Laser 2 repair/rehab/replace questions

JPop

New Member
Hey there friends,
I bought a very old Laser 2 last year and have slowly watched the parts disintegrate. I don't know the year, but I know it has the screw hatch only on the transom (not on the bulkhead), the main halyard enters the mast on the lower portion, no spinnaker launch tube, and both halyards are wire/rope. I've poked around here looking for answers but can't find answers to the questions below. Thanks to whomever posted years ago about Super Chute and Andersen bailers, I at least replaced the leaking bailer! Plus thanks to you all I fixed the wrongly threaded rudder downhaul... which unfortunately is already frayed but that's a problem for another day.

Questions:
The tiller is wood and very flexible. I'd love to replace it but I'm not sure what factory length on it is. If you were replacing the tiller, would you go for a Laser tiller? Is it substantively shorter? Any other one designs that might fit?
I want to replace the halyards. Is it possible/advisable to replace the wire/rope ones with all good rope?
The previous owner gave me a chute but no rigging whatsoever for it - he "lost" the pole and there are no sheets/halyard/etc. Did the older Laser 2s have a combined jib/spinnaker halyard? Or were they separate? I don't seem to have any rigging for a halyard, but I have all the other hardware.
I'm used to trap wires that have some kind of basic attachment to the deck so that if they get loose they don't go whipping around. This boat doesn't have anything like that. Has anyone figured out a rigging solution to somehow bungee the trap wires on to the deck when not being used?
The only cleat for the jib halyard

Thanks for any help!
 
I bought a very old Laser 2 last year ... I don't know the year
Ok, what does the embossed code on the transom say?

Thanks to whomever posted years ago about Super Chute and Andersen bailers
You're welcome ;)

The tiller is wood and very flexible. I'd love to replace it but I'm not sure what factory length on it is. If you were replacing the tiller, would you go for a Laser tiller? Is it substantively shorter? Any other one designs that might fit?
I would get a "Gorilla" Laser tiller. It 's about 1 metre long overall, and should fit the Laser 2 rudder head. I don't think any other classes' tillers fit there without heavy modification.

I want to replace the halyards. Is it possible/advisable to replace the wire/rope ones with all good rope?
The main halyard was all-rope in later North American boats. The question is, how wide is your sheave at the mast top? It was intended for wire and may not be wide enough for rope.
The load-bearing part of the jib halyard should be wire, as it tensions the whole rig. What kind of cleating/locking system do you have?

The previous owner gave me a chute but no rigging whatsoever for it - he "lost" the pole and there are no sheets/halyard/etc. Did the older Laser 2s have a combined jib/spinnaker halyard? Or were they separate? I don't seem to have any rigging for a halyard, but I have all the other hardware.
Such a thing as a combined halyard... just doesn't exist :confused: There should be an exit block for the spinnaker halyard (or at least a hole for it) near the top ends of the diamond wires, and an exit hole below the gooseneck. The North American boats had the cleat (a "Lance cleat" by RWO) on the mast.

I'm used to trap wires that have some kind of basic attachment to the deck so that if they get loose they don't go whipping around. This boat doesn't have anything like that. Has anyone figured out a rigging solution to somehow bungee the trap wires on to the deck when not being used?
The standard setup should include fairleads on the "sloping" part of the deck, and a cheek block on the foredeck close to the stem, for the takeup elastic.

The only cleat for the jib halyard
Yes, what about it...?


Pictures please (or better yet, video) :)

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Ok, what does the embossed code on the transom say?

You're welcome ;)

I would get a "Gorilla" Laser tiller. It 's about 1 metre long overall, and should fit the Laser 2 rudder head. I don't think any other classes' tillers fit there without heavy modification.

The main halyard was all-rope in later North American boats. The question is, how wide is your sheave at the mast top? It was intended for wire and may not be wide enough for rope.
The load-bearing part of the jib halyard should be wire, as it tensions the whole rig. What kind of cleating/locking system do you have?

Such a thing as a combined halyard... just doesn't exist :confused: There should be an exit block for the spinnaker halyard (or at least a hole for it) near the top ends of the diamond wires, and an exit hole below the gooseneck. The North American boats had the cleat (a "Lance cleat" by RWO) on the mast.

The standard setup should include fairleads on the "sloping" part of the deck, and a cheek block on the foredeck close to the stem, for the takeup elastic.

Yes, what about it...?

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THANK YOU for all of this! (Yes, we did have a "combined" halyard on some dinghy I sailed in the 80s-90s... ugh, what was it?)
I'll check that sheave at the mast top. What you say makes sense, of course!

The cleating/locking system is what I started writing about but hit return or something... The only halyard cleating I have is the main halyard cleat. Right now I just put both halyards on it. The previous owner seems to have used the camcleat labeled as "pole uphaul" on this diagram as the jib cleat, but that obviously won't hold. I think the image I need is on the mythical page 7 of that manual. Seems I'm missing some hardware?

I see from this manual that there was shock cord involved in the trapeze setup; I have those two fairleads. Too bad the instructions don't include what to do with the shock cord after putting it through the fairlead! Might you know? Says it's on an insert... I see this, would you agree that this one is correct? It says here that I'll need 15' of 3/16" shock cord. I'll order that now! (I don't have a "sloping" part of the deck in my old boat! :rolleyes:

I really appreciate your expertise. I'm trying to use google to not ask questions that I can find answers to myself, but there seem to be so many versions of Laser 2 and whomever sailed this boat last was a little creative.
 
The only halyard cleating I have is the main halyard cleat. Right now I just put both halyards on it. The previous owner seems to have used the camcleat labeled as "pole uphaul" on this diagram as the jib cleat, but that obviously won't hold. I think the image I need is on the mythical page 7 of that manual. Seems I'm missing some hardware?
The jib halyard cleat/lock/rack should be strong enough to take all the rig load it's supposed to. Sounds like what you have is pretty weak (or nonexistent). Pictures and/or video of the hounds area (around the shroud attachment point) and what's below the gooseneck would help a lot!

I see from this manual that there was shock cord involved in the trapeze setup; I have those two fairleads. Too bad the instructions don't include what to do with the shock cord after putting it through the fairlead! Might you know? ... It says here that I'll need 15' of 3/16" shock cord. I'll order that now! (I don't have a "sloping" part of the deck in my old boat! :rolleyes:
With "slope" I meant the part of the side deck between the horizontal and vertical parts :rolleyes: But if you already have the fairleads in place, never mind.
The longer the elastic is, the better it works (you can't buy too much of it). The standard fit-out had a cheek block right behind the stemhead fitting. If you have an athwartships jib track (or no track at all), then it's good to use an extra fairlead in front of the mast to steer the elastic clear of the jib leads. Any makes will do, but the "classic" fittings were the RWO R1650 and Allen A4152:

21832-367323.jpg
allen-bullseye-fairlead-with-ss-liner-13mm-a4152-2-pack-3001553-0-1389728562000.jpg


there seem to be so many versions of Laser 2 and whomever sailed this boat last was a little creative.
Yes. The halyard equipment changed several times, and were different on different builders' masts. And of course, the older the boat, the higher the chance that some owner along the way was clueless "creative" :confused: :D

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Thanks so much! My boat is on drydock - I'll go down and get some photo/video over our long weekend. I do think whatever is supposed to secure the jib halyard is just plain old not there.

Pretty stoked that I just got a new tiller, some shockcord, and some other bits. Gonna make this all better! Really appreciate you.
 
Ok, just rigged the shock cord and it seems to be way too long. By several feet. I am used to the 470 trap system and this all seems pretty clunky!

We have the jib halyard hook. The wire loop attached to the rope tail is a good 3" short of getting there even when the sail is fully hoisted. We also find that after locking in the halyard the sail is still slack and we need to take another 2-3" in to fully hoist. Old bagged out sail maybe? Or stretched halyard?

And we definitely have a full chute setup but the halyard is absent. Would a rigging place be able to re-run that halyard through the mast? Or is it just a lost cause?

Also-- can't find a boat number on transom or in cockpit. Apparently it is just boat #X. No sail numbers on the main either.

This boat is so very sailing appropriate, i.e. a quixotic money pit!
 
Ok, just rigged the shock cord and it seems to be way too long. By several feet. I am used to the 470 trap system and this all seems pretty clunky!
Well, just cut off the extra :D But seriously, did you run it (almost) all the way to the bow as I recommended?

(By the way: I only now realized that you had linked to the "Caution Water" site. They may get a thing or two right purely by chance, but as a rule of thumb, NEVER look there for Laser 2 advice. It's written by complete hacks.)

We have the jib halyard hook. The wire loop attached to the rope tail is a good 3" short of getting there even when the sail is fully hoisted.
Do you mean a plastic hook near the mast foot? The wire connects to that with a short elastic loop attached to the wire; it's just to keep the slack part of the wire in place.

after locking in the halyard the sail is still slack and we need to take another 2-3" in to fully hoist. Old bagged out sail maybe? Or stretched halyard?
Your shrouds are too loose. As you know from the 470, the jib halyard tightens the whole rig against the shrouds. You should need to pull hard on the forestay in order to get the jib halyard locked (and end up with a small forward prebend), so move the shrouds down as many holes as needed. If this doesn't work there's something fundamentally wrong with the rig (the halyard may actually be too long, as may the shrouds), or I have misunderstood something...

we definitely have a full chute setup but the halyard is absent. Would a rigging place be able to re-run that halyard through the mast? Or is it just a lost cause?
Not a problem. I'd feed the (new) halyard in by starting at the exit hole at the bottom, that is, turn the mast upside down and let gravity do its work. Disconnect the topmast first, and tie the main halyard tight so the spinnaker halyard doesn't get messed up with it. Feed a thin leader line through the top exit block, and tape it and the spinnaker halyard's ends together when they come out of the top of the bottom section, then pull the halyard through the block with the leader.

can't find a boat number on transom or in cockpit. Apparently it is just boat #X. No sail numbers on the main either.
Strange. If it's a North American build (which is most likely), it should have a code molded into the starboard side of the transom. Begins with "ZFS" on the earliest boats.

This boat is so very sailing appropriate, i.e. a quixotic money pit!
:D

We seriously need some pictures by now :confused:

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