Main Sail Cleat

Mike94

New Member
I know this may sound funny, well i just bought a 1994 Laser Standard, the boat is basicly brand new well i was rigging the boat up in the water and i never realized there is no cleat or anything for the main sheet, i am not sure where i can put one on, on the instruction manual it shows one on each side but this boat has none, instead of putting cams on the sides is there a way to re-rig it on the exsisting block and put a new harken system in the same spot that it is currently in, i have a friend who put a new one on his Force-5 which is basicly the same boat except little bigger.
 
Yeah, you could do such a thing but it wouldn't be class legal for racing.
What your manual is showing is where the wood reinforcment is in the deck for the cam cleat fasteners to afix to.
Wadda' ya want cleats for anyways?
 
umm, they were probally taken off. I don't know why vanguard still puts those on. their REALLY annoying. I wouldn't put them back on, i would leave them off
 
If my memery is any good, a ratchet block with cleat IS legal under current ILCA rules. The only time I find the side cleats useful is when I tow the boat to events behind the club RIB they help to hold everything in the boat.
 
No kidding, isn't that interesting. Never seen such a thing on a Laser before.
Wonder why we don't see more of it, something to do with the cleating angle I'd wager.........
 
thanks, i have seen other lasers with cams on the sides for the main sheet but i was thinking of going with a ratchet block and cleat setup rather than what it currently has... thanks
 
thanks a bunch for all of your help, this may be off the topic but can anyone make any suggestions my Laser is the Standard Vanguard 1994, and i want to re-rig the boat and been looking around can anyone make any suggestions on what to do and what not to do, i am not looking to spend high dollar on the best of the best just upgrades from all of the current standard rigging.
 
Check out the Dr laser site. Heaps of alternative rigging suggestions there even if you don't want to go for the packaged new setups.
As a newbie though I've found the deck mounted cleats for outhaul and cunningham make a huge difference to being able to adjust controls and I'd recommend getting that.
 
i am not familiar with the Dr. Laser site.... i am much of a newbie to dinghy sailing but i normally sail on a J-39 during big races and just started to little ones
 
Mainsheet blocks with integrated cleats are not class legal, which is why you don't see them. Remember, anything not explicitly allowed in the rules is usually illegal.

As far as deck cleats for the main, you should put some on. At the very least there will always be times when you need to futz with something and you'll need one hand free. Most of the world class guys have them on their boats and the boats supplied for the big events by the builders have them installed. That should tell you a lot. Glen Bourke admits to having sailed the beat with the main cleated from time to time. I'm sure others do the same.
 
Main cleats are essential. Definitely worth putting on your boat.
 
No, main sheet cleats are terrible. No doubt, the spots that you could put them are places that you should be hiking on, not to mention that you should be sheeting in and out all the time. I find that a quick loop in the main is just as effective, and less annoying. You shouldn't be cleating in a race, and if u need the main cleated, put in the knot or wrap it around the hiking strap a few times.
 
I aggree with 116794...(name??)...there are bad habit forming...if you just want them because its tiring holding it all day beating upwind in 15 knots...get a Federicson ratchet block, a rooster mainsheet, and some sticky gloves.
 
116794, you may need an extra hand during a race and not everyone has time to tie their main around their hiking strap during a race. A cleat is fast, simple and effective.
 
My first Laser 67188 had a mainsheet block with a mounted swivel cleat, supplied by manufacturer. It was and probably still is legal, very little is said about what sort of block and ratchet you should use. I used side cleats fairly regularly when I sailed the old kicker/vang system, round the leeward mark, mainsheet into cleats, luff a bit and bounce on the kicker, (or vang as I keep gettting corrected now.) It worked well. I am still undecided about whether they are needed in the new vang system though, somehow I think with the powerful sytem it is no longer necessary.
Good luck to anyone going to Largs for the UK champs this month. I''l be thinking of you as I am stuck here in the prairies, longing to see anything that looks like a hill.
 
I know the feeling (BTW My name is Kevin, I should have put that before my sail number in my username, o well) Last week at a regatta my clew tie down kept breaking, and I couldn 't tie it down again and keep the boat head to wind, eventually I capsized it and did it in the water, not the best thing in the world.

I understand the need for the cleats, but I've used a friends boat, and they were such a pain in the ass (literally) when your hiking out.
 
Originally posted by 116794
I understand the need for the cleats, but I've used a friends boat, and they were such a pain in the ass (literally) when your hiking out.


Get the small cam cleats and learn to sit on them when you have to.
 
I have mini-cleats on my boat, and although I would never remove them, (they are useful in certain situations, but never usualy in normal racing that goes to plan!), cleats are still a pain, and also a temptation!

Because I have the mini-cleats, its a load more comfortable than the big uns, however that still doesnt mean that every now and then you cant get something cleated that wasnt meant to.

I recently did 2 double capsises before I realised my main had managed to cleat itself off!
 
As a newby, I often find I have inadvertently cleated the mainsheet around my foot - leading to frantic foot-waggling often just before a capsize! Maybe a useful technique?
 
i took the cleats off my laser because I never use them and they are right where you sit and a ratchet block like a fredrickson provides plenty of friction so there is low pressure on the sheet where you hold it
 
I don't see the problem with cleating the main occasionally while sailing. There has always been a macho thing that you should never cleat your main, but there is really no problem with doing so, as long as it isn't just being lazy. It's much easier to adjust various controls without holding the sheet and it's not as if it is difficult to pop the sheet out of a cam cleat.

It is incredibly rare to see any top sailors without cleats.
 
I agree that the can come in use as a last resort, but should deffinately not be relied upon on a regular basis. I have come across many situations where they could be used, from tightening your hiking strap to adjusting your outhaul, ( I have the old rigging: ( ). And now with extremely small cams they make they might not be that much of a pain in the rump...litterally. In photos of the Laser Worlds at Hyannis last year, all the boat I saw came with the mini cams.
 
I regularly use my micro-cleats in heavy air when I need to adjust my grip on the mainsheet. I often wrap the sheet around my hand and play it over the about 1 foot range I can comfortably manage by bending my elbow. When the wind changes enough, that I want to shift the adjustment range in or out (or if my hiking position changes significantly), I'll briefly cleat the sheet while I rearrange my grip on the sheet.

I occasionally use the cleats in *very* light air when I want to avoid inadvertently shaking the sail and destroying the attached flow. It's especially helpful when I'm trying to carefully shift my weight not to have to worry about accidently tugging on the sheet.

I'm using a 1/4" mainsheet, and it cleats great in the small size Ronstan cleats. Sometimes I sit on them, but it's not been a major problem.

Cheers,

Geoff S.
 

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