My name is Kai and I live on the East side of Charlotte in Mint Hill. I own a Laser and have been learning the basics and spending too much money trying to fix it up nice. I was wondering if there is anyone in the area who sails and would be interested in getting together to practice, give tips, whatever. I am also trying to straighten my rudder but having no luck so far, any tips on that? Thanks.
Sailing in Lake Norman, NC area
- Thread starter kch88
- Start date
Rob B
Well-Known Member
Try the Lake Norman Yacht Club. www.lakenormanyachtclub.com . There will be an open District 12 event held there in late April. Try the District 12 site on the links here from the forum.
gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
Ask the NA Office for a list of all the Laser sailors in your area. Pick a local restaurant or pizza shop and schedule a get together. You may be amazed to find plenty of others who thought they were "orphans."
Then plan a sailing get together.
From that start, a fleet will certainly happen.
Then plan a sailing get together.
From that start, a fleet will certainly happen.
Georg W.F.
Member
Try to start a different thread for the rudder. Explain what the exact problem is (I am not sure what you mean with straightening the rudder).
GWF
GWF
gouvernail
Super Opinionated and Always Correct
Rudder straightening??
Let me assume you are talking about a rudder that has been left in a hot place an which has bent .
The rudders are made of structural foam. it seems solid unless you have a magnifying glass. There are also about 20 coathanger size steel rods running from top to bottom.
the rods are in the fat part. not near the leading or trailing edges.
The "repair " for a bent rudder involves heating it up so it can bend back'
heating is ...just a bit hotter than you can touch without hurting yourself.
You can burn the rudder or even start if fire with too much heat.
1. You can wait until summer. Wrap the rudder in a black garbage bag and put it on the dash of your car. When it is hot, you can use a gloved hand and bend it straight and then cool it...Friend with hose works for the cooling
2. You can use a heat lamp. be patient. the heat must penetrate the rudder to the center.
The trick is to heat the core without bubbling the surface. takes a half hour minimum with a 250 watt heat lamp
3. You can use an iron. this one is my favorite. Ravi Subramanian told me about using an iron to fix his bent blades. I like experimenting. I bought a $10 Proctor Silex at the walmart before the Nationals in North Carolina a few years ago. I also bought a yard of tightly woven COTTON fabric.
I sat down in the clubhouse near an outlet, hung the cotton over my very bent centerboatrd, and played with the iron and the centerboard for about 20 minutes. When I was done the board was about as perfectly shaped as I have ever seen one. I was as fascinated as I was impressed by the simplicity of the solution.
Don't burn yourself!!
Let me assume you are talking about a rudder that has been left in a hot place an which has bent .
The rudders are made of structural foam. it seems solid unless you have a magnifying glass. There are also about 20 coathanger size steel rods running from top to bottom.
the rods are in the fat part. not near the leading or trailing edges.
The "repair " for a bent rudder involves heating it up so it can bend back'
heating is ...just a bit hotter than you can touch without hurting yourself.
You can burn the rudder or even start if fire with too much heat.
1. You can wait until summer. Wrap the rudder in a black garbage bag and put it on the dash of your car. When it is hot, you can use a gloved hand and bend it straight and then cool it...Friend with hose works for the cooling
2. You can use a heat lamp. be patient. the heat must penetrate the rudder to the center.
The trick is to heat the core without bubbling the surface. takes a half hour minimum with a 250 watt heat lamp
3. You can use an iron. this one is my favorite. Ravi Subramanian told me about using an iron to fix his bent blades. I like experimenting. I bought a $10 Proctor Silex at the walmart before the Nationals in North Carolina a few years ago. I also bought a yard of tightly woven COTTON fabric.
I sat down in the clubhouse near an outlet, hung the cotton over my very bent centerboatrd, and played with the iron and the centerboard for about 20 minutes. When I was done the board was about as perfectly shaped as I have ever seen one. I was as fascinated as I was impressed by the simplicity of the solution.
Don't burn yourself!!
Thanks. I ended up using a heat gun (about 1000 degrees Farenheit but no risk of fire) and some welding gloves to mold it with my hands. It worked pretty well, but still has a few small undulations in it. Just so you know, the bend was/is on the bottom of the trailing edge. It was very very bent, but is much better now. It's still slightly warped if you look closely enough, but I don't race, so I have other things to worry about right now. I'll try the iron if I sometime get the desire to make it perfect.