Too Heavy too hike ???

R

randor

New Member
Hi,

I am new to Laser sailing. I am 6'3" and 220 lbs. I am in a class right now and when wind allows my instructor tells me to hike. As soon as my butt goes over the edge of the boat thats it, game over. The boat comes down on top of me. :mad:
Am I too heavy to sail Lasers?
Am I doing something wrong?
When I lean out it seems to be enough to flatten the boat. Do you have to hike?
When I am not in the water I love the speed and feel of the Laser.
Is it hopeless?
 
i just started, am 6'4" and 104kg (trying to lose some), i was out in 10mph wind yesterday and did plenty of hiking
 
I'm 230 lbs (and a bit... :( ) and yesterday I was hiked out all the way with my vang on full and the sheet eased out quite a bit...
So, you're not too heavy to sail a Laser (perhaps too heavy to be competative at the highest levels, but that's another discussion).

The idea is to keep the boat flat.
If sitting out a little is all that you need to do for some wind strength, then that's all you need to do. For me, somewhere around 10 kn I start to hike, and by 12-15 I'm hiking most of the time. Yesterday was 15-20+ and I couldn't hike enough in the puffs.

BTW, capsizing to windward happens... (esp. in shiffty, gusty winds). I almost did it a couple of times sailing back to the landing yesterday when I got into a sheltered area with mostly near-calm, but occasional 10-20 kn puffs that came ripping over the trees and down onto the water.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 
great question- I have the same problem (plus as a newbie). I find I have to squat in the middle of the boat to keep it level in light air- very difficult. Anyone have other ideas for us heavyweights- what is a comfortable position for light air without tipping over?
Thanks.
 
i aint as heavy as you guy but upwind i actually sit in front of the mainsheet on the deck and put my legs over the centreboard (when its down) and sit as close to the centre of the boats as i can. leaning in or out using the weight of my torso (upperbody - shuolders) to balance the boat and keep it flat! let the boat sial free and fast dont try and pinch too much. by sitting forwards u get the transom out the water and reduce the drag. i was taught in the topper to heal the boat to leward when going upwind but this isnt suitable for the laser cos it doesnt reduce the drag like it did in the topper.
Reaching you still want to keep the boat as flat as you can and i still sit well forward to get the trasom out he water, i suppose its easier for you heavyweights (if you dont mind me calling you that) if u lean your wait upon the daggerboard when its up and keep the boat flat.
Downwind in light airs dont worry bout the windward heel! thats wat really sorts out the winners from the loosers in light air i find, i heal the boat so far over to windward that if i move an inch it will come over on top of me but it works cos you have a larger sail area higher in the air where the wind is faster and stronger cos there is no friction between the wind and water! centreboard really does need to be completely up to do this but put it down slightly when gybing so u dont drift too much!
This is how top sail fast in lightwinds and it really does work but for heavyweights you really have to sort it out, using these principals, for yourself. Legal pumping on the reaching will help as well! but remember one pump per wave!
 
sailfast2004 said:
Anyone have other ideas for us heavyweights- what is a comfortable position for light air without tipping over?
Click to expand...
My observation is the comfort does not enter the equation ;)
I'm usually happy if I can feel my feet and legs after a light air race.

In light, but not drifting conditions, upwind I usually find that squatting in the cockpit and leaning forward just to the high-side of the mainsheet block is the best I can do and still have any ability to respond to a puff. I sort of curl-up around the mainsheet block. I can keep some leeward heel on the boat to keep the sail full. Downwind it's not much different, but without the boom it's easier to kneel next to the centerboard and lean forward. I have my mainsheet set so the boom goes just past 90 degrees from the boat, so I can heel to windward and gravity will keep the boom out. I tend to sail by-the-lee almost all the time downwind in very light air (I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but it seems to improve my speed over other boats in my local fleet).

Once you get into drifting conditions I'll move onto the deck forward of the daggerboard. It's more comfortable than in the cockpit, but it's hard to do much but sit very quietly (which is just what you want to be doing in drifting conditions). Tacking is tough, but doable. Roll tacking is a real thrill, because it seems that I get caught on *something* just when I want to flatten the boat down after the tack and come close to capsizing...

I attached a photo from a recent regatta. I'm not sure if I had just come out of a gybe (the mainsheet is around the transom), or if this was in the pre-start. You can see the mainsheet coming up from the deck and going under my arm. I'm sort of all crouched down over the centerboard (ouch!). The transom is not lifted very clear of the water, so I probably should be further forward (I spent almost all of this race just behind the mast, except for the first bit of the first upwind leg and downwind when I found a puff). On the positive side, the leeward telltale is streaming back (a critical - IMHO - thing on light air days).

Cheers,

Geoff S.
145234
 

Attachments

  • 103_0355.jpg
    103_0355.jpg
    70.3 KB · Views: 67
thanks- the light air tips are very helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(certainly not comfortable but at least you don't fall over the side that way and you can keep racing) :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top