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gavin5939 said:High winds today... i tried to rig and I couldn't really. I was rigging on a dock and I could barely get a hold of the sail. My 1980 Laser kept on tipping when I left it, so I decided to wait for another day. Any tips on rigging in high winds?
Gavin
gavin5939 said:maybe if it was this windy then i shouldn't have gone out at all?
gavin5939 said:not sure what the wind speed in knots was, but i know that it was supposed to be about 30 kilometres per hour. That was said in a weather report, I don't know how fast that is or if it would be the same out on the water. However, the boat would tip if i left it on its own for maybe a minute?...
I have 5 years sailing experience, but I just bought my Laser this year. I'm about 170 lbs. at 6'4". I think I could have held it down if i actually got it out, but only barely.
49208 said:I have to disagree with Merrily's suggestion of tying the clew on while the boat is in the water from the cockpit. IMHO, that is an exercise in frustration. I totally agree with SFBLaser - get it all done prior to launching and then launch and go. If you have the hull sitting on the dock prior to launching, and keeping the bow into the wind means part of the hull is off the dock (this is the setup at one of the clubs where I sail), have the transom off first and step the mast, and then move the bow off the dock so you can work on the clew.
Merrily said:The first year I sailed my Laser (and the first year I skippered anything), I decided that if it was too windy for me to rig the boat alone, then it was too windy for my newbie sailing skills. I didn't want to have some spectacular, and discouraging, event...
teep said:I persevered for about half an hour until I blew a tack (mainsheet caught the corner of the transom), flipped the boat, and buried the mast in the mud. Oops.
I gotta say, though, before I flipped the boat... dang. It can really move. Whee! (At my current skill level, Whee! is generally followed by Splat! or sometimes Bonk! though I am getting better at ducking.)
Merrily said:Yeah, tried that, got a hole in the bottom of the boat when a big shifted gust picked boat and dolly up and slammed it down. It was all we could do to keep said items from being blown into the water. When it's breezy my clew is only attached while on the water now.
49208 said:No offense intended, but when that happened to you, your boat was not into the wind. I can understand your hesitation to want to avoid repeating that episode again, but when rigged into the wind as Tracy outlined and launching as soon as it's rigged, I find this to be much easier and safer in winds above 8 knots for both experienced and beginning sailors alike. I've seen too many people have the boom fall off the gooseneck, get bonked in the head and/or capsize when trying to tie the clew on while the boat is in the water in winds over 8 knots.