Laser death roll

[jimi]

How the ferk do you stop it ... always end up capsizing to windward and hurtling through the air and taking ages to get back up again ... help!!!!

 

[Guest]

You have to deploy your anti-laser force-field shield a bit faster and convert the death roll into a reverse thrust mega-flip to take out the opposition before they get you.

 

[tome]

Hee hee. Deft hand and a positive turn away from wind with a bit of main sheet tension til under control again. Then gently back and repeat ad nauseum.

 

[jimi]

Aha .. not into the wind.. so you start sailing by the lee? ... bougger moi .. I've pitchpoled a laser doing that .. broke the mast as well!

 

[tome]

I may well have meant the other way round. Have you tried the Co-op rioja at £3.89 a bottle?

 

[jimi]

I'll try it away from the wind .. partic after 3.89 rioja .. have you met Pope MacHurley .. he's into cheap booze..

 

[machurley22]

Marques de Leon - Tesco £2.06

 

[tome]

Ooh, I'll have a go at this. Death roll by Tesco.

 

[Sybarite]

Philistines the lot of you....

John

 

[machurley22]

Just don't tell anyone how much you paid for it, even expensive wines have screwtops nowadays.

Oops

 

[tome]

I tried a Philistine wine, but found it a liitle fresh and fruity for my paleete

 

[longjohnsadler]

Do you mean Philisan?

 

[snowleopard]

embarassing, isn't it, but there is a simple answer. use a longer sheet and let the boom out around 110 degrees, then sit out on the same side as the boom. feels b****y weird at first but it ensures a one-way flow over the sail so stops the rhythmic roll.

 

[mirabriani]

Jimi, I used to race single handers.
I became proficient with my own self build (similar to Signet)
but when racing a Laser I found it initially a lot more lively
but more to the point when racing a borrowed Comet?
I found it many times more difficult, in fact I do not think I completed a lap in it, yet the young lady owner was fairly competitive. The answer is to sail the boat that suits you, but bear in mind we all slow down as we age.... it may be time for a Pacer or Otter!
Regards Briani

 

[Goodge]

That's ok as long as you don't heel the boat too much and allow the boom to drag in the water. Then you'll start to pivot around that.

Jimi - how long you had the boat ? I'm fairly new to the class too, just wondered how long before you think you will be proficient ?

 

[jimi]

I've had the boat about 5 years now and sailed it reasonably frequently... the death roll is my partic blind spot. They really are great fun, enjoy! Will try SnowLeopards method '' though not in a F8 which is what it was when I pitchpoled spectacularly!

 

[arTThur]

Jimi,

My experience of lasers spanned a good many seasons racing at a high level club in the NW. The downwind technique to avoid the 'deathroll' is to balance the centre of effort of the sail directly over the centre of resistance of the hull so that no rolling moment develops. In practice, you have to deliberately lean the boat over away from the boom-side ie the mast should be at about 30degrees to the vertical with the boom pointing about 30degrees upwards as well. It feels strange at first, but if you use the uplifted dagger board as a handle, you can keep it like this no matter how strong the breeze - keep the kicker drum-tight in all wind conditions so the sail is like a board. Lasers also sail faster 'by the lee' than they do running dead before the wind, so many top helms will tack downwind to take advantage of this.
Lasers behave significantly different than many other singlehanders, so look at the boats at the front of the fleet and mimic them rather than trying to develop your own techniques - for example do you always 'block-out' the mainsheet when beating? Even in light airs? That's the fastest way up wind, but many mid-fleet and tail-enders don't do this and wonder why they are not faster upwind.

Good luck.

 

[Boots]

Jimi,

I did that many years ago, racing off Lancing. The boom snapped in half, and then the jagged end punctured my life jacket which had just inflated. Thinking about it, that probably saved the boom from sticking into my chest!

You just have to play the main sheet, and adjust your body weight/position, sometimes very quickly! Oh, and you need to be fairly fit!

Have fun!

 

[Twister_Ken]

Being speared by a broken boom

Sure sounds like Lancing to me!

 

[porth]

Stupid question time...
What is "blocking out"? New one on me and I'm thinking of lasering again soon before it is too late!