traveler changes

S

Steven

New Member
While there as been advancement in correcting the many ills of the basic laser design such as the outhaul and vang, why has there never been anything done about the poor and lousy traveler design?

While the Byte system is miles ahead of the Laser design a similar device could be designed to replicate that, I'm sure that it would cost a bit but well worth it.

My question is: why at the least have they not allowed us to move the traveler back 4" as to eliminate that dreaded gybe hooking with the mainsheet. This would save us for the many places lost in a race as we unhook ourselves or right the boat from this basic design error.

This hooking by the mainsheet is the most annoying aspect of the boat next to the unstable (death rolling) downwind.

The cure can be so simple and incurring no cost. Are they asleep at the wheel at the ILCA? This is so basic
 
um the reason is the boat is one design witht the movement of the traveler that means that it would affect the way the rig works. There is also the simple trick of flicking the mainsheet during the gybe to stop this its a "laser specific skill" everyone needs to know+ everyone else has the same problem because they are sailing the same boat so the one design aspect that the best sailor wins no the money or design is proven!
 
mmm, i flick the mainsheet in every boat i sail, incl laser's, mmm, never caught on the stern, its when i dont do it that it catches, but i always do it so it never catches. i have no problems with the laser traveller, it must be a minority that do have trouble with it, cause i've hardly ever heard of people complaining about it.
 
no i mean after you flicked it once to get the main ova as it is coming ova flick the mainsheet again to take the slack
 
I find that if the main sheet is ladden with water it is hard to do the flick.

I still don't accept the one design response... a bad design is a bad design and other one design boats do no use this archaic design.

I see experienced sailors occassionally hook.
 
Steven said:
I still don't accept the one design response... a bad design is a bad design and other one design boats do no use this archaic design.
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It's ultimately a matter of compromise. The more changes we make, the more we move away from the one design ethos and the more expensive and less uniform the boat becomes. In some cases the need for a change is so obvious that we can bite the bullet (kicker, cunningham and outhaul systems). In other cases, if the benefit from a change is minimal, then we have to put up with some minor irritants to keep the one design benefits. In fairness, I think most people would agree that the mainsheet catching is rare for experienced sailors (though very annoying when it does happen).

When we eventually move to a fully battened, carbon fibre, trapezing, gennaker, high performance replacement for the laser, you can be sure that (if it's one design) it'll have its own minor irritants to complain about!
 
Steven said:
I find that if the main sheet is ladden with water it is hard to do the flick.

I still don't accept the one design response... a bad design is a bad design and other one design boats do no use this archaic design.

I see experienced sailors occassionally hook.
Click to expand...

If you have a mainsheet that absorbs water you may need to get a new mainsheet like rooster that doesn't absorb water and sinks. If you pull in the mainsheet more than you need to, you should be fine. Being able to not snag the mainsheet is one of the tricks you need to know when you sail a laser (one of the first you need to know as well).
 
many people feel the same way when there learning but anyone who is skilled at laser sailing wont get it hooked by rolling their gybes and tacks or it takes them very little time at all to fix this problem.
stop complaining and get out and sail it, the more you sit on your computer complaining about irrelivent things the more nothings gonna change with your sailing
 
What a snippy reply by Teeftie...did you have one too many death rolls and capsize to windward on the weekend??.

FYI I've been sailing lasers for 14 years (L and L2) so I do know what I am doing. L2 does not have as much of this problem as the traveler is far enough forward. Like I said earlier a bad design is a bad design eventhough we know how to cope with it

By the way Teeftie your quote "many people feel the same way when there learning" makes no sense. There and they're mean 2 complete different things, 'there' as in over there, a place, towards etc (adjective); 'they're' means they are, a possesive (pronoun)
 
Don't worry Steven, a lot of people have the same problems with the traveller. But it's just something that you have to get use to, there are a lot of threads that give good tips on how to prevent the main-sheet from getting hooked. I don't think that it's a major design flaw, it is probably in the existing position so that it is inline with the boom.
As for they're and there, I've noticed this a lot lately.. I've even noticed people confusing we're and where.
 
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