mainsheet caught on gybes

markhamlin

New Member
Does everybody have a problem with the mainsheet getting caught under the transom on gybes? Is there a way to avoid this?
 
Yes it happens to me so just before you gybe bring your mainsheet in a bit more and give it a quik pull just as the boom is coming across the boat.
 
Try telling the mainsheet you are gybing and it is safe. Then maybe it won't try jumping off the boat.
 
gouvernail said:
Try telling the mainsheet you are gybing and it is safe. Then maybe it won't try jumping off the boat.
haha, I'll try that.
Today was my first time sailing a Laser besides when i tried it before buying. I'll try pulling it in a little and flicking it across next time.
 
Yer it works well otherwise i just get my tiller and place it under the mainsheet at the back and as the boom come across just lift your tiller and it will raise the excess sheet but it takes abit of practice to get right.
 
dubaisailer186065 said:
Yer it works well otherwise i just get my tiller and place it under the mainsheet at the back and as the boom come across just lift your tiller and it will raise the excess sheet but it takes abit of practice to get right.
Awesome, I'll try it next time i go sailing
 
Markhamlin are you a Kiwi by any chance? I remember racing against a Mark Hamlin when I was a much younger person! Just curious!
 
Just out of curiosity, are you the mark hamlin whose dad works at apple, who knows a certain drew hamlin?

In regards to the question, I don't know much about sailing or lasers but I've been known to either a) sheet in on gybes or b) reach out and physically grab the back end of the mainsheet.
 
markhamlin said:
Does everybody have a problem with the mainsheet getting caught under the transom on gybes? Is there a way to avoid this?

That's one of the... ahem... "charming quirks" of the laser. As another poster said, you need to give the mainsheet a little flick just as the boom starts to come across. You can do that either by yanking on the sheet, or, as the boom crosses over and you cross the cockpit, use your forward hand (forward as you were sitting on the old weather side) to hit the mainsheet right where it enters the forward block on the boom. That gives just enough flick to pop the aft part of the sheet out of the water and safely over the stern.

After a while it becomes second nature. It is annoying while learning, however -- if you don't flick hard enough you snag on the stern quarter, if you flick too hard you put a perfect half hitch around the end of the boom.
 
Chris123 said:
That's one of the... ahem... "charming quirks" of the laser. As another poster said, you need to give the mainsheet a little flick just as the boom starts to come across. You can do that either by yanking on the sheet, or, as the boom crosses over and you cross the cockpit, use your forward hand (forward as you were sitting on the old weather side) to hit the mainsheet right where it enters the forward block on the boom. That gives just enough flick to pop the aft part of the sheet out of the water and safely over the stern.

After a while it becomes second nature. It is annoying while learning, however -- if you don't flick hard enough you snag on the stern quarter, if you flick too hard you put a perfect half hitch around the end of the boom.
Yeah, I've gotten gybing pretty much down now. I stayed inside the harbor mouth today, and just practiced gybes. After capsizing twice, I got the right amount of flick pulling in the mainsheet. I think I got it down :p
 
hey there is a part that can be put on the back of your boat to help keep the traveler and main from being caught under the lip i saw these a few days ago but i lost the web site and i wish i could fid it and any one sail lasers near erie pa
 
It's standard practice on bigger boats to sheet in to close reach when initiating a jibe since having the boom snap through 180 degrees is deleterious to the rig and dangerous for inexperienced passengers.

I do this on the laser but don't know if it's what racers do. I mainly do it because I find that I end up in the drink less often. And it also has the effect of preventing the mainsheet from catching.
 
bcms11 said:
hey there is a part that can be put on the back of your boat to help keep the traveler and main from being caught under the lip i saw these a few days ago but i lost the web site and i wish i could fid it and any one sail lasers near erie pa

I have a feeling that those deflectors are ilegal for racing with but alrite for training.
 
dubaisailer186065 said:
I have a feeling that those deflectors are ilegal for racing with but alrite for training.

Anyways, it is just excess weight on the boat that is totally unecessary and is also wasted money. Just sheet in during the gybe and roll the boat and you will be fine.
 
When I am gybing, I sheet just to take the slack out and enough for when the boat rolls to weather the boom starts coming over. When I am passing through the cockpit I just grab the mainsheet right where it comes out of the block on the boom and when i flatten the boat it pulls just enough slack out that it doesnt get hung most the time.

In cases where it still gets hung I just grab the boom and whip the boom to windward really hard and it flicks the sheet back around the transom.
 
dubaisailer186065 said:
Yer it works well otherwise i just get my tiller and place it under the mainsheet at the back and as the boom come across just lift your tiller and it will raise the excess sheet but it takes abit of practice to get right.

I can't follow what you mean. I don't know what it means to put the tiller under the mainsheet, and I can't lift my tiller because it's firmly wedged into the headstock of the rudder, and, besides, the traveler is holding it down tightly to the deck.
 
Chris123 said:
I can't follow what you mean. I don't know what it means to put the tiller under the mainsheet, and I can't lift my tiller because it's firmly wedged into the headstock of the rudder, and, besides, the traveler is holding it down tightly to the deck.

He must mean the free end of the tiller extension.
 
I've been experimenting lately with a new idea for a run to run gybe (when you dont really want to turn the boat off course much) whereby I pass extension and main into my forward hand, and reach back to the traveller block with my back hand. Then I roll the boat hard to windward, pump the main over using the back hand, flatten the boat back again, then get settled on the new tack. It seems to be working quite well when its by the lee to by the lee, and, touch wood, so far I've had no tangles, and no swims! :D
 
Chris123 said:
That's one of the... ahem... "charming quirks" of the laser. As another poster said, you need to give the mainsheet a little flick just as the boom starts to come across. You can do that either by yanking on the sheet, or, as the boom crosses over and you cross the cockpit, use your forward hand (forward as you were sitting on the old weather side) to hit the mainsheet right where it enters the forward block on the boom. That gives just enough flick to pop the aft part of the sheet out of the water and safely over the stern.

After a while it becomes second nature. It is annoying while learning, however -- if you don't flick hard enough you snag on the stern quarter, if you flick too hard you put a perfect half hitch around the end of the boom.

Glad you mentioned that. I have been practicing some of these techniques and getting the sheet wrapped around the end of the boom has been a problem for me :eek: .
 

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