Recent content by Kaiser

So I was sailing around the other weekend and got to staring at the traveler - and it seems fundamentally broken to me. The point of a traveler, as I understand it, is to fix where the boom sits relative to the centerline of the boat when it's block-to-block. That is, I believe when the...

Oh man - that made me laugh...a lot.

The great thing about the Laser is how quick it is to rig and get out there on the water. I can go from fully tied to the trailer to sailing away in about 15 minutes. The hassle factor of having to step the mast, hoist sails, tune rigging etc on my other boats means that I don't use them as...

Looks pretty nice, actually - I'd say much newer than 78. There is a post/guide on here somewhere about identifying the year of a boat based on the hull number. Enjoy!

close hauled in about 15 knots... not too extreme, just good fast fun.

I did 2 coats primer, 2-3 coats color on the Lightning (2 on top, 3 on bottom). no thinning. I'm really no expert though... just a guy with a weekend project.

Not sure. I've always primed. You know, a lot of guys on iboats.com just paint their junk with Rustoleum and it works fine. It's just a question of how far you want to go.

I think the primers are supposed to help the paint stick and also to fill in imperfections - at least that's what they say with Easypoxy. (so it's a good idea if you're committed to buying 'good' paint anyway) The Interlux primer is called Pre-Kote. Make sure you rub the hull down with...

Some of the paints claim to fill in little imperfections but that wasn't my experience (maybe the definition of "little" is the problem). I used THIS for fairing and filling in stuff... it would be fine for cracks - though it's hard to say without seeing the cracks you're talking about. If...

You're not cool unless you're racing a Laser in JEANS!

The http://schrothfiberglass.com/Easter.htm page doesn't appear to have any dates/info on the 2011 regatta. I just see 2012+ everywhere. I assume it's this weekend since it's Easter and all...

Absolutely. I'm AMAZED at how good my respirator is at blocking paint and fiberglass fumes. It would be worth it at 5x the price. Mine is the 3M painter's respirator from home depot with organic vapor cartridges - about $30. (then just buy separate goggles)

I used Inerlux Brightside on my Laser - it's okay but it took well over a month (and that's in Texas) to really dry to a hard finish. I took the boat out a couple weeks after painting the centerboard and the paint was still a bit rubbery - it got kind of messed up from contact with the...

I've never understood why anything you can do with your body is illegal short of getting out of the boat or paddling. ooching, pumping, sculling, unnecessary tacks - I think it ought to all be fair game. If everyone is allowed to do it then nobody has an advantage AND there are fewer rules to...

That's awesome!