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    Homemade Tiller

    I have made several, partly because kids like to leave them on the dock after an afternoon of sailing. For materials it depends on what's local. Here in the US Southwest, I find wood or aluminum hockey sticks for the tiller, and graphite or carbon fiber golf club shafts for the extension, all...
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    Looking at a mid 90s Laser 2... would appreciate opinions (pictures)

    Ryan you will get several sets of opinions here, from "Run the Other Way" to "She's a Beaut." For me, the best way to learn is with low-cost stuff that will introduce you to the most common sailing dilemmas regarding hardware, as in: Do I fix or replace? Get the thing on the water (safely) and...
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    How to transport a laser???

    With mine on a trailer it makes it easier to: loan it to a friend (!), move it from the yard to the garage and back, show neighborhood kids how it all works, and most importantly it's the only way to transport more than one Laser which is a problem I hope to have soon.
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    Why did you choose sailing over a Powerboat?

    I spent a winter rebuilding a jet ski and once on the water got bored within an hour. Then I got an old Laser and don't think I'll touch the PWC again. Sail and paddle power are the only things allowed on the lakes closest to me.
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    Advice to Newbs - Lessons learned from first sail

    Nearly my first sail, as I have about eight hours on the Laser on a puddle here in the desert, half of which had my kids at the helm. We made a short tiller so one could sit on the stern deck and steer, I was in the cockpit, and another on the bow in front of the mast. So I saw a high wind...
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    Grab rail repairs

    I drilled a 1/4" hole about 1/2 inch deep and inserted a wooden dowel coated in 3M 5200, then cut if off flush and redrilled the holes. My boat has a plywood backer, but I think others may have just the fiberglass.
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    The Joy of Laser Sailing

    My current joy is not capsizing the other way when I manage to get back in. Were it not for the 9 ft deep sailing puddle I'd turtle. I'd love to actually turtle, as I'd not have to clean the mud off the mast top. Joy is...joy.
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    Installing a new hiking strap. Need help.

    I laughed for an hour and cried for two after reading that list.
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    My first Laser

    I bought the large block for something like $11 and a couple $$ for shipping, there is one on ebay right now. The sides are plastic, and I think the original was aluminum.
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    Blade bags???

    I'll take the low-budget approach. My 1974 came to me with an original light green canvas bag in perfect condition. I keep that safe at home and lug everything in a Coleman 48" duffel. I bought a roll of 1/2" thick foam that Walmart sells as a camping mattress for $8 to line the bottom and...
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    1974 Hull - bubbling issue

    Cheers to fellow '74 owners. I grabbed my vintage lass a month ago, complete with wood blades but a brand new sail, though it turns out to have a crummy paint job on both the bottom and the deck. It was tough, but I needed to make myself not care. Rather than spend time and money on the hull...
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    Uses of Grab rails

    I found out today that my grab rails are actually there to hold the PFD disruption screws. PFD disruption screws are designed to abrade and eventually tear right through any fabric they touch, including safety equipment like the nylon-covered safety panels in most life jackets. To work...
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    1974 hull with too-tight sleeve on new sail?

    There are no markings on it at all, no red dot, no numbers, nothing I could see. It otherwise seems (to me) to be the right size: three battens, the foot ends up six inches or so above the gooseneck with the cunningham snug, the clew grommet about eight inches from the end of the boom with the...
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    1974 hull with too-tight sleeve on new sail?

    I learned on a Laser one summer 30 years ago and would like to get back into it with my kids. I picked up an old 1974 one here in Phoenix which is complete with old rigging, wood rudder and board, but new lines and a never-used sail. Mast step had been reinforced at some point. I dry fitted...

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