1974 hull with too-tight sleeve on new sail?

Teem

New Member
I learned on a Laser one summer 30 years ago and would like to get back into it with my kids. I picked up an old 1974 one here in Phoenix which is complete with old rigging, wood rudder and board, but new lines and a never-used sail. Mast step had been reinforced at some point. I dry fitted everything with the boat on the trailer but it was a real task getting the sail onto the mast. I had everything laying in the grass. It was pretty snug at the top, but when I got the foot of the sail to the joint between the mast sections I almost could not get the sail down onto the lower section (which is just a little thicker). It was real work getting it down close to the gooseneck.

Is this normal? From the videos I've seen of other Lasers the sail fits quite loose on the mast.
 
There are no markings on it at all, no red dot, no numbers, nothing I could see. It otherwise seems (to me) to be the right size: three battens, the foot ends up six inches or so above the gooseneck with the cunningham snug, the clew grommet about eight inches from the end of the boom with the sail pretty flat.

I am looking at Figure 10 here http://www.cautionwater.com/article.aspx?articleid=8 and from that picture it looks like you should be able to fit two fingers in under the bottom of the sleeve. No way on my sail, it barely slides up and down.
 
Because of the lack of markings, sounds like your sail is a knock off, and badly made. Sorry.
 

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