Laser crew weight?

   I did club racing in a Laser with full rig for a couple of years. I was 100kg+ at the time and found that in winds above 10 kts I left the rest of the fleet for dead but in the light stuff I was invariably last! Unfortunately the good winds only occurred about once every 4 outings so series racing was hopeless. I also had a 4.3 rig so I could still go out when most people were tucked up in the clubhouse.
The ideal would be to have a choice of rigs so you could use the full in light airs then change down when it starts to blow.

A few tips for sailing an overcanvassed laser:

Upwind, crank the outhaul and cunningham bar taut, hike out as far as you can then steer so you sail level without adjusting the sheet.

Downwind, avoid the death roll by letting the boom out around 110° and sit out on the same side as the boom. It goes against all instincts but it works.

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snowleopard Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Groupie Joined: 02 Oct 17 Location: Cornwall Online Status: Offline Posts: 66	Post Options Post Reply Quote snowleopard Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Laser crew weight? Posted: 16 Jan 20 at 4:30pm
	I did club racing in a Laser with full rig for a couple of years. I was 100kg+ at the time and found that in winds above 10 kts I left the rest of the fleet for dead but in the light stuff I was invariably last! Unfortunately the good winds only occurred about once every 4 outings so series racing was hopeless. I also had a 4.3 rig so I could still go out when most people were tucked up in the clubhouse. The ideal would be to have a choice of rigs so you could use the full in light airs then change down when it starts to blow. A few tips for sailing an overcanvassed laser: Upwind, crank the outhaul and cunningham bar taut, hike out as far as you can then steer so you sail level without adjusting the sheet. Downwind, avoid the death roll by letting the boom out around 110° and sit out on the same side as the boom. It goes against all instincts but it works.
	One hull good, two hulls better.