Some newbie questions

R0B

New Member
I bought a used Laser from 1979 in a really good condition for 500€ some weeks ago. Currently, I'm getting used to the boat and I installed an XD upgrade kit from Holt Marine as you could hardly pull the old vang even on land, but not while sailing. Now it is very easy and fun to trim the new outhaul, cunningham and vang.

As I want to preserve that nice condition, some questions arose:

After sailing (or cleaning), there often is a lot of water in the mast hole. Until now, I always tried to get it out with a towel and a broom stick. Is that necessary? Or is it safe to let stay it in there?

I also wonder if it was a good idea to remove the curry cleats. Do you use them? I did not encounter a situation yet where I wanted to use them (sailing on a lake with around 2 to 4 bft most of the time). In fact, I wish they would not be there as I always have to sit on them. It may sound strange to talk about "comfort" on a Laser, but is there any good reason not to remove them and seal the screw holes?

Thanks and cheers
Robert
 
If the mast step doesn't leak to the inside of the hull, then any water in there does no harm. But it does no good either, and it's customary to drain the step by turning the hull onto its side. Of course, if there's no one around to help with that, sponges or towels are fine - I did that myself just yesterday :D

Sheet cleats vs. no cleats is an age-old topic in the class. The current international trend is to leave them out. Some recent discussion: Adding Cam Cleats

(I didn't know that the cam cleat is named after Manfred Curry in German! You learn something new every day...)

_
 
  • Like
Reactions: R0B
Ok, good to know! Thanks. I didn't look it up, but I would've guessed that a curry cleat origins in some spice-related exploration voyages towards India :D
 

Back
Top