Laser beating technique

   Hey I'm wondering could anyone give me advice on my beating technique? Any time I get on to a beat in anything above 10 knots or so I find I'm battling the tiller to keep it straight. This puts a huge strain on my wrist muscles, leading to cramp very quickly, and necessitates either spilling or bearing off. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be battling the tiller this hard when I'm on a beat? Am I not keeping the boat flat enough? Thanks a mil for any help! Much appreciated.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Delicious Digg Facebook Furl Google MySpace Newsvine reddit StumbleUpon Translate Twitter Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
dohertpk Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 28 Sep 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 172	Post Options Post Reply Quote dohertpk Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Laser beating technique Posted: 23 Mar 13 at 9:59pm
	Hey I'm wondering could anyone give me advice on my beating technique? Any time I get on to a beat in anything above 10 knots or so I find I'm battling the tiller to keep it straight. This puts a huge strain on my wrist muscles, leading to cramp very quickly, and necessitates either spilling or bearing off. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be battling the tiller this hard when I'm on a beat? Am I not keeping the boat flat enough? Thanks a mil for any help! Much appreciated.

robin34024 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 03 Jan 12 Location: Lincoln Online Status: Offline Posts: 116	Post Options Post Reply Quote robin34024 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 23 Mar 13 at 10:09pm
	in a laser it is particularly nescessary to keep the boat as flat as possible upwind, because the rudder is raked back, and accentuates the load that passes through it. for example, if you have it heeled away from you at all, the boat will want to luff up by itself, and you will have to fight it.

dohertpk Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 28 Sep 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 172	Post Options Post Reply Quote dohertpk Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 23 Mar 13 at 10:11pm
	ah; that sounds familiar alright - I'll have to work harder to keep it flat so

dohertpk Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 28 Sep 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 172	Post Options Post Reply Quote dohertpk Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 23 Mar 13 at 10:11pm
	Thanks for the advice!

Jon Emmett Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 988	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jon Emmett Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 8:00am
	Just a thought but perhaps you could attend one of the UKLA training weekends where a coach could video your technique for you and you could see exactly how flat or not you are keeping the boat...
	Be Your Own Tactics Coach

Rupert Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rupert Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 10:10am
	Try an experiment where you hang a small weight from the boom, up near the mast. If you are anything like me, I can guarentee that when you "Think" you are flat, the weight will show that you are still heeled. Knowing it and doing something about it are 2 different matters, of course. I've been meaning to change my sailing style for a couple of decades, now, but growing up sailing on a river in generally light winds gave me some very bad habits.
	Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686

fab100 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005	Post Options Post Reply Quote fab100 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 10:25am
	Could be time to start pulling the strings harder. Do you have the XD kit? Crude rule of thumb for minimum kicker upwind is to pull on main sheet until the blocks at the back are touching (known as block to block) when the traveller is tight too, then tension the kicker. Easing the sheet will then result in the boom rising 12-15 inches. That's the minimum. Keep pulling the kicker on harder as the wind comes up and you become overpowered - and yes, this is difficult to achieve with the original set up, but do-able with the XD bits. When it's tonking, the boom rising hardly at all can be well fast. With this setup, you can afford to ease the sheet. Without, easing makes the sail more powerful, exacerbating the problem. The Cunningham/down haul needs to come on proportionately, until, when tonking, the grommet is near or even on the boom. You will need to rig it all one side of boom, not straddling it. Next tip; if you don't have any, get some hiking pads. That way, the hiking challenge is to your muscles, not fighting the pain of restricted circulation caused by point load pressure on the back of your legs. With these things in place, it is a lot easier to hike like crazy, play the sheet and therefore keep the boat flat. Without, you are fighting a losing battle More tips here
	Great book for Club Sailors here

Contender 541 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 05 Dec 05 Location: Burton on Trent Online Status: Offline Posts: 1402	Post Options Post Reply Quote Contender 541 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 12:12pm
	Laser Beating Technique Big Stick? Hammer? Or you could just punch it
	When you find a big kettle of crazy it's probably best not to stir it - Pointy Haired Boss Crew on 505 8780

dohertpk Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 28 Sep 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 172	Post Options Post Reply Quote dohertpk Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 12:46pm
	Thanks for your responses; Jon - I'm in Ireland but there's bound to be something comparable at some point over here, Rupert - that's a pretty ingenious idea actually, I'll definitely give it a shot, fab100, unfortunately I don't have the XD kit so I find it very difficult to adjust the kicker and downhaul on the fly. I'm beginning to think it might be worth investing in though. That link is great too; cheers!

Caveman Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 17 Sep 11 Location: Kent Online Status: Offline Posts: 64	Post Options Post Reply Quote Caveman Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 24 Mar 13 at 1:28pm
	A few years ago one of our club members used a Silva clinometer in his boat (just for club racing) so as to remind himself to keep his boat upright. He said it helped a lot. I see they cost about £20. I assume they are not class legal for open meetings. In a Laser, does one have to remember to slacken off the kicker before tacking? If I were to forget in my boat (not a Laser) it could lead to a bang on the head and an unplanned swim just to add insult to injury.
	Enthusiasm>Skill