m25roundabout
New member
Fortunately I had the smallest sail available on my laser, the 4.7m. As for reefing it-not really possible, although I have seen some natty adaptions that make it vaguely possible-but not very safe or efficient.
Laser dinghy cruising.
- Thread starter m25roundabout
- Start date
Mark-1
Active member
Agree. Picking the smallest sail from the range available seems preferable to reefing. I never had any luck reefing a Laser. Seemed to me I always ended up with a smaller sail but couldn't fully flatten it. Better off flattening the sail with everything bar tight than a smaller sail effectively rigged for maximum power.
I'm sure you realized but when people say reef a Laser they typically mean wrap it around the mast, removing battens as required.
Easy to experiment and make your own mind up.
m25roundabout
New member
I see what you mean, wraping it around the sail. My thinking is, if I had even thought it was necessary to reef, I shouldn't have been going out anyway!
Wansworth
Active member
Check out Rodger Barnes he looks pretty organized for small boat traveling……..
rogerdat
New member
Hello from west coast, Oregon! My first post, and I'm quite excited about this, so hold on. Our summer winds here are typically small craft to gales. I sail a laser on the lake, but have been testing it for open ocean. I also dabble in 3D printing. So what I did - made a "reel" for the mast, which a line to the cockpit is used to manifest the wrapping of a batten-less main. This works. The Laser is such an efficient machine, it has no trouble sailing upwind without battens. The more difficult prospect - and I am still working this out - is accommodating the variable-position clue. For this, I used whatever H16 parts I had lying about (I sail those too). Prototype is somewhat of a mess, but it does work, certainly in theory. Going in suit with this setup, I crafted a set of short-length oars from carbon-fiber windsurf masts (I suppose I should mention at this point, windsurfing has been my primary hobby), and a set of oar locks from plywood (painted white, quite attractive, much rotten after one winter), but the design was okay, it moved the pivot location outboard a foot or so. Added several SS deck cleats for drybags. Still working on freshwater storage in the hull. Would be incredible if this thing had a hatch in the back for some storage, but I suppose that opens up leak opportunities. Testing: napkin-sized reefing gets me up "through the cut" at Garrison Lake (google maps?) which is only perhaps 100 feet wide, in 20-30 mph, no dumps I promise. The neat thing about sailing reefed like this in high wind is you can cleat it off and just use your body to balance everything. If still interested, reply in the post, I presume I will get an email alert and I can freely share my design for the roller reefer. Quite simple, just a disk with a toothed groove, I use 1/2 poly line (perhaps not the best choice?), I arranged two cleats on deck longitudinally, so can cleat the reefing. One each side. No wraps on the reef, just a pass around front of it. I keep everything right on the deck, nothing going up. I took a loaded boat (drybags, reefer, oars) out to a lake on a windless day and just rolled it over and over, capsizing and re-righting, to test if there would be hope: positive! All lashed gear comes about. Lines are another matter, what a yard sale! My Laser leaks a bit, so I must find and patch the leaks (worry about that centerboard cavity being the culprit, but might be the screw hole to the auto bailer?) A fisherman recommended a certain type of hull foam that is non-absorbent (closed cell type) Sharkbait / sharkbite or something, Anyhow get me if you aren't too freaked out by my post. rogerdat
oldbloke
Active member
The most important leak in a laser is through the mast step. Fill the step with water and see if the level drops. Otherwise check the integrity of the hull deck join.
