Maiden voyage- smooth sailing

SteveON

New Member
Took my Laser out today for the first time. Winds were 12-14mph and a little shifty. The boat went together easily and within 30 minutes I was sailing out of the marina. Thanks to this website and all the great info from it's members the repairs I completed all proved good and the boat hull stayed perfectly dry after 3 hours of sailing. I never got the boat up on plane but it was moving along quite nicely and the best part is there were no surprises. The boat handled great! Even with some pretty good gusts of wind the boat was easy to manage. I did bury the leeward rail a few times even though I was hiked out. I think I'll need to get more comfortable with the hiking and the boat will stay flatter and faster.
My only concerns were:
- the helm didn't seemed very balanced (boat wanted to head up allot, might be my
position in the cockpit?) and
-mainsheet management (always seemed to be tangled around my feet. I think better
footwear would solve allot of that issue).
I just want to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge/help and look forward to learning more from both this website and of course lots more practice.
Steve
 
My only concerns were:
- the helm didn't seemed very balanced (boat wanted to head up allot, might be my
position in the cockpit?) and
-mainsheet management (always seemed to be tangled around my feet. I think better
footwear would solve allot of that issue).
I just want to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge/help and look forward to learning more from both this website and of course lots more practice.
Steve

Keep the boat flat and it should want to sail a straight line. If its wanting to head up you are too healed.

We all get tangled feet in the mainsheet. Have you tied the end off to the toe strap or just left it loose with a stopper knot? I tie the end of my mainsheet to the front of the toestrap (others prefer to tie it to the back of the toestrap). This helps to reduce feet tangles and prevent (kind of) knots forming in the middle of the main sheet.
 
Sailorchick-
Keep the boat flat and it should want to sail a straight line. If its wanting to head up you are too healed.

We all get tangled feet in the mainsheet. Have you tied the end off to the toe strap or just left it loose with a stopper knot? I tie the end of my mainsheet to the front of the toestrap (others prefer to tie it to the back of the toestrap). This helps to reduce feet tangles and prevent (kind of) knots forming in the middle of the main sheet.


Thanks for your response. As soon as I read your post I remembered the heading up issue was while I was heeled quite a bit. Next time I'll focus on keeping the hull flat.

I tied off the end of the main sheet to the loop on the back of the hiking strap but think I'll tie it up front next time like you did. It would make sense to try to keep it all on one end of the cockpit. I was also wearing some old tennis shoes that have some pretty aggressive, wide tread and it seemed hard for the sheet to slide off those shoes. Maybe I should look at getting some sailing specific shoes. I usually sail barefooted but now its starting to get a little chilly. Some extra protection would be nice.
Steve
 
Sailorchick-
Keep the boat flat and it should want to sail a straight line. If its wanting to head up you are too healed.

We all get tangled feet in the mainsheet. Have you tied the end off to the toe strap or just left it loose with a stopper knot? I tie the end of my mainsheet to the front of the toestrap (others prefer to tie it to the back of the toestrap). This helps to reduce feet tangles and prevent (kind of) knots forming in the middle of the main sheet.


Thanks for your response. As soon as I read your post I remembered the heading up issue was while I was heeled quite a bit. Next time I'll focus on keeping the hull flat.

I tied off the end of the main sheet to the loop on the back of the hiking strap but think I'll tie it up front next time like you did. It would make sense to try to keep it all on one end of the cockpit. I was also wearing some old tennis shoes that have some pretty aggressive, wide tread and it seemed hard for the sheet to slide off those shoes. Maybe I should look at getting some sailing specific shoes. I usually sail barefooted but now its starting to get a little chilly. Some extra protection would be nice.
Steve

Depends on how long the mainsheet is. I have a long enough one that I can tie it to the back of the hiking strap and don't have too much problem. Having it up front is alright, I used to do it, but it was harder to grab the line if it was let out all the way. At least if it's in the back you have something to grab if its all the way out.
 
Eric,
My main sheet seems a little too long. If I was to let the sheet all the way out the boom end would be almost to the bow of the boat. Not sure I would ever need that much.
Steve
 
Mine is 44' so around 1/2 meter short of what you recommend. Still like an awful lot of line in the cockpit, especially if you have big feet like I do.
Steve
 
Keep the boat flat and it should want to sail a straight line. If its wanting to head up you are too healed.

We all get tangled feet in the mainsheet. Have you tied the end off to the toe strap or just left it loose with a stopper knot? I tie the end of my mainsheet to the front of the toestrap (others prefer to tie it to the back of the toestrap). This helps to reduce feet tangles and prevent (kind of) knots forming in the middle of the main sheet.

definitely keep the boat flat, flat is fast, hike hard and don't be afraid to depower the rig as the wind picks up, Vang vang vang! You shouldn't be overpowerd in 14mph winds so its probably a trim issue (trim includes your weight/position)

I put an 8 knot in the end of my main sheet and trimmed it so that the farthest it will ever go out is just enough that the weight of the boom and sail will keep the mast up in the air for light wind sailing. I'd suggest tying it to the front or just a simple 8 knot, tying it in the back ads more line,

You have to keep track of the main sheet when sailing upwind so you can let it out easily when you head back downwind, if its tangled untangle it before it becomes a problem. The sheet can get tangled around your feet even barefoot so just check it on each tack (usually it becomes tangled during tacks or when accelerating at a start ect)
 

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