Boom Preventer

R

Ross B

Guest
Has a boom preventer ever been thought of for the Laser, or been discussed with ILCA, kind of like the preventer for Finns, and Force 5s? Just take it through the bow eye, and to the boom block saddle, and tie it back on to itself again, and maybe use a bungee loop at the boom vang fitting to keep it close, like on old Vanguard Finns. I think it would be a decent idea, certinly wouldent hurt the boat, but would make DW easier in light air, which God knows can be mind numbing enough
 
Once again it was Peter Seidenberg who said it best in a Jan/06 interview recommending, among other things, a no-cost simple change that the class should adopt (the "JC strap"):

"Evolution won't stop, though, and improvements will come in small steps. Anything that makes sailing the Laser easier, safer and more fun should be welcomed and embraced by the Class. I have sailed the boat for 33 years now and have seen numerous improvements. I would still like to see more. For instance, there should be 2 loops at the end of the hiking strap, one for the adjuster and one for the shock cord. Both in the same loop bind each other. There should be a "JC Strap", like on the Finn, that holds the boom forward in light air down-wind sailing. When the boom was allowed to carry a sleeve to prevent bending and breaking, the upper mast should have received the same. The Class failed there. It took only half a step. All talk of a so-called carbon fiber mast should be terminated in favor of a sleeve. It would be an instant and inexpensive solution to the bending and breaking problem. Another change I'd like to see is the introduction of unlimited kinetics in winds exceeding 15 mph similar to the Finn and 470 classes. It would be tremendous fun to sail the Laser to its potential. It is ridiculous to restrict the sailor to steering only and one pump per wave. In Fortaleza, sailors were flagged in 6' waves and 20 + knots of wind! Those are the changes I'd like to see short-term."
 
those are quick and cheap changes, aside from kinetics, everyone can do them, and they dont effect your performance! they need to be adopted!
 
i remember hearing about the twin loops for the hiking straps, thats a no brainer, and they do bind up! i find it hard to adjust my hiking strap because my bungee pushes against it, why cant these simple things be changed???!! they must be changed!!
 
im confused about the boom preventer idea, please elaborate

I think what he's describing is a piece of shock cord which keeps the boom out at 90 degrees when running downwind in light air. I rigged one up when I briefly had a Europe dinghy, and it worked very well.

Basically you tie the shock cord somewhere along the mid-point of the boom (mostly likely at the block for the mainsheet), feed it foward to a block attached to the bow-eye, then back to the other side of the boom.

When sailing upwind, the whole rig stays on the centerline out of the way. When sailing downwind, the shock cord on the lee side keeps the boom at 90 degrees. You don't have to physically push the boom out or keep it there. You can concentrate on more important things, like looking for wind and heeling the boat. The boom just stays out like it should.

Actually the preventer may interfere some with the vang, but I'm sure something could be worked out.
 
exactly

im racing this weekend, im gonna rig it and see how it works, but i wont sail with it...

has anyone else tried it before?? does anyone have any opinions on this? I think we need to start a movement and get this and hte other things mentioned earlier to be added to the rules!
 
The JC strap (named after it's inventor, the same John Christianson who also designed the new clew strap fitting) won't interfere with the vang since the mast rotates, just like the Finn mast. We've played around with them in Lasers, there isn't even a need for a block at the bow, you can run the shock cord thru the bow eye. (Finns don't have a bow eye, that's the reason they use a block at the bow)

So, all you really need to add is a couple of dollars worth of shock cord.

Place to start to see what it takes to get this approved is to first find out if it's being considered already - Tracy U may be able to tell us if it's come up for discussion by the WC and if not, what the steps to get it in front of them are...
 
good call, we should talk to tracy!

I might not need a block at hte bow eye, but its a good idea, less friction! your tie the ends off at the boom block bail, and have it run through a block at the bow eye so its not intefering with the centerboard bungee
 
We tried with and w/o a block, could not see a difference, no issues with daggerboard shockcord w/o the block. We didn't long term test to tell how the bow eye would wear over time.

KISS

The class seems to live by it...

(plus it helps avoid additional weight in the ends. not matter how small)
 
yea but there is no need for the centerboard bungee to rotate, the boom preventer would as the mas/boom rotates, the bungeee would rotate, and i think the block would help avoid wear on the bow eye, and the weight isent that much of an issue, its less than that off the required bowline for some races
 
I guess I wasn't clear when I said no issues with the daggerboard bungee. I meant that having the both the JC and the daggerboard running thru the eye did not cause the JC bungee to bind up as it moved thru the eye.... But you'll discover this yourself if you try it rigged both ways...

FWIW, There are other places where reducing friction would actually be worthwhile, such as on the outhaul control line at the boom eye and the class has been reluctant to allow a block there.
 
this is true, and i understand exactly what you mean, but for something that moves as much as the mast/boom, i would want a block on the preventer
 
Very Nice!!!

try it out on your next sail, and tell us what you think!
 
I have used a JC strap on every boat I've sailed that will allow it. It is automatic, non invasive, cheap. My A-Cat and Taipan cats had complicated systems for rotating the mast and boom on off-wind legs, I exchanged for a JC strap; now that is becoming common. On the Moth, IC, etc, I never found it necessary to use a pulley. Oh, on a Laser there may be some wear on the bow eye ....after a decade or so of sailing.
181281
 
Dear Sailwriter,
I thought you might be interested in some history of the JC Strap. I invented
it during the time I was sailing the Finn and displayed it at the USA Finn
trials for the Pan American Games, which were to be held at Winnipeg, Canada
Our trials were held on Lake Minnetonka, in Minneapolis and the exact date
escapes me,although I think it was 1971. When other sailors saw it, they
wanted it and went nuts trying to find shock cord to jury rig one for themselves. But it blew hard and was not needed. I still remember chuckling,
in my back yard in Milwaukee, when I saw how it automatically pulled out the
boom when the boom was moved off amidships. Bob Norton hung the name
on it and it stuck. The JC Strap has been in all the Olympic Games since
Montreal in 1976 and possibly, and I'm not sure, from Munich,in 1972. Some
consideration was given to it for Laser a while back but it was rejected.It is
dead simple and would fit nicely on Laser and would eliminate the slow death
we endure as we contort our bodies to hold the boom out in light wind.It is
my baby but I appreciate holding our one design discipline. John Christianson
 
Yes, the innovative, simple method of holding the boom out on the Finn was one of the first things that showed John Christenson to be an innovator in our sport. (I still miss the original Finn Class Newletter, irreverant as it was.) Briggs Cunningham and the Barber brothers may be more well known for the names attached to their now-common gadgets. What about the Shimon Van Colie (sp) roll? You know, riding the board under the boat when recovering from a flip to windward. But JC has continued to add to the sport. But then I am so old, closer to GGM than the beginning of Grand Master, that I have met these guys. Even sailed with Briggs to Catalina, 1969. Few classes that refuse all innovation stay popular. The Laser has made many little changes. Hey, we didn't tie the clew to the boom at all at first. If the JC strap is not allowed, no big deal. But it would have been nice.
Dave Ellis
 
thats funny, I dident know that


so what routes do we have to take to get this approved?
 
I have read this thread with interest, but I don't have a clear picture of the JC Strap in my mind. I understand it is a bungee cord attached to the boom and led to the bow eye, with or without a turning block. So, how does it work when one gybes, where does it go when the boat is going upwind, what happens with it when one tacks? I assume there are simple answers to these questions, but I would appreciate a more thorough description.
 
i doesent "go" anywhere, like your sail inhaul, and centerboard bungee, it would just stay tight
 
What about gybing? The bungee has to be on one side of the mast or the other, so how does the sail turn through a gybe with a bungee cord attached to it. It seems that the bungee would then go from the bow around the mast to the boom, trying to pull the boom back to the original gybe. How is it rigged to accommodate both gybes and the gybe itself?
 
its runs along both sides of the boom

look at the earlier pictures of the finns with it

i will try to find more
 
Merrily, at the very beginning of Laser sailing the outhaul was the only attachment back there at the clew. Did not take long to add the clew tie-down line.
 
glad I could help, and hopefully spark the idea inside you have adding it to the rules
 
does anyone have any argument against the JC Strap??

come on guys, lets hear everything you have to say about it!!

we need to get people talking about these changes!!
 

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