Mainsheet wrapping transom prevention

Skygod1

Member
Just humor me here, I have seen a few posts concerning this obvious design flaw. Has anyone tried to design a simple modification that would aleviate this? I realize eventually we learn to compensate for it but... What about some type of simple filet around the underside of the rear corners about 6 to 12 inches that would extend down the hull at a 45 for about a couple of inches. Maybe that would work? I realize its not class legal but if it works and is simple and cheap mod couldnt we change that? It would make sailing the Laser safer and more enjoyable for all.
 
Yep, I did that once. Cut out some thin cardboard to span the difference between the corner of the transom and the corner of the bilge. Covered it with packing tape. Lay up at least 4 layers of 200g or so boat cloth and stick it on your 'former'. Once dry you tear it all off and tidy up the shape and it all sits perfectly over the corner. Tape it back on the boat with some white PVC tape and you're away.

Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Got rid of them after a week.

Or you can buy the laser made ones from the website.

The finished angle was closer to 60 degrees than 45.
 
nope.

lol

I think I knew deep down in my laser heart that it was not the way of the future.

lol

At a guess I would say that after about 100 hours of laser sailing they'll become absolete.
 
I was hoping to learn from your design. I was going to start with just putting clear packing tape on for the initial trials and then go from there. Where did you see the one from Laser?
 
Just humor me here, I have seen a few posts concerning this obvious design flaw. Has anyone tried to design a simple modification that would aleviate this?

Not a design flaw. Just a quirk from Bruce Kirby himself to keep us on our toes :)
 
If you hijacked the flippers off a pinball machine and fitted them at each transom corner with operating buttons up on the gunwhales near the front of the cockpit that would be cool :)
Class legal?
I'm guessing no :(
 
UPWIND: I sheet like nuts to 2 block it through the tack. Then, as the my bow turns, I let it out along with the vang to get under the boom. That way it’s not loose enough to get stuck around corner.
DOWNWIND: On gybes I sheet it all the way through along with the momentum of the sail. Only gets stuck 1 of 5 times.

It’s definitely a design flaw though.

/0dylan
 
this problem pretty much only happens during gybes and if you gybe the right way there is no problem. To gybe in light wind is a roll gybe which means you turn a little, gybe and heel and give one big trim. Heavy wind is pretty much the same but with no roll personally i think the only way to prevent this proble m is putting in time to practice it.
 
Preventing the mainsheet wrapping round the transom is as easy as sailing a Laser in all conditions and not getting any bruises or scratches.
 
Maybe a Doinker is the ticket.

Use an eyestrap to hold down a foot-long length of 1/2 or 5/8 inch shock cord, aiming diagonally backwards off the end of each corner.
 
Come on!!

Gouvernail is obviously getting some well deserved rest here so I guess it is up to me to point this out: there are absolutely no design flaws to a Laser, it is the world's first perfectly designed sailboat!

However, there are a few "techniques" which must be learned in order to sail the boat properly, taking into account some of the "features" designed into it. And there are a few "saves" which can be used for when the "technique" has not yet been perfected. For example, one "save" which can be learned enroute to perfecting one's jibing "technique" is to use the tiller extension to clear the mainsheet if it should catch the transom corner on a jibe. I have yet to become a jibing master of the first order (though I am a master of a different type) so still frequently employ the "save" shown to me by a now jibing master.

A "save" I am still trying to learn is how to clear the mainsheet when it loops over the end of the boom during a jibe. I'm having trouble learning this "save" because said looping occurs rarely but always at a critical moment during a major regatta. In any breeze it is very hard to recover from that one. Any suggestions from TLFland are highly encouraged.

Ok, the above tongue-in-cheek response to save everyone from a long and boring discourse about how Mason Pepper (former Asia Pacific Chairman) spent a lot of time and effort searching for a real solution to this feature (looping around the transom corner, I believe looping over the boom is new to our new skinnier and lighter mainsheets) before throwing in the towel.

Tracy
 
I've had the same problem when I use my 5mm mainsheet as it will sometime wrap around the end of my boom in light air jibes, but I just do the same thing when it wraps around my transom, I just grab my boom, and quickly pull it back, and then force it back out, usually works
 

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