'84 laser gremlins

[squeakywaffle]

Hi-

I just bought a used laser yesterday... I don't have much (about 3 or 4 times out, all in bytes) experience sailing but I was down at a sort of sailing club (the WAC at the UW for those of you in seattle) with my friend, and I was rolling her byte back up to storage when a lady came along and asked me if I wanted to buy a laser. I'd been wanting a boat of my own for a while and the offer seemed too good to pass up, so I went ahead and wrote them a check.

I rigged and sailed it for the first time today, and I love it, but it had a couple of strange issues:

First, the little retaining spring for the rudder was bent... not knowing how it was supposed to go, I started sailing and suddenly my rudder popped out, bringing the boat round for a nasty surprise jibe that could have knocked me out if I hadn't been on the ball. The only thing that kept my rudder from sinking to the bottom was the tiller extension, which caught on the traveler like a sort of hook. I couldn't get the rudder to stay in, so after unintentionally jibe-capsizing three times, I decided I would have to swim the boat back in to shore. That sucked. But my question is, should the rudder pop out that easily when not held down by that spring, or might the recievers for the hinge pins (gudgeons?) be worn? That's an issue I would like to fix if it's actually an issue at all.

Second, at the back of my cockpit where I expected there to be an auto-bailer gadget of some sort, there is instead a small hole that seems to just let water in. Is there a plug or something that I'm missing, or is something broken down there?

Third, one of my mast sections (I think it was the lower) seemed to be full of water after my little swimming excursions. What's the best way to seal those up again?

And finally, a question... what's the best way to get water out of the mast step without getting someone to help me turn the boat upside down? Thankfully, mine doesn't appear to leak at all (in fact the mast step shows absolutely no cracking and little wear after 22 years, which is awesome and is part of the reason I was so happy to buy the boat) but the downside to that is that it fills up with water and I haven't been able to get it out of there. It's probably still full of water, but I'm going to go sail it tomorrow and hopefully I will have figured something out by then.

Thanks!

 

[Merrily]

First, the little retaining spring for the rudder was bent... .

That's the main device for keeping the rudder attached. You can buy a new one, or you can drill a hole in the top pintle and use a ring ding to hold the rudder in place.

Second, at the back of my cockpit where I expected there to be an auto-bailer gadget of some sort, there is instead a small hole that seems to just let water in. Is there a plug or something that I'm missing, or is something broken down there?

Yes, a plug belongs there as part of the auto-bailer assembly.

Third, one of my mast sections (I think it was the lower) seemed to be full of water after my little swimming excursions. What's the best way to seal those up again?

I get water in my lower mast all the time after going for a swim. It drains out all by itself so I don't worry about it. I usually sail in freshwater though. Maybe corrosion is a problem in there in saltwater?

And finally, a question... what's the best way to get water out of the mast step without getting someone to help me turn the boat upside down?

I often don't worry about it. It makes a nice cushion for when you step the mast. My gel coat is intact though, so no water is invading the fiberglass. When you do want it dry, you could use one of those hand operated bilge pumps. I can get my hand most of the way down there and I use a rag to sop up what I can't reach. Even if your hand and arm is too big to reach in there, stuff a small towel in there to soak it up. Or get a small handed girl friend!

 

[49208]

Welcome and congrats

It sounds like your rudder lift stop is not sitting on top of the lower pintle when the rudder is in place which it must. The two attachments show the location (arrow pointing to it) and the shape of the rudder lift stop. You can bend the lift stop by hand and also move it up/down on the transom with the screws to get it to the proper position.

It also sounds like your traveler is not tight enough. It also helps to keep the rudder from lifting off by the fact that the traveler crosses the tiller. There are really only two settings on the trav – tight and really tight. Tight is used to approx 10 knts of wind and really tight after that. The diff between the two ? In light winds, a tight setting means the trav blocks hit the tiller when tacking, but continue across to the other side. Really tight means they hit the tiller but you have to push the boom to get them to jump over the tiller.

While you are working on your lift stop, you might consider checking the gudgeons – worn ones won’t nec make the rudder lift off, but they add slop and play to the steering. If the tops of the gudgeons are dished or the holes are not perfectly round, check the bottoms of the gudgeons – chances are they will be pristine and you can flip each one over and end up with a good fit again. Use plenty of silicone sealer or caulk when re-inserting the screws.

Regarding the cockpit drain – for sure there should be a rubber bung to plug the hole. You may or may not have an autobailer installed, if you do, you are missing more then the plug. The following page shows the autobailer – http://westcoastsailing.net/osCommerce/catalog/laser-parts-c-54_28.html
if you don’t have the large black plastic piece on the bottom of the hull, you don’t have the autobailer – if you do have it, you are also missing the bronze arm that connects and controls the bailer wedge to the rubber bung. The rubber bung can usually be found at the local hardware store. In a pinch, get a nice bottle of wine, drink it and shave the cork down to fit.

The mast sections and water – the upper is easy to seal and should not pick up water – seal the rivets with silicone sealer if needed. The lower is harder since the upper is inserted into it. Besides sealing all rivets, you need to make sure the fit between upper and lower is tight – use packing tape on the upper mast plug to tighten it as nec.

Getting all the water out of the mast tube – If it’s not leaking into the hull, why worry about it ? Otherwise you can stick the lower section into the tube at the end of the day, that will force most of it out, but to get it all out you will have to tip the boat or stick a sponge on a stick down it. Where I sail we don’t worry about this until winter time when we run the risk of it freezing.

 

[squeakywaffle]

thanks for the replies!

Regarding the rudder spring, I did actually do a simple fix that involved bending it back into shape with some needlenose pliers right after I swam it back in. I don't think that's an issue anymore, though I will tighten my traveler up a bit.

And as for the water in the mast step, I thought it would damage the gelcoat or something over long periods... if not, then that's great!

 

[odinsvitskjaldr]

[/quote] Or get a small handed girl friend![/quote]

Or boyfriend, whichever you prefer.