What's a "Laser 14"? There are Lasers 13 and 16, so I assume it's either of those, or something similar. When you say "no jib", I take it that the boat is supposed to have a jib, and leaving it out does lead to handling problems like yours. Coming out of a slow tack is especially hard when you have the main pushing you back into the wind. This is what happens with the countless people who try to singlehand boats meant to be sailed by a crew of 2 or more. If you're going to sail by yourself, get a singlehander, and if you have a multiple-hander, get a crew. Or at least rig the jib, too, and don't go out in conditions in which you can't handle both sails and don't have enough weight.
I can't really visualize what made you capsize. Sheet too tight, weight too far in, turned the boat too hard, freak gust...
If battens fly out of a sail in normal (or even "serious") conditions, it means you haven't attached them properly.
If the boom disengages from the mast in any conditions, it means you haven't attached it properly, including keeping the vang tight enough.
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It sounds like you we're in conditions that you were not ready for. And as LaLi said, it seems you didn't have the battens or vang installed correctly. Did you have the vang connected? Be sure that the vang is set up so that even with it full off (vang line released) its tight enough so that the boom can't come off the mast (as long as the clew remains attached to the boom). Did you have the clew tie down strap installed?
Please excuse me if you already know all of this, but if not, a rigging guide is where you probably need to start:
http://www.foghmarine.com/laser.pdf
There are also other rigging guides for the Laser that a Google search will find.
Please read and follow the rigging guide carefully. The Laser is not a complicated boat, but if you omit rigging steps you will have problems. Make sure you use the mast retaining line. And become an expert at tying a bowline - several are used on your boat.
The battens are to be inserted curved end first and held in place by the lower part of the pocket.
You must use a clew strap or its equivalent to hold the clew to the boom - lack of this is likely why your boom came off. The line is the out haul. It is for adjusting the fullness of the sail, NOT for holding the clew to the boom.
Ok, thanks, that clears it up. Around here the length of, and number of sails on a Laser is such common knowledge that any attempt to further "clarify" things ends up doing the opposite...By Laser 14 I mean the boat is 14 feet long. I tis not designed to have a jib.
Ok, thanks, that clears it up. Around here the length of, and number of sails on a Laser is such common knowledge that any attempt to further "clarify" things ends up doing the opposite...
Vang: tie a knot (figure 8, or a big bowline if you want a "handle") in the vang line tail so that it hits the cleat when the vang is at the loosest you ever want it to be - that is, just barely no slack when everything is rigged. You may need to push the boom down a bit to get the vang key in and out.
Clew strap/tie-down: the clew needs to be as close to the boom as possible, and you can use a length of thin but strong line (like 3 mm Dyneema) wrapped a couple of times through the clew eye and around the boom instead of a strap.
Battens: they have to sit tight against the back end of the batten pocket, and against the elastic strap in the front. It's possible that the elastic has died if your sail is very old.
Tacking in heavy weather: bear away to the new tack from head-to-wind as fast as possible, let out plenty of sheet, hike hard, and sheet back in when the boat is moving again.
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