Recent content by Al Black

Sailing plans for 2009: Laser: Go to Antigua for a week http://www.sunsail.co.uk/clubs/destinations/colonna :) (not just Laser, will play with other kit too!). Take part in as many races as I can at my local club www.rwsabc.com where my 2 ambitions are firstly to complete the course (at the...

Ah ha! Since I have no intention of racing in "real competition" then it matters not a jot! :p

When I bought my Laser it came with a tired old Laser sail (with the wrong number!), guessing the sail was 25 yr old. Replaced it with a sail from InSails, wow! It was sharp, it was crisp, it was powerful! After a season in the West of Scotland it is still fairly crisp and draws well; it makes...

Is that legal? I thought that the boom could only be pulled to initiate a tack or gybe. Willing to be proved wrong though, every day's a school day! Al.

That would leave me with a 2 digit number! (Err, red numbers? All of mine are black! Have I committed a boo boo? :)) Old boat and proud of it, Al.

Close both eyes when shining torch! Retaining night vision in one eye when the other is night-blind is next to no help at all. Retain night vision in both eyes!

You're not the first! Search for posts by Raymie on Outhaul Sleeve Thingy and you will see how disenchanted a mechanical engineer became with said piece of technology. Suffice to say he now uses the same clew strap as you do! Al.

Could you point me in the right direction for diagrams of how to rig the four-fold 3 to 1 (12 to 1)? Thanks (and virtual pizza!) for any help, Al.

For class events, yes. But as a training aid (as per thread title) they could prove useful. Al.

If no other variable is affected (same person on same boat in same conditions), accuracy is much less important than consistency. Try the same beat/reach/run under the same conditions a few times to establish a consistent speed then tweak ONE thing, see how it affects, once THAT tweak is...

Or eat loads of Pringles and trim the lids to fit!

Don't be afraid! My sailing history was 40 foot cruising yachts until early this year. I now own a Laser (SLIGHTLY different from a 40 foot cruiser!), and race (well, follow the course) on Wednesday nights at the club. First few weeks I sat 100 yards behind the guys going for club championship...

Re: Leeward shore landing techniques Like that idea! Al.

You ain't seen the bottom of my mast step! Mind you, I like the Pringles idea, are they class legal? If so, which flavours give best performance? Al.

Treated myself to a gentle upgrade of the old Laser, Rooster clew strap, clew hook & block kit and Teflon disc for mast step foot. The outhaul & clew strap kit makes life easier shoreside (fastest I've ever rigged the boat tonight), but I was amazed by the difference the Teflon disc made...