laser info
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Choosing a boat
Forum Discription: Ask any questions about the sport!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3705
Printed Date: 05 Aug 25 at 11:59am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: laser info
Posted By: snoo
Subject: laser info
Date Posted: 16 Dec 07 at 10:28am
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I am looking to buy a laser but not wanting to buy a road trailer / tow bar . Are lasers easy to load onto a roof rack also what weight is a launching trolley [for max bar loadings] |
Replies:
Posted By: stuarthop
Date Posted: 16 Dec 07 at 3:47pm
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Laser Weighs 75kg rom memory and trolley probs about another 15 kg so well above the safe load for most roof racks, though saying that i know plenty of people including myself who have roof racked lasers, i'd recomend that if your going to travel with the boat on a regular basis its well worth the cost to buy a road trailer ------------- |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 9:42am
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Yes Lasers are easy to load on a roof rack i think it was in the design Brief! I Roof rack mine on my "06 Honda Civic" No probs at all, and the roof rack on that looks shockingly unstable!!! ------------- |
Posted By: Black no sugar
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 10:41am
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Then you can go out in near freezing temperatures and have a bit of fun!
------------- http://www.lancingsc.org.uk/index.html - Lancing SC 
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Posted By: tmoore
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 9:35pm
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lasers go nicely on roof racks due to the near flat deck. lasers fully rigged are 80kg, so for hull and spars i would have said between 70 and 75kg. with the trolley another 10-20 depending on make. most roof bars are made for top boxes etc. however for the 'safe working load' they are always highly underestimated. in reality it will not be just the weight of the boat thats important, the tighness of the ratchet straps/ rope being used to tie the boat to the car will play a large factor. ------------- Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse |
Posted By: NickA
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 9:49pm
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My thule roof bars specify 75kg max. So a laser is pushing it. But at a recent laser inland at our club, about 30% of the boats arrived roof topped .... so shouldn't really maybe, but certainly can. A longish car is a help. ------------- Javelin 558 Contender 2574 |
Posted By: ratface
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 10:20pm
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buy a towbar... then u can have the boat packed up and ready only using yourself and not needing another 2 or so people to put on the roof, even tho most laser sailors will help you get it on/off ------------- http://www.blym.org.uk/ - BLYM http://www.blym.org.uk/hydrs/index.htm - Hertfordshire Sailing team Uk-Cherub 2644 Laser 4000 -4089 |
Posted By: Webmuppet
Date Posted: 17 Dec 07 at 10:53pm
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I have to agree with ratface, I'd go for a tow bar. My Honda Jazz has Thule roof-bars, they are very good but quite close together and it's essential to have a rope securing the bow to the front of the car and the transom to the rear bumper area if you're going to carry a dinghy on them (....and it's not always easy to find a decent point to secure a rope to a modern car). I'm pretty inexperienced at towing, but it's far easier than I thought it would be. Nigel ------------- I am the milkman of human kindness, I will leave an extra pint (Billy Bragg) Graduate 2530 'Galaxy' |
Posted By: Chew my RS
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 8:36am
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Lasers go on a roof rack no problem, you just need a an extra pair of hands to help you lift the boat on and off. But towing them is also very simple (you forget you are even towing!) - but the tow bar and road trailer will set you back about £400. My boat is somewhat bigger (but lighter) than a Laser and I carried it on the roof of a Mondeo from southern Germany to Somerset with absolutely no problems.
------------- http://www.sailns14.org - http://www.sailns14.org - The ultimate family raceboat now available in the UK |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 8:52am
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I car topped my International Canoe back from Norfolk to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire no problems on the roof of my Civic but i'm sure that the boat/trolley and mast combo was over the roof bar recomended limit but still not even a wobble! ------------- |
Posted By: iwsmithuk
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 10:35am
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If you are driving with a load that exceeds the recomended load for your roof rack you are probably invalidating your insurance. Worst case scenario, boat comes off on motorway, big pile up, fatalities.......insurance co says "sorry mate can't help you with that....." Get a towbar.
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Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 11:06am
Get a car (or van) with a sensible roof weight limit... Provided you can organise things roof racking has a lot of advantages. Much less gunge and other rubbish on the boat after the journey, no problems with trailer wheels, lower speed limits etc. |
Posted By: ratface
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 1:10pm
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just a thought but what is better fuel wise, towing or roof topping? surely now with the price of fuel now this can/will be factor on whether you roof or tow. and IF you were to change class into a bigger heavier boat then you will have to buy a tow bar then anyway so it is probably best to get one now. and i would rather have a blow out on the trailer wheel than have something fall off the roof of a car. ------------- http://www.blym.org.uk/ - BLYM http://www.blym.org.uk/hydrs/index.htm - Hertfordshire Sailing team Uk-Cherub 2644 Laser 4000 -4089 |
Posted By: dave21
Date Posted: 18 Dec 07 at 4:06pm
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Hi. When I had my laser I drive it all over the country (on the roof rack) with out any trouble. I wasn’t particularly interested in the breaking strain of the bars, but more the strength of the fixings to the car, since they take the most strain. When you think about it, the bars aren’t put under any point load, they’re just squashed between the boat and the roof brackets. I drove an old ‘A’ reg fiesta with a second hand bullet proof roof rack made by However, a cautionary story…I have a friend who did the same with his laser, but one day over tightened the straps on the roof rack. The bars flexed slightly under the strain meaning that the brackets didn’t have enough grip on the roof and he used a thin rope to tie down the front. Driving along the motorway, the whole load (with the roof rack still tied to the boat) flipped off of the car, landed on its trolley and came to a rest on the hard shoulder. (He should have attached a GPS and entered it on to Speed Freaks!). Luckily they were the only car on the road at the time, but it could obviously have been far worse. The boat was written off and I think he converted to a tow bar soon after. A previous poster said that you weren’t subject to speed restrictions when car topping, which is quite right. However, I think you’d have to be pretty stupid to drive at 70 in the fast lane with the boat on top! |
Posted By: Jamie600
Date Posted: 19 Dec 07 at 9:52am
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I'd go for a towbar too, you'll loose a lot of mpg with the boat on the roof and also a towbar is more convenient for those times when you just have to nip the boat home unexpectedly, say for a repair, or fancy a sail after work and have no-one to help you load or unload. There was a guy at my dad's work who frequently came to work with a laser on the roof of his car as he had taken it home after sailing and had no-one to help him at the other end! ------------- RS600 1001 |
Posted By: stuarthop
Date Posted: 19 Dec 07 at 6:18pm
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I also find that roof racks have a habit of scratching the paint on my nicely polished car... ------------- |
Posted By: tmoore
Date Posted: 19 Dec 07 at 6:19pm
simple, stop polishing your car, let it get all dirty like mine, then you dont see the scratches  ------------- Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse |
Posted By: Merlinboy
Date Posted: 19 Dec 07 at 11:56pm
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My roof rack has dented the roof of my car probably from over tightening it! Luckily it is a company car so all i need is a strategically placed bird crap when the chap comes and appraises it before he takes it away! another year till then though!! ------------- |
Posted By: tmoore
Date Posted: 20 Dec 07 at 10:25am
or a crap car which you dont care about for towing, probs will not come with 'bum warmers' tho . ------------- Landlocked in Africa RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse |
Posted By: Rob.e
Date Posted: 20 Dec 07 at 11:09am
I borrowed a car with bum warmers, and I didn't know it had them: couple of minutes down the road I thought I'd wet myself! Most unpleasant.... ------------- |