New owner looking for info

Z

Zippy

New Member
Howdy -

I just bought an older boat (1984, I think) and I am looking for construction info and guides on the upgrades and gear that works. I'm sure I can figure it all out for myself, but thought some one has probably been down this road about a thousand times before me and can direct me to construction drawings, rigging guides, things to watch out for, etc. I'm not jumping into racing right now, but prefer not doing things twice. Currently I am wondering what the deck and hull construction are, what sort of fasteners are necessary to attach hardware to them, what the bling hardware is, why the tiller is so low it is trying to chafe a hole through the aft deck, what the best rigging set ups are - stuff like that. I am already tired of googling around and winding up reading ads for over-priced competition packages I don't need and probably already have the components for.

Can some one point me in the right direction?

Many thanks.
Rob
 
There's not much to the Laser. I have some pictures of the hull cut away and in the molds at the factory in my photo gallery.

http://www.laserforum.org/album.php?albumid=24

There are blocks of plywood in the fiberglass layup for the fittings to screw into and you have to be aware of placement due to class rules if you wish to race.
 
Thanks, Wessel -


Nice pics.
Looks like you have seen where few dare to tread. Ha ha.

Are there no construction drawings available for these boats?
Typically, I would expect to find .DWG or pdfs of those detailing materials and calling out the laminate schedule, etc. I really want to know how thick the skins are (# of laminates, weight, configuration and orientation of glass used), how thick the core is (supposed to be), how thick and dimensions of the back up (plywood) blocking you speak of. I was assuming a set of drawings would answer my questions more efficiently than trolling the internet.

The mahogany tiller is low in the rudder head to the point where it has chafed 3mm +/- of material off itself and is working on the deck. I can see how adding a spacer to the rudder pintles to hold the rudder up in the gudgeons would prevent this, but it has a number of drawbacks. Seems that the pintles should fully engage the gudgeons. I can also see how changing the angle that the tiller exits the rudder head would (help) resolve this but again, it is not a 100% solution.

What am I missing?

Anyone have drawings (as designed) or pictures (real-world) of the rudder/tiller/gudgeon/pintle/aft deck area?

IE. how is this supposed to work?

Thanks for your help.

Rob
 
Don't add spacers, just get a new tiller.

I have yet to see any drawings for the Laser or the lay-up schedule. The boat still is under copyright and you may not see that kind of stuff on the web. I don't think its a secret, when I was at the Laser factory they told me what they used and I just didn't have a reason to remember it.
 
I generally make my own parts. Shop bought is fine, but I can often make something better for much less. Necessity the mother of invention, and all that. I work on boats for a living and have a good imagination and this is part of the fun for me. Shopping and plugging parts in is boring!

Thanks for your responses.
 
There aren't many parts to a Laser. The only after market parts would be the tiller and tiller extension, hiking strap, main sheet block and a few pieces of rope and that's about it.
 
Thanks for the info and time you have taken. I will continue surfing (the web) and sifting through the sites. The pics of boats set up and ready to sail are the best for my case. I just need to see close up to see what's going on and how it's put together.

I just found a trailer and I'm in the midst of compounding and waxing the hull. Perhaps research online is a good excuse to get out of the south Florida heat and into the ac?

Cheers
 
Zippy said:
Thanks for the info and time you have taken. I will continue surfing (the web) and sifting through the sites. The pics of boats set up and ready to sail are the best for my case. I just need to see close up to see what's going on and how it's put together.

I just found a trailer and I'm in the midst of compounding and waxing the hull. Perhaps research online is a good excuse to get out of the south Florida heat and into the ac?

Cheers
Click to expand...

I just bought a boat as well. I'm more of a geek than a sailor, so I'm new at this too. Pictures would certainly help to get set up but it wouldn't hurt to take a sailing course just to learn the ropes before venturing out. That's what I plan to do next month when I have a little more time. I can't wait to get out in my Laser! :)

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