have (eg. turbo kit, wind instruments, etc). We can’t cover every possible scenario here, so just have a go and see what works for you.

Also, make sure to check out the video below which talks some more about rigging a Laser sailboat, and enjoy your laser sailing :)

Previous: Sailing Knots

Next: Your First Sail

In the Laser cunningham and vang photo there appears to be extra ropes attached for the outhaul could you please describe what was done to achieve that

Hi Kyle The outhaul is a separate rope that runs from the clew of the mainsail up and around the mast and through a cleet to lock it off at the desired tension. It is separate from the cunningham and vang. You can see more about it here . I hope that this helps to answer your question. If not, let me know. cheers

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Changing Sails

• November 1, 2009

Those of you that have purchased and sailed the new A rig know one thing for certain – it is not very forgiving when the wind starts to get to its upper range of 8-10 knots.

The A rig was designed to power the RC Laser to new levels of performance in very light winds – and that it does. However, just like the B sail, when the A rig gets near the upper end of its wind range, it develops a pronounced weather helm (drives the boat into the wind – sometimes overpowering the rudder), and submarining downwind becomes common.

To windward, the answer to this problem is boat speed. It is critical to keep boat speed up so that the rudder has maximum effect. This is done by making quick, complete tacks, and slacking the sail slightly after a tack to bring the boat up to maximum speed again. Only then can you afford to trim for windward sailing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, you are not falling off to a beam reach, just a slight slacking of the sail after tacking and pointing a few degrees lower than you would expect to make good to windward, and you will regain your boat speed. By the way, this is the same method used with any sail when tacking to get your boat back to speed. Remember that the cat rig needs to sail fast through the wind in order to develop its maximum pointing angle. Just remember boat speed, boat speed, boat speed – the faster you go, the higher you can point.

So you screw up and get in irons – now what? There is only one way out – and the maneuver is even more pronounced with the A rig. Hold the rudder full over, and keep it there. Don’t worry about which way you have turned the rudder, just pick a hard over position and hold it. The boat will start to back out of irons. At the same time slack the sail all the way out.

As the boat turns backwards, the sail will be flapping out to the beam. For the A rig, it takes a full beam reach (perpendicular to the wind direction) to regain control. So when your boat is beam to the wind, SLOWLY trim in the sail. SLOWLY!!! The boat will start to move forward, and soon you will have developed rudder control once again. As speed increases, trim the sail more until you are back sailing at speed to windward.

If you trim the sail too quickly, the sail just drives the boat right back into the wind because you have no rudder action to stop it. Then you get to start all over again.

Finally, and the ultimate determining factor of going to a smaller sail is your downwind performance. Most sails can be feathered to windward, but there is practically no way out when you turn downwind.

First of all, when the bow starts to dive, you need to steer back and forth rapidly. The change of angle of the bow, allows the lee bow to lift the bow and keep it afloat. If the wind is steady, this technique can keep you going, and the added speed developed will do even more to keep your bow up. However, when it is gusting, the approaching gust will often bury your bow before you can get your boat up to speed. Again, it is speed – a fast boat has more lift in the bow.

To recap, just about everything discussed here has to do with boat speed. To windward, keep the boat moving at all costs. Tack fast, slack momentarily, regain speed and then trim for weather sailing. If you get caught in irons, rudder hard over and hold, sail all the way out. When on a beam reach, trim the sail very slightly to get the boat moving, and regain steering control. Downwind, wiggle the bow to help with lift. When rolling out, or diving, is all you do, change down in sail size. And smile – it could be worse, you could be aboard the real thing!

This article was written by Steve Lang of  SailRC.com .

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Guide to Laser Sail and Rig Sizes

Over 200,000 Laser sailboats have been built over the last 40 years, more than most other small dinghy sailboats. In this article we are going to answer one of the most common questions we get: What size rig do I have?  This will help answer what size sail and/or rig you already have and what size sail and/or rig you need to purchase to update your Laser. 

What size rig / sail do I have? Standard vs. Radial vs 4.7 Explained

The Laser sailboat has had a number of different rig sizes, with the intention of making the boat sailable by a wide range of sailors (and different sailor weights) by simply swapping out the lower mast section and sail while keeping all other components the same. There are currently three different rig sizes and they are commonly referred to as 'Standard', 'Radial' and '4.7'. Below you will find an image that shows the three rigs side by side, and in the following section we'll explain each one.

Laser Standard / MK2 / ILCA 7

This is the most common Laser rig size, and the original rig on the boat when it was designed. It features a 7.06 square meter sail (about 76 square feet). In 2018, the Laser Class approved a new 'Standard' sail, which is referred to as the 'MKII' or 'Mark 2' to distinguish it from the first version. The difference, among other things, is in the panels. The original 'Standard' sail featured horizontal cut panels. The new MkII sail has radial cut panels. There is no difference in size between these two versions, and as of 2020 all new Laser Standard sails are available in this updated cut.  

How to tell if you have a 'Standard' sail:  The first and most obvious way to tell if you have a 'Standard' sail is to look at the panels. If they are horizontal, it is most likely a standard sail. Next, you can measure the luff (the front edge of the sail along the mast sleeve). This measurement should be about 5130 mm or 200 inches  from the top of the sail to the bottom.

How to tell if you have a 'Standard' lower mast section:  The 'Standard' lower mast section should measure about 2865 mm or 113 inches . It is a fairly stout mast section compared to the two smaller mast sections. 

Laser Radial / ILCA 6

Originally called the 'M' rig when first designed, the Laser 'Radial' sail is smaller than the 'Standard' sail at 5.76 square meters (62 square feet). At the time, it was the only Laser sail to feature the radial cut panels, which allowed the sail to be de-powered more easily in bigh winds. Per the notes about the 'Standard' rig above, both the Standard and Radial sail feature the radial cut design. Another typical indicator of a Radial size sail are the blue panels at the tack and clew of the sail.

How to tell if you have a 'Radial' sail:  The first and most obvious way to tell if you have a 'Standard' sail is to look at the panels. If they are radial, as in emanating out from the center, it is most likely a radial sail. Next, you can measure the luff (the front edge of the sail along the mast sleeve). This measurement should be about 4560 mm or 180 inches  from the top of the sail to the bottom.

How to tell if you have a 'Radial' lower mast section:  The 'Radial' lower mast section should measure about  2262 mm or 89 inches . It is also a bit smaller in diameter than the standard section. 

Laser 4.7 / ILCA 5

The Laser 4.7 (or ILCA 5) is the smallest of the three Laser sails and was designed for young sailors just getting into Laser sailing. The 4.7 lower mast section is also different from the others in that is has a pre-bend near the boom fitting, allowing the sail to depower much easier. This is the least common Laser sail size, and if you have an old one around, chances are it is not a 4.7 sail.

How to tell if you have a '4.7' sail:  The 4.7 is similar to the old 'Standard' sail as it has cross cut panels. Many 4.7 sails also have an obvious 4.7 logo somewhere on the cloth. Next, you can measure the luff (the front edge of the sail along the mast sleeve). This measurement should be about  4080 mm or 160 inches  from the top of the sail to the bottom.

How to tell if you have a '4.7' lower mast section:  The '4.7 lower mast section has a pre-bend in it and should measure about 1810 mm or 71 inches . The bend is the easiest way to tell it apart from the others. 

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Wednesday, june 12, 2013, two styles of laser roll tack.

13 comments:

Maybe its the way its filmed or the wind strength, but the german seems to have a lot more time and control. When i try this i get to the point the german is at 8 seconds and then i pannic, my bouyancy aid gets trapped on the boom and i end up swimming!

It looks to me like the German boat is very stalled.. rolling windward heel before hitting head 2 wind is like luffing your daggerboard, you no longer have good flow on your foils helping you turn the boat with speed. He's lucky to get as much heel as he did without getting the sheet in block to block. people always get less heel trying to force the boat over early, backing the sail, and stalling the foils, instead of waiting for it to fall on top of you Scrivens has a slower approach (less tiller), and waits until the boat hits head 2 wind before using his body outboard. But, he need not bother using his body to torque the boat at that point, because it will force him to have to flatten immediately, instead of giving the sail and foils time to re-attain flow on the new tack. All that is required, is sitting your but into the water on the leeward side very slowly and smoothly so as the boat continues to heel and turn naturally. both boats sheet out when flattening which is very important. not bad!

The German is taking longer to completer each tack I think. Is that to do with wind strength or his technique? And is that a good thing or a bad thing? As for getting the lifejacket caught on the boom.... 1. The German either isn't wearing a PFD or has a shirt over it. That helps. And Andrew has a very snug-fitting PFD. 2. The German never sheets block-to-block at any point. This certainly helps in getting under the boom, but does it make his tack more or less efficient? 3. Both sailors are facing partly forwards (rather than sideways) as they duck the boom. I think the boom has a greater tendency to snag the PFD if you cross facing sideways. Also you should be looking forwards anyway so you see where the boat is pointing and what the wind ahead is doing.

Scrivan leans way out and way back, whereas the German just leans out.

The German is an unknown--for a reason. Don't like the look of his tack at all. Heeling to windward before boat passes head-to-wind? Big no-no. Scrivan's tacks are wicked-fast. Have been the victim of them many times... Marc Jacobi

Well spotted KR. In fact Andrew seems to do a torque backwards at the same time as his initial shoulder bump, and then another torque back as he flattens the boat. The latter is similar (although not as extreme) as the move that we saw on the Fred Strammer video a few days ago.

Scrivan is nice and slow steering into the tack which I have always understood is what you should do as it maximizes distance gained to windward without slowing the boat down. But when he commits to the windward roll it all appears to happen very quickly after that. Is that optimal or would it be better, as Vaughn suggests, to do the roll and flatten more slowly and smoothly?

I watched the Scrivan video again to observe how he sheets out and was amazed to notice that he lets go completely of the mainsheet - that can't be a good technique.

I don't see where he drops the main sheet. After the tack he takes his right hand holding the sheet to pick up the tiller while still holding the sheet. For a moment that hand is out of sight in the video but when it reappears you can see it is still holding sheet and tiller. Then he picks up the sheet from the block with his left hand. Or am I missing something?

One thing to realize, is that both these tacks are done in different wind strengths. The German tacks in much lighter wind than Scrivan. In the light wind, smoothness is key. If Scriven tacked the same way in much lighter wind, he would end up stopping the boat in its tracks. The German's tacks are also more 'legal'. As someone pointed out in another comment, Scriven moves aft in the boat as the tack begins and then jumps forward in his flatten. This is no doubt a trick learned from his Opti days where kids are taught that very same technique. What it amounts to, is an ooch. Another thing to look at is the sheeting techniques. The German has his sail eased so that the end of the boom is over the corner of the transom, like it should be in light air. He still eases though as the boom comes across and then sheets in again as he flattens(He did drop the sheet on his second tack). This is kind of an extra pump to help get the boat moving again, but it is still legal. Since rocking is basically pumping anyway, a little work with the sail just helps you along. Scrivan on the other hand, is two-blocked to begin with,and then eases to get himself under the boom. But then he doesn't get the sail back in during his flatten, which means he is slow coming out of the tack because his flatten won't have as much effect. If you watch closely, Scrivan's boat accelerates after the tack is complete, meaning his roll-tack wasn't as effective as it could have been. The German is at speed by the time the boat is flat again. Overall, I think the German's tack is more effective than Scrivan's

I agree - he did keep it in both tacks; I was watching late at night - I guess my eyes were tired.

Interesting. Part of my reasons for posting these two is that it seems to me that even very good sailors have different roll tack techniques from each other, and of course differences in technique for different wind strengths. There is no one perfect way to do a roll tack. People have different styles. I think Ryan is right that in lighter winds you need to be slower and smoother, but I think Marc is also right about some of the faults in the German's technique. I was interested that Ryan picked up on the different sheeting techniques. I have been told by a coach that even in winds that are so light you don't beat block-to-block, you should still sheet in to block-to-block as you go into the tack. Something about that means you have a smaller angle to tack through. What I do know is that Andrew is a very good Laser sailor and coach (perennial champion in the very tough Cedar Point YC fleet). I don't think I could go wrong trying to copy aspects of his technique and see if they work for me.

Thanks. Actually I think the video is all of the same tack with the repeat running a little slower than the first showing.

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Laser Sailing - Roll Tack with Slow Motion [HD]

Laser sailing - roll tack with slow motion [hd] favorite 56 sentiment_very_dissatisfied 2.

Sailing 11 years ago 30,933 views

Andrew Scrivan's Laser Roll Tack Andrew Scrivan is a former member of the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics, he is one of the top sailors and coaches in the world Like, Favorite and SHARE! http://youtu.be/kQbf-1fyDH8 Sailing Store: http://www.laserxd.com/shop/ Laser Sailing Tips http://laserxd.com/laser-sailing-racing-tips/ LaserXD Sailing: http://www.laserxd.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laser-XD-Laser-Sailing/102384673140018 Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/XDlaser

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One Boat, One Sailor, One Design.

Lasers in Light Wind

by Jon Emmett

Before we even go on the water, we need to think about what sort of day it will be. Will it be a shifty day and we need to tack on every shift? Or will it be a persistent shift or strong current day and we need to get to one side of the race course?  Or is pressure the most important thing and we need to spend the day looking for darker patches on the water? Well, in light winds this last point, pressure becomes more important because the difference in hull speed becomes very large with differences in wind speed, when the wind speed is low.

Forecasts: Remember it is the weather as it affects our Laser racing that we are interested in, so although there maybe a general trend in the day for the wind to go left or right, if this is very slow and our beats are only approximately 15 minutes long then it is far more important to sail in the wind you see, rather than preparing for what may happen with the wind.

Note that in light winds, there will likely be large pressure differences across the course. Often, but not always, you only get consistent wind across the whole course area when the average wind speed reaches around 8 knots (this will of course vary according to the topography).

Rig setting is about creating power in the rig without too much drag. This is a delicate balance and may require lots of adjustment if the wind strength is up and down, or a continual adjustment one way or another if the wind is gradually increasing or dying (maybe you have this information from the weather forecast). Upwind you need to use the kicker to match the luff curve to the mast bend, whilst downwind you need to let off a lot of kicker to prevent leech hooking.

Downwind, since you will most likely be unable to surf and definitely unable to plane, you need to think about creating a good flow over the sail and at the same time, sailing the minimum distance to the mark. This most often means the tack which is allowing you to sail most directly to the mark. In all but the very lightest of winds, sailing by the lee with windward heel and the boom very slightly forward of 90 degrees creates good low. When the wind drops below 5 knots (and maybe you can see your reflection in the water) it is time to move your weight forward and balance the boat to leeward to help the sail fill and sail a more reaching angle.

This top tip about leeward heel also applies to boat handling when at the end of a tack or gybe you may wish to exit with a small amount of leeward heel (which means ducking down to leeward after rolling the boat flat) to allow the sail to fill rather than flap.

Clean wind is especially important in light air because of the speed loss both up and downwind that dirty air creates. In light winds we often have flatter water and therefore it is easier to tack and gybe without losing ground up/down wind. So it is definitely worth tacking/gybing in order to keep clean wind.

Jon Emmett’s book on tactics , Be Your Own Tactics Coach is now available both as a paperback and as an e-book .