drLaser
Member
In relation to the old-style, boom-cleated outhauls, I had written (in a post on the "Laser Sailing" bulletin board of this forum):
> ... to UNCLEAT the outhaul control line from the clam cleat
> REMOTELY, from the deck.
Here's exactly the basis of what I had in mind and why I have been asking about various rules lately: http://www.drLaser.org/images/parts/RemoteRelease.jpg
You'll need to use your imagination. Assume the block shown does not flop over to one side, and the 2nd control line (blue release line) does not jump the sheave of the block.
There are various ways of achieving all of this, including simply duct taping or using a special, CUSTOM shackle (the latter approach offering a much more elegant and commercially profitable solution). Ludwig has been searching for appropriate stock shackles. I don't know if he has found anything. I have not.
How does it work? While keeping the primary control line (red) taut, you pull on the release line. The ball stopper slides aft around the control line, climbs on top of the clam cleat, and pulls the control line off the jaws of the clam. On the Laser, the deck mainsheet cleats offer a convenient third hand for keeping the primary line taut in this process.
After slacking the outhaul line as much as desired, plus a few inches more, you start hauling in the primary control line. The minimal contact ("friction") of the control line on the ball's hole pulls the ball stopper forwards along the top of the clam cleat. The ball falls off the clamcleat, and the control line is automatically cleated when you release it.
I think this offers a useful tool for all of those thousands who still use boom-cleated outhauls (whether deck led or not). It would make them more competitive with Laserites using the great new deck-cleated systems. It is affordable. It would make Laser racing more equal for the rich and the poor, and enhance the "one-design" claim of the boat. It is also relevant for all boat designs with boom-cleated outhauls.
Of course, this gizmo requires bending some of our Class Rules and clarifying the ambiguities in some others (as noted on this forum earlier).
In particular, what stands in the way of this innovation is the ambiguity in the wording of the rule that allows "attaching" a line to a block using a ball, plus the rule about "attaching" two control lines together -- both questioned in this bulletin board previously.
(I'll put up on the drLaser web site a better designed version of this gizmo showing my custom shackle.)
A CUSTOM shackle?????? Owned only by Shevy?
Of course!
Why not?
Didn't you know that the Laser is now an experimental boat with respect to optional parts?
As long as ILCA does not define what a "supllier" is, it will remain one.
I've been warning against this since 1999.
Shevy Gunter
Member, ILCA-NA
> ... to UNCLEAT the outhaul control line from the clam cleat
> REMOTELY, from the deck.
Here's exactly the basis of what I had in mind and why I have been asking about various rules lately: http://www.drLaser.org/images/parts/RemoteRelease.jpg
You'll need to use your imagination. Assume the block shown does not flop over to one side, and the 2nd control line (blue release line) does not jump the sheave of the block.
There are various ways of achieving all of this, including simply duct taping or using a special, CUSTOM shackle (the latter approach offering a much more elegant and commercially profitable solution). Ludwig has been searching for appropriate stock shackles. I don't know if he has found anything. I have not.
How does it work? While keeping the primary control line (red) taut, you pull on the release line. The ball stopper slides aft around the control line, climbs on top of the clam cleat, and pulls the control line off the jaws of the clam. On the Laser, the deck mainsheet cleats offer a convenient third hand for keeping the primary line taut in this process.
After slacking the outhaul line as much as desired, plus a few inches more, you start hauling in the primary control line. The minimal contact ("friction") of the control line on the ball's hole pulls the ball stopper forwards along the top of the clam cleat. The ball falls off the clamcleat, and the control line is automatically cleated when you release it.
I think this offers a useful tool for all of those thousands who still use boom-cleated outhauls (whether deck led or not). It would make them more competitive with Laserites using the great new deck-cleated systems. It is affordable. It would make Laser racing more equal for the rich and the poor, and enhance the "one-design" claim of the boat. It is also relevant for all boat designs with boom-cleated outhauls.
Of course, this gizmo requires bending some of our Class Rules and clarifying the ambiguities in some others (as noted on this forum earlier).
In particular, what stands in the way of this innovation is the ambiguity in the wording of the rule that allows "attaching" a line to a block using a ball, plus the rule about "attaching" two control lines together -- both questioned in this bulletin board previously.
(I'll put up on the drLaser web site a better designed version of this gizmo showing my custom shackle.)
A CUSTOM shackle?????? Owned only by Shevy?
Of course!
Why not?
Didn't you know that the Laser is now an experimental boat with respect to optional parts?
As long as ILCA does not define what a "supllier" is, it will remain one.
I've been warning against this since 1999.
Shevy Gunter
Member, ILCA-NA