sounds like what a whale would sound like..

opT

New Member
Whenever I go downwind/reach in any reasonable wind (10+) my boat makes a considerable noise from humming or vibrating. I've never had a boat that does this almost all the time. It's a newish boat bought from the world champs. Is this normal? Is something out of line? AM I CRAZY?
 
..... Is your daggerboard warped? check it. The humming could be a disturbed flow across it. It usually is. On normal daggerboards and rudders, the humming starts while reaching in wind of 20 kts. It´s either warping of the blades or you´re just really damn fast.
 
my blades are brand new but i'll check them. I know how boats hum at really crazy speeds but i'm talking about just cruising not so fast... I havent left my blades in the sun at all but ill check it for sure
 
Whenever I go downwind/reach in any reasonable wind (10+) my boat makes a considerable noise from humming or vibrating. I've never had a boat that does this almost all the time. It's a newish boat bought from the world champs. Is this normal? Is something out of line? AM I CRAZY?

Try someone else's centerboard on your boat and see if it does it. A guy at my club had a humming centerboard on a new boat. It was the board.
 
it's rumoured that the trailing edge of a board has to be 1/16" thick and perfectly square and sharp to stop vibration and hum.

Don't know how long you could go without damaging an edge like that under normal lasering conditions. Or causing yourself a nasty injuring during capsize recovery.

Seems unusual to get it at the 10knot range though. You must be fast, or the trailing edge is especially rounded and blunt.

Where did the previous owner place in the worlds?

Other options:

carry a harpoon, making stabbing motions at wherever you think the sound is coming from.
 
its a cheap whale imitation..
i'll try switching centreboards and see if the problem persists
im not sure what the previous owner placed, but i did find out it was a charter boat from 2006 radial worlds in california
 
Maybe I should sand my boards. It just seems like too much work to do. I sailed in really high winds the other day and everything was humming like a "whale" and water shooting out the back of the daggerboard trunk when i was surfing some waves. It would shoot up about two to three feet.
 
Had this today in ~10kt wind. Brand new boat and centreboard. Sound increases in pitch with forward speed. I'll try another centreboard...
 
lol, I heard this for the first time the other day and again today, in what must have been 20kn plus both times. I had no idea what it was, I thought my boat was about to rip in half!!

Asking around the consensus seems as above, sharpen the edges of the foils.

Though I must say I only get a hum when I am on a serious flying reach in a solid gust, definitly not in anything as low as 10kn.
 
I've pretty much always heard a nice hum when planing really fast in dinghys (optis, 420s, lasers, etc.). I don't think it's something you really need to worry about fixing, especially if it's happening on a new boat.
 
whale songs are pretty. is that what it really sounds like?
Not those high frequences like whales are able to make, Pippa, but yes it is an interesting sound :)
At the end of the season, if your ability of managing your Laser (4.7?) in stronger winds and your parents, that stay byside of you in their boats, do permit you to sail a reach in strong winds, you definitely will enjoy that sound and to sail a Laser. If you are able to go for such a reach with speed and spray all around at you and your boat tries to fiddle to the left / to the right and you did learn to hold the control overall, without captzising, you will remember my words :)

ciao
LooserLu
 
I can't think of any reason for this happening, but just for kicks I'll put it out there. Is there any damage such humming can bring over long periods of time? I'd think the vibrations needed to get such a pitch are very fast and small so probably not but just wanted to check.
 
i had this but in a rs500 going downwing with the kite up in 25 knots to was like a song . we were trying to make a song because as we gybed it stoped so we kept gybing in 25 knots of wind on the wire lol

hope this helps

187490:)
 
I have the same low-tembre song effect when I round weather mark and when I plane off a wave in a good balance. I have almost new hull and blades. I felt similar vibrations on J24 helm downwind when it was really well balanced and flying kite. So I guess it's a good thing. Does not bother me
 
BTW if you're wanting to perfect your speed this "hum" is a slight speed burner. It's a vibration on your blades caused by the water coming off the trailing edge. If it's humming it's not a clean exit and absorbing energy.
 
im not exactly sure but i think its from the daggerboard. i sail old club boats and that happens all the time. the whole boat shakes and i think im hitting something till i realize im almost in the channel so yeah. its the daggerboard.
 

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