Most effective upgrades?

T

TackBoston

New Member
I know this is a "religious" topic, but here goes...

What do you think are the most effective/important/necessary upgrades to make to a standard Laser?

There are so many options such as:
- complete Race version
- c'ham and outhaul upgrade
- XD powerpack
- XD/upgraded vang
- metal jams
- special lines
- Hyde sail

Which of these are most beneficial? Or to put another way, if you had a set budget, which of these would you move high on the "must have" list?

Thanks.
 
Time in the boat!
Second is traveling to events and mixing it up with others.


But, if someone calls and asks, I think the cunny/outhaul and vang are the big ones.
(especially if you aren't really big).

That will allow you to control the boat some more, vang on when it's breeze, and make life a bit nicer. Easier to rig up too, so less time with knots and fussing.



After that, a new sail, but only after you have worked really hard in the boat and have maxed out the current sail.


Then worry about tillers, special lines, etc.



But yes, the most priceless one is sailing. Time in the boat, sailing amongst others and just going for it.
 
in my opinion the best part of the xd kit i have brought was the harken vang, although its more there is no plastic on it and its brilliant just give it a light pul and off you go upwind its brill!!! but you can over tighten the kicker so be careful the you will stall the sail!!!
 
My humble opinion is..

1) Vang - This has made the biggest difference to the boat. It has not increased the potential speed but makes the boat some much easier to handle especially in a good breeze

2) Cunningham - Since learning about how important this control is for depowering it is almost as vityal to have a good cunningham as it is to have one of the new vangs.

The rest can all follow on when money permits. On my boat I have the following:

1) Harken Vang (beats the Holt hands down)

2) XD Cunningham and Outhaul

3) Rooster Carbon tiller and extension. The tiller is low (probably the lowest on the market) and the extension is so light and easy to handle I wouldn't be without it

What I am planning to get is:

1) New boom and traveller blocks

2) Bolts for the boom stirrups when I replace the blocks

What I am not going to get is the Clew sleeve, this is a 'Marmite' part, you either love it or hate it!
 
One thing in your list: Sails tend to wear out and periodically will need replacing. Thus I would not rate the sail in terms of priority as what impact it would have on performance will to a degree depend on the condition of your current sail (e.g. if you have a brand new North sail, purchasing a brand new Hde sail will make little or no difference to your performance).

As far as the other individual items I personally would rate the vang high followed by the cunningham (vang would probably last quite a long time compared to a sail).

I would expect things like the "complete race version" would include maybe the vang and cunnigham so some overlap and what you buy might depend of money available.

Ian
 
I did the Cunningham - Outhaul upgrade first. The primary reason being to get the outhaul line down on the foredeck and more positive control w/ the cam cleats. I also found it easier to rig. As for the vang, I found a wealth of information on the web and re-rigged my original to achieve an 8:1 purchase; which seems to work well. I will not be doing the vang upgrade anytime soon, but will instead invest in a new practice sail.

Beyond that, I heartily agree w/ previous posts - time in the boat and mixing it up w/ others.

Good luck.
 
jeffers said:
My humble opinion is..

1) Vang - This has made the biggest difference to the boat. It has not increased the potential speed but makes the boat some much easier to handle especially in a good breeze
Click to expand...

Not to hijack this thread but I never knew how to adjust the vang. All I ever did was tighten it right down in strong winds. Can anyone educate me on how the vang should be adjusted and what you get from proper adjustment?
 
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