gday from FNQ Australia

gday,
I am a 60 something 90 kilo something aussie male who has fond memories of regularly capsizing Moth back in the 1970’s. A recent foray into sailing was putting a couple of different sized Pacific Action sails on my 5.1m sea kayak, lots of fun but not exactly the sailing fix I was hoping for. Anyway good old Facebook Marketplace feed turned up a 1992 Laser, beach trolley and Standard rig plus 4.7m and Radial rigs with sails for a very good price.

Definitely a fixer-upper with first task to separate the mast from the Radial mast base. Thanks to whoever it was here who wrote up how they winched the sections apart, that was the solution I needed. A loose rivet in the mast connector cap was the culprit. A good excuse to buy a few bits and pieces and swap the mast over.

I need to work out a safe way to load and unload the hull by myself from the roof of my ute, any suggestion?

It will be a few weeks before I finally launch the Laser but until then I will trawl the interweb for lots of great tips.

catch you all later.
 
Hi,

Congratulations on buying your Laser - and on separating the mast!

(I remember those days on my scow Moth too - usually when the boom caught a wave!)

If you look at this thread below, I described how I put my Laser on my car. It might be slightly harder for you, if your roof bars are higher than a standard car. Or it might even be easier if you have a bar right at the back of the ute and no roof overhang to avoid.


Have fun out on the water
 
Hi,

Congratulations on buying your Laser - and on separating the mast!

(I remember those days on my scow Moth too - usually when the boom caught a wave!)

If you look at this thread below, I described how I put my Laser on my car. It might be slightly harder for you, if your roof bars are higher than a standard car. Or it might even be easier if you have a bar right at the back of the ute and no roof overhang to avoid.


Have fun out on the water

Thanks. Yeah my ute is a Mazda Bravo with 14” wheels, nice an low. I had help loading the hull first time around but unloaded it by myself quite safely. Yes there is a bar right at the back of the tray and no roof overhang. The distance between the bars is 2.4 metres. A pretty good setup I think.
 
First mods, fitted gooseneck onto lower mast section (after shearing off the rivets when trying to pull apart the stuck sections). I used 25mm M5 316 stainless steel machine screws.

I put Tefgel wherever stainless steel would been in contact with the aluminium. Man that stuff sticks like the proverbial to a baby’s blanket

I did not have enough patience to use the screw on a stick method to line up the screws with the holes from the inside, what sadist recommended that approach?

Hot glue gun to the rescue! I threaded some brickies twine through a nut and then through the holes from the outside. Lowered the twine through the mast section and then glued the twine to the end the screw. Waited about 30 seconds (yeah right) for the glue to set before drawing the twine and screw out through the hole.

Plenty of cursing when I mightn’t have waited the 30 seconds and the twine and screw parted ways. Otherwise happy days!
 
Nothing like doing some mods/ repairs to help build that feeling of ownership!

While I am waiting for the parts to replace the parts I broke/ destroyed pulling the mast sections apart I am busy watching Youtube videos. Hail to all the nerds who make the time to record and upload their videos!
 
I want to remove about 25mm of the upper mast section where the rivets at the mast connector tore out. It was pretty corroded. There was no upper mast cap, hmm. Anyway I’d already decided to upend the mast.

My question is with it being 25mm shorter, it it reasonably safe just to put the mast collar 25mm lower? In other words the section going in to the lower mast section would be 25mm shorter? Comments? Suggestions?
 
Comments? Suggestions?
I wouldn’t do it. If you’re end-for-ending the spar, the corroded end goes to the top, where it shouldn’t cause any further problems.

(Had to look up what ”FNQ” and ”ute” mean :rolleyes: )

_
 
The corroded end looks a lot like this. Someone suggested getting an end cap turned up that added the extra 25mm.
25mm
B1EBAD36-709E-4A09-98D6-A74CB7E1DADF.jpeg
 
The suggestion was to get an end cap fabricated that added the missing 25mm. Not your regular end cap, something more like a penis extension. That way, my colleague suggested that I have the usual length of top mast section in the lower mast section. Does 25mm really matter? This laser is never going to race so I don’t have to worry about legality.
 
Ok, now I get it. You’d have 25 mm of solid plastic to replace same length of aluminium tube. Might work. I’d still get a new topmast... or just wrap grey tape over the ugly parts :rolleyes:

_
 
All good, the official measurements allow for +/- 5cm for the length of upper mast in the lower mast base, I am well within that.
 
Still waiting on small components that I have bought online. I did find a pair of blocks in my shed that I will use to convert a classic boom vang to a classic 6:1 boom vang like in the photo (not my photo).
 

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the official measurements allow for +/- 5cm for the length of upper mast in the lower mast base, I am well within that.
Actually it's five millimetres :confused:

I did find a pair of blocks in my shed that I will use to convert a classic boom vang to a classic 6:1 boom vang like in the photo
Actually that's an 8:1 :rolleyes: but of course that's even better... a very "90s" setup + the extra blocks. Much smarter than wasting one's money on anything marketed as "XD" or some such.

_
 
Ah now I get it. Maximum upper mast length is 3600mm, nothing about minimum mast length. The 305 +-5mm standard for the length of upper mast in the mast base is to make sure that people aren’t trying to make their above-deck mast height taller, FWIW.

So if I make sure I have 300mm of mast section in the mast base, the overall reduction of total above-deck mast height is only 15mm, I can live with that as a sixty-something fair-weather weekend daytripper. It is all in the context.
 
Pretty much collected everything I need to start getting this dinghy ready for the water. The wait time for deliveries has given me great opportunity to do background reading. The lower gudgeon obscures part of the hull number stamp but what I can see is that the hull is likely from 1980-81.
 
The sail number from the 90’s obviously does not match the hull number. I have to remove a gudgeon to get a clear view of the entire hull number but the first digit is not “1”. The mast fittings, SS gudgeons, wooden grab rails etc are characteristic of an older hull. For the type of money I paid, you get what you paid for.
 
Finally started to reassemble things - small steps. Today it was upper mast cap, mast connector plug and mast plastic sleeve that is after I inverted the mast.

When I bought the boat the upper mast was stuck in the 4.7 lower mast base. The “new mast” is still a tight fit in the 4.7 mast base and a firm fit in the standard lower mast base.

I suspect the 4.7 lower base is slightly out of round. It is however easy enough the pull the mast sections apart after a single sharp rap on the gooseneck with a small rubber mallet (no risk after bolting on the gooseneck with 5mm machine screws).
 
Working on the deck hardware now. Screws on bow eye have pulled out and one screw on the cunningham clam cleat has pulled. Tossing up whether I will through bolt these or fill the holes with epoxy and re-screw. Any tips either way?
 
Unless you already have inspection ports in convenient places, fill the old holes and redrill.
(Sounds like someone actually used the bow eye for towing - it's really not strong enough for that.)

_
 
Wouldn’t know about towing because I haven’t had it on the water yet.

I through bolted the bow eye using M5 SS mushroom head bolts and mudguard washers, it is as solid as anything now.

I used a hot glue gun to fix the drawline to the end of the bolts, it works really well for drawing the bolt up through the holes from below.
 
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I scored a tray style road trailer that I can load the laser with beach dolly onto it. This opens up the possibility of being able to go for a sail without requiring a helper for the loading and unloading. Just like the hull (and me) the trailer needs some work but nothing major or expen$ive
 
I set up a block and tackle for pulling the dolly and hull onto the tray trailer, anything to make it easier on these old bones.
 
Cascade cunningham and 4:1 outhaul mods worked fine also.

I had issues with the daggerboard not stayin up during the beach launches. I have now got some grip tape for the front of the daggerboard case and am waiting on a new daggerboard friction pad.

I am also waiting on a clamcleat for the tiller.

Delivery times impacted by the current COVID situation.
 
Cascade cunningham, twisted lines but you get the picture.
562A24D3-7E03-4F57-BCFD-B8FDA8E7B1D8.jpeg


Primary line from 3mm Single braid Dyneema with a large eye spliced in both ends. Secondary line, 4mm double braid. Two 20mm Ronstan block, works well, cheap as.

Used the design from here
 
Cascade cunningham

Used the design from here
Looks good otherwise, but you probably need to shorten the primary line (so that the blocks and the cunningham eye nearly touch one another at the max loose position) to get enough range of adjustment. I'm not totally sure about the 4.7/4 rig, but on the Radial/6 shown in the WCS video the second floating block will definitely hit the vang tang before there's adequate luff tension.

In fact, because of that no racers have used a double cascade since the early 2000s. Might work on the MkII Standard though, as the cunningham hole doesn't travel as far. But instead of that, everyone seems to be busy with splicing blocks together. Because splicing is fun, isn't it :D

_
 
Looks good otherwise, but you probably need to shorten the primary line (so that the blocks and the cunningham eye nearly touch one another at the max loose position) to get enough range of adjustment.

…everyone seems to be busy with splicing blocks together. Because splicing is fun, isn't it :D
_

Good point. More splicing practise :D
Splicing is so easy with single braid and you can usually get by with just a loop of wire. Splicing with double braid is trickier and may require more specialised tools e,e., fids.

I spliced an eye on my traveler to keep it nice and low in the deck.
 
A few mods and upgrades following my observations from the first sail. I have shortened the tiller so that it just reaches the cockpit. I have shifted the mount for the tiller extension to the end of the tiller. The tiller also has a new clamcleat for the down haul. The daggerboard has a new rear friction pad, some grippy stuff at the front edge of the daggerboard case and mods to the bungee. The trailer also has a new light board.
Looking forward to the next opportunity for a sail.
9799E1D5-2E0F-4EF3-AAB3-BF86D13BD7C4.jpeg
 
gday msandford,
My family and I made the sea change in 2001 to move here to Mission Beach. As you suggested, the scenic natural beauty of this p,ace is sublime. Like every place it has its drawbacks, the climate in particular with its extremely humid Wet Season that may include Tropical Cyclones (aka hurricanes, or typhoons depending on what part of the world you are). Google Mission Beach Cyclone Yasi to see what I mean. It is a remote location meaning access to decent medical care etc i’ve very limited. Would I live anywhere else? No way!
 
gday msandford,
My family and I made the sea change in 2001 to move here to Mission Beach. As you suggested, the scenic natural beauty of this p,ace is sublime. Like every place it has its drawbacks, the climate in particular with its extremely humid Wet Season that may include Tropical Cyclones (aka hurricanes, or typhoons depending on what part of the world you are). Google Mission Beach Cyclone Yasi to see what I mean. It is a remote location meaning access to decent medical care etc i’ve very limited. Would I live anywhere else? No way!
Quit making excuses!!!!
 

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