Ronstan ClearStart Sailing Watch

S

ssundell

New Member
I am looking for the Ronstan ClearStart Sailing Watch (2004 Blue/Black version) at a good price (including shipping), do you have any good advice?

Regards
Stefan (Stockholm/Sweden)
 
when i was looking at sailing watches, i was advised not to buy a ronstan watch because they are waaaaaaay to easy to break. my mate who advised me sails on a Sydney38, & out of the 5 crew who were using them, all 5 of the watches were broken by the end of the day, i have looked at a friends one, & to me, the lens is not thick enough. i brought a casio seapath finder, it has heaps of stuff on it, which i use, the lens is heaps thicker, & the buttons are just the right size, now if only i hadn't worn it whilst workin at a boat builders, i wouldn't have such a bad watch cause now i can't change the time, which kinda sucks very much.
 
yachtie2k4 said:
... i brought a casio seapath finder, it has heaps of stuff on it, which i use,...
Click to expand...
yachtie2k4:
I also have a "Sea-Pathfinder" from Casio. My Comment: Great watch for day/night-cruising-Laserites, but if you (like me) have the electronic-compass in that watch, you get problems with the jury, if you race with it. Electronic compasses (in watches or mounted on the deck) are not classlegal the Laserclass. Another problem I have with this watch: I often wear a drysuit and the watch is at my left arm. often the button of the barometer is attached, because (with out my special will) the backside of my hand comes to close to the barometer-button. I tried to turn the watch to the underside of that arm, but then the button was also somehow attached.... :( I have no solution for that in the moment.
Cheers
LooserLu
 
no i dont have the one with the compass, i wear my watch on my right arm cause i learnt this off Arthur Brett, who has been a world champion in many classes, i find it easier to press buttons for when the gun goes. but the watch would be better if i hadn't got resin on it.
 
yachtie2k4 said:
no i dont have the one with the compass, i wear my watch on my right arm cause i learnt this off Arthur Brett, who has been a world champion in many classes, i find it easier to press buttons for when the gun goes. but the watch would be better if i hadn't got resin on it.
Click to expand...

yachtie2k4 is right, there are several modells from Casio that are called SEAPathfinder. Some are very expensive because of their funtionallity and some has only some few goodies in.

Make sure that no e-compass is in your watch and the (Laser-)racing-jury makes no trouble. It can be that some pro´s like it to wear the watch right. Although I´m lefthander and also tried to use ther watch on the right hand, for me the left hand is more comfortable in reason of habit of wearing a watch on the left arm.
I personally think the Ronstan Clearstart is a bit to big and it could be that on the windward legs this mega-wacht disturb a free handing of the armes.

Also: drLaser has some advices for racing-watches, although this articles is already a bit old, in reason of the technical innovation at watches in the past few years. But the basic intentions of his reports are right until today, I agree.
Ciao
LooserLu
 
Hi Stefan,
yes I have the big one ;-) A "SPF -40- 1VGR" (1VGR is an older modell but it is nearly the newer "-2VER"). This watch is not Laserclasslegal.

You know, I´m also sailing bigboats as skipper (at Northsea from Bremen up to Norway-Christiansand) and at East-Sea thru the Belt to your lovely stony coast that is called in German "Schären" in the north of Göteborg :) - with "pitstop at the lovely tiny island "Anholt" - way back thru the Öeresund, Malmoe back to Kiel ;-)
I (we) did this way back arready complete under Spinnaker on X99-Yacht in heavy winds whow that was a fast-reach...

Sverige aer bra! (For the others:This is Swedish and means Sweden is good/nice)
Skol/Cheers
Ludwig
 
mount the Clear Start on the inspection port cover beside the dagger board, highly visible, out of the way and on the starboard side which is perfect for starting the race.

Other members have mounted on the boom and also on the lower part of the mast.

Best feature of the watch is the synch botton which allows you to synch the count down with the guns if you were a few seconds of the first gun
 
Hi Ludwig
Thanks answering my questions so quickly. I find laserforum.org very interesting source for me to get into Laser sailing.

After 13 years of competitions in international road cycling, I have finally found a new sport that gets 100% of my interest.

I bought my Laser last year as a complement to a cruiser called Albin Cumulus. In future, I would of course also be able to buy myself a nice X-Yacht.

I did a few races this summer, but next year I hope to be able to take a step further on the competition arenas.

Next time you are cruising with your X-99, take a ride to the Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

http://www.gotland.info/tysk/index.htm

http://www.gotland.se/imcms/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=9646

The Stockholm and Finnish archipelago is also very nice place to sail, even if it very tricky from a navigation point of view.

http://www.dess.se/tyindex.htm

www.ksss.se

Regards
Stefan
 
Hi Stefan, thanks. For all from overseas, I everyone only can say visit northern Europe, its very nice there (the ohter, from Europe already know). Since USSR has broken down, the shoreside of Polland, the Baltic-States and Finnland are a hot target for cruising sailors. Also Swedish coast and the Islands, but the Stockholm and Finnish archipelago are really charming. I´ve I would have had more time I would have visited all the places already. Well, Stefan, I don´t own a X-99, I´m only skipper sometimes. The owner is a charter-Inc. I couldn´t even pay a "cheap"-new-silly-tiny Laser... ;), but renting and cruising around some times with an X-99 is fun pure.
But let us get back to your question. I have some problems with the paces you imagined to place the Ronstan. In my opinion, the centerboard trunk is not the best place for the watch. During the sailing, there are sometimes situations you need to step to the centerboard trunk with your knees etc. The watch could be damaged. The boom could go, but if you have to do a quick tack in the starting-sequence and the watch is on the wrong side you have to care for her and not, as you should, for the starting - this can disturb you while being concentrated for start-tactic. And the watch can get lost in the stormy-race, if mounted to the boom.
Could it be that, the Ronstan watch is the same like the Regatta-Watch "Optimum Time", that is sold here in Germany often (90 Euro)? http://www.layline-berlin.de/product_info.php?cPath=44_69&products_id=53

I´ve searched now for other practical watches than already named above in this thread, that also have bigger numbers, but are not as big as the Ronstan ClearStart:

Musto COMPETITION WATCH AS0020
http://www.musto.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=691
(100 Euro)


Musto Stainless Steel Competition Watch AS0550
http://www.musto.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1494
(140 Euro)

If I would be an owner of a X-99-Yacht, Stefan, then I probably would have also the money for a Henrilloyd-drysuit and a "real" racing-watch: "Memosail" from Switzerland... :D
http://www.m-lewandowski.de/ms_dpqurz.htm
Memosail has also a "cheap"-regatta-watch: the Memosail_fun-tpye Modell called "Memopsurf" (170 Euro)
http://www.laserforum.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=79&stc=1
This watch works like that / Explanation how Memosail works (in language Netherlands):

http://www.memotime.nl/_new/memosail/index.htm

Go to button “memosail” and then to “[Werking]”
and you see how memosail watches work in general:

1. 10-min-shot: push button “(A)”
The sheave in the watch starts to turn. Every minute left, the points in blue in the watch get less and the points in “red” in the get more.
2. 5-min-shot: the colour of the sheave changes from “blue/red” to “white/red”. Means:. Every minute left, the points in red in the watch get less and the points in “white” in the get more.
3. 1-min-shot only one red Point to see. The last minute-time is to read at the little pointer-counter in the w atch.

When I was a young-racer, I had a Memosail-regatta-chonometer:
http://www.laserforum.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=80&stc=1

This watch was one of the best I ever had, but I lost her in at the campus of the university where I´ve studied (grrr). On the sheave in th 2nd level stands stat and when you te this in full the last Minute is on. This Minute has a thin, big, red sec.-pointer. The price was about 70 Euro in that times (now the worth is 300 to 700 Euro, because this few-produced auto-mechanical-watch went out of production 20 years ago). Advantage: Easy and precise to handle and didn´t disturb in the athletics of racing. Disadvantage: The glass was made of plastic every season it had to be changed in reason of the scratches on the surface.
Ciao
Ludwig
 

Attachments

  • memosail-memosurf_fun.jpg
    memosail-memosurf_fun.jpg
    94.6 KB · Views: 38
  • Memosail-regatta-chornograph.jpg
    Memosail-regatta-chornograph.jpg
    10.8 KB · Views: 41
Ludwig,

I still have my Memosail - what a great watch! I used to wear it everyday, and have had the crystal changed many times, too.

I don't wear it anymore - I would hate to lose it or damage it.

I sure wish they still made them - so much better than the electronic models of today.
 
I have looked at the Ronstan ClearStart Sailing Watch and I am sure that it is the same as the Optima watch @ http://www.roostersailing.com/merch...re_Code=1&Product_Code=swo&Category_Code=lrcs. I was told by another stockist of this watch that they had to send 6 out of 10 back because they leaked or broke. However since then the manufacturers have assured them that the problem is now solved...If you are based in the UK and are interested in the Musto AS0020_CompWatch they are on offer at the moment at http://www.sailboats.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=AS0020
 
I never have any problem wearing the Ronstan Clear Start on my arm... but agree, the old model leaked and died ( I had 2) and the new model I had one so far for a season and still good, but one for my daughter lasted 6 weeks. Ronstan replace them, no questions, but it is inconvenient...
 
ive lost one off my arm before.

it now lives safely on my mast :)

to keep them sealed, try putting some vaseline around the seals on the side for some extra protection, it saved my leaking/screwed old one for a few races until i did a deathroll in 30knots and literally forced water into it by the speed i was travelling
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top