Newbie questions on hull condition, setup and replacement parts

RudeJoe

New Member
I recently bought an '86 Laser and I have a couple questions about it...

Some questions about its condition
1, Deck- The hull seemed good when I was looking at it but after I got it home I started looking at it a little closer and noticed that one side of the deck where you sit is a little soft near the edge of the foot well. When looking for delamination I was looking for bubbles not a larger area like this. The edge of the foot well is firm then the deck dips right after the radius. The other side is straight from the radius to the outside perimeter of the deck. My question, how critical is fixing this?

2. Black Gel coat- The hull has a black strip. There is one gouge in the black area that is about 1/4" wide and 1-1/2" long. I'd like to repair this but don't know where to get a small about of black that matches. Any suggestions? I'd hate to have to buy a quart for just this small area.

3. Traveler Fairleads- One of the traveler fairleads was cracked and I ordered an aluminum replacement from Intensity Sails along with a few other things. The fairlead I received from them has hole spacing of about 23mm which are closer together then the fairleads on the boat. The fittings on the boat have hole spacing of about 26mm. Any idea why the discrepancy? Intensity insists there's is the standard size. I also ordered a sunfish bullseye fairlead for the sail downhull hoping it would fit. Mine had a standard fairlead which, from what I've seen, might have been standard on this vintage Laser. Well the Sunfish fitting fit fine. It had the same hole spacing as the rest of my fairleads and other fittings.

4. I bought a new hiking strap from Intensity and it didn't come with the rear line. I was looking at the XD rigging guide and found a rigging diagram to use. The one thing it doesn't indicate is the diameter of the line. Does anyone know if its 3, 4, or 5mm? I think the document mentions the dimension on all the other lines but not this one.

5. Mast Step reinforcement? Everything around the mast seems really solid. The hole looks solid and holds water. Is it imperative to cut the access hole and reinforce it? There is an access hole/cover near the back of the dagger board as I've seen in many images. I haven't looked through that hole to inspect the mast step.

6. Lines- Looks like I need to replace some lines. Recommendations on what to use? Manufacture/model and colors? Is there a specific color per function?

I'm sure there's more I just can't remember right now. Thanks!
 
I just thought of one more thing... When looking into the dagger board hole when the boat is upside down I see some type of filler between the deck and hull seam. It looks like some of the material has pulled away from the hull section of the dagger board well. I'm not sure if it goes all the way and is an area that would leak. Erring on the side of caution, what should I use to seal this up? Silicone caulk okay?
 
Mast Step reinforcement? Everything around the mast seems really solid. The hole looks solid and holds water. Is it imperative to cut the access hole and reinforce it? There is an access hole/cover near the back of the dagger board as I've seen in many images. I haven't looked through that hole to inspect the mast step.

That joint's 30 yrs old + was built in a way that wasn't so strong in early boats. I've heard it's somewhere in mid-1990's that they started doing it different + stronger. Mine's 1973 so I can't help with the date any more than that.

If it were me, I would very definitely look inside pretty much right away. If you can't see that mast footing real clearly, try to reach in there with cell phone or camera and take a bunch of pic's with lights in there. I'd be looking for any sign of cracking, aging, weakness, waterlogging, etc etc etc.

The problem and risk is that that joint has given out on a majority of older boats. When it gives way the mast tips over and tears up the deck a lot. So fixing that is a ton of work, a major project. But reinforcing it is pretty easy, especially by comparison. Mine failed + tore up the deck, so naturally if it was me, I'd reinforce it preventatively, but of course you get to decide. I can post pics of mine (again) broken and fixed, if that's helpful to you deciding.

The other factor that might influence it- if you suspect the boat might have been stored outside over winter, deck side up, in a climate where it freezes- IMO that would strongly suggest reinforcing preventatively. If you can rule that out, maybe less so.
 

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