I have a laser and have sailed it a bit, I was wandering what the best way of attaching the sail to the boom is, is it a clue strap, or can you buy a clue hook, some people use rope, what do you think?

I should let you know as well as the out haul clip that goes through the sail I have a elastic with a clip on to help let my out haul off.  

Please help 

Thanks Isaac  

In recent years, many are favouring a clew 'strap' which has overlapping velcro fastening.

 

There is also a  'builder supplied' Harken stainless steel boom strap with a quick release hook which is the most expensive option.

 

I wouldn't say that one method was any better, or give any performance gain than another.

The important thing is that the clew of the sail is as tight to the boom as possible (= tight leech/pointing ability), whilst being able to slide along it with minimum friction.

Out on the water, I would be entirely satisfied to tie the clew down, but I choose to use a quick release system purely and simply for ease of rigging.

 

 

 

 

 

Personally I use a Clew Strap and find it to be great. I have seen others who use the sleeve but they say it is a lot of work to keep it running smoothly.

 

Strap around £5-£10 (depending on where you get it from).

 

Sleeve Around £30+ (I seem to recall).

 

No brainer in my book......

http://www.roostersailing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=621&Category_Code=lo&SortBy - http://www.roostersailing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=621&Category_Code=lo&SortBy =

 

I guess any could eventually fail when the velcro has given up.

 

 

+1

I have the elastic inhaul hooked up to it as well. So quick and easy to rig.

 

The missus' Radial has the metal sleeve which is great for convenience but sticks, so I thought I would be clever and bought the Harken ring thingy with 16mm block and a standard velcro strap, thinking in my naivety that they would just clip together.

Has anyone done this successfully and if so a photo would be most kind.

Thanks

Tim, Contender 622

I did experiment with putting the hooke on to the velcro strap when I first upgraded my boat to the new rigging.

I found this did not work well at all and the strap and hook need to go through the clew eye separately in order to keep the clew in the correct place in relation to the boom.

If the clew sleeve works on the other rig then keep it. These are a bit of a marmite part though.

Cheers,

Paul

 

Thanks Paul,

Stupid thing is the strap and Harken ring together cost me 3 quid more than the full Harken sleeve, probably should have gone that route in hindsight, we are used to spraying Topper booms anyway.

 

If the strap and Harken loop both have to pass through the clew, then what's the point of the loop? ($$)

 

Just to clarify, this is the hook/loop thingy I have:

http://www.purplemarine.com/offshore/harken-16mm-air-block-hook.html - http://www.purplemarine.com/offshore/harken-16mm-air-block-hook.html

 

Cheers

Tim

I use a velcro strap with a teflon or similar pad stitched to it so it slides a bit better, seems to work for me (plus some silicon spray) - can't remember where I got it from though.

 

What about the hook and an old skool Dyneema loop in place of the strap?

I understand about the holt hook block, got them on the Toppers and yes they seem solid.

 

Cont 707, isn't that Dives's old battleaxe? You must be ESSC than Peter.

 

Tim Cont 622 (PBSC)

193713 is entirely right when he says: "It's an either/or thing." The ILCA Rule 3(g)(i)) states:

"The clew of the sail shall be attached to the boom by either a tie line or a webbing strap with or without  fastening device wrapped around the boom and through the sail cringle, a quick release system attached to a tie line or soft strap wrapped around the boom, or a "Builder Supplied" stainless steel boom slide with quick release system. An additional outhaul extension tie line may be added between the clew of the sail and the outhaul or the quick release system."

In other words, you are allowed one system and one system only. You are not allowed a redundant back-up. The final sentence is to allow a Radial sailor to use the same outhaul system with a 4.7 sail without re-jigging the entire system.

In 35 years of Laser sailing the velcro strap has been one of the most effective innovations allowed on the boat, and certainly the most cost-effective. Keep the fluff of the hooky side of the velcro and it'll last longer.

UK Laser Association Measurer

 

What I have ended up doing is using the velcro strap pulled through the Harken hook(not sleeve).

The advantage being no fiddly doing & undoing of the velcro, and less velcro wear.

Disadvantage it puts about 1/2 an inch between the boom & sail.

 

Would this be legal under the wording

"webbing strap with or without  fastening device"

 

Also, is a turning block tied to the outhaul saddle at the end of the boom permitted?

 

Many thanks

Tim Cont622

One of the most stupid rules in the laser is the redundancy rule.  I once had a wobbly boom end mainsheet block so tied a line through the outhaul eye round the block and back over the boom in a sort of figure of eight.  It was slack so was not giving me any advantage.  The measurer came round and told me I had to take it off despite a long sail to and from the sailing area.  If this had broken and I had to retire then either one of the very few safety boats would have had to tow me in or it would have been a really long slog in a fair amount of breeze! Surely some consideration for the safety of the sailor should be included!? Apparently not.  It is things like this that made me leave lasers in the end.

If you are going to do championship level sailing then your boat needs to comply. 

The counter argument would be why did you not spend 5 minutes with a drill and a rivet gun and sort out the wobbly boom block? If you didn't have the stuff there is usually a chandler close by or another competitor who is willing to help out for a beer or 2.

Whenever I have a large event coming up (at club level) I always give the boat a once over the week before so I can pick out any potential issues prior to getting myself stuck.

I will add that i am slightly hypocritical in that I am an advocate of replica sails for club sailing purely on the grounds that the genuine article is:

1) Not currently available for purchase until mid-june

2) Seriously expensive for what it is

3) Does not last for any appreciable period of time

Once they sort out the longevity and availability issues I will be moving back to a genuine article for all my Laser sailing.

Well it was a world championships at a venue with no chandlery other than the locked Laser Performance van. My boat did comply completely until 5 minutes before launching when I noticed the wobbly block while threading my mainsheet. So grabbed a bit of string out of my BA pocket and while tying it on the measurer came over and told me off for it. 

Trust me, if I had the time to do the work I would.  Its all very good being told to fix it properly now, a good 5 years after the event. Of course I know that now too! To be fair as soon as I got home I retired the boom to be used for club racing and put the string back on and never replaced the rivets, they never failed! 

All I am saying is there are a few rules like this in lasers which when put together make you wonder why you bother. Obviously the racing is second to none but when other things, such as life, gets in the way of training you fall out of the top of the fleet and even the racing becomes a bit tedious. Nobody likes moving down a fleet do they!? Anyway, that is why I bought the 100, because life has got in the way, at least with that I can rock up to an event and hopefully get a decent result, and if not be sailing an enjoyable boat. As it stands, life has been so in the way that I haven't had a chance to even sail the boat this year although hopefully in the next few weeks that will all be different!

Thanks 

   Thanks