Stupid Laser tricks

pez

Member
With all the serious topics of late, I thought I would post something a bit lighter... anyone have stupid laser tricks?

After sailing in the sun, I will jump over the side and sail the boat by just holding on to the extension and the mainsheet... obviously not fast, but certainly cools you off and feels cool to be pulled around by the boat...
 
In light air, I like to lie in the cockpit and sail with the tiller next to my head. You are so low to the water that it still feels like you are flying. Sail looks cool against the blue sky, too.
 
Here's a good one. When going down wind in really heavy air, (like blowing the dog off the chain air) I like to get my boat rolling back and fourth so uncontrollably that I get dizzy, the silly giggles and LAUNCHED wildly through the air as the mast head hits the water in a violent CRASH completly halting the forward motion of the boat while I the slap happy occupant continue with my forward motion like a crash test dummy!

Well, I really don't like doing this, but it's the best stupid laser sailing trick I got.
 
Here a few steps
1. Borrow/use someones old boat that they dont really care about
2. make sure its blowing 25+ and there are waves
3. Whilst going downwind, so as far forwards in the cockpit as you can
4. Pitch pole
5. It looks awesome, its fun, its harmless
 
I think there is some old footage of people doing headstands on the bows of their Lasers in light air. Probably some of the best tricks are what you can do with your Laser off the water such as using it as a toboggan or sled in the winter or other such silliness.
 
Now if your really fast..... what you do is put a slip not in the mainsheet... throw the tiller into a tack, and then run around the mast and back and sail on.... much easier said than done
 
I usually find plenty of stupid things to do having experienced my fair share of windless days at my club. A good one when there is absolutely no wind is to power the boat by lying at the front and paddling or kicking from the back. As said before tacking running around the front of the mast and being dragged by the boat are great too.
 
several years back I saw some of the staff at the Bitter end Yacht Club sailing lasers standing like windsurfers, (in Light air) they tied the tiller amidships and steered with sail and balance. They were having fun, (Swimming a bit too) I am too old to try this but I can probably talk my 12 year old into it.....;) I'll try to shoot some video if I do.
 
Start with a regular full rig. Using old line and duct tape, add another topsection as a bowsprit. Add a 4.7 sail as a jib. Sail around. (tacks like crap)
 
In very light wind. you can stand on the deck by the mast to rock the boat from side to side with main sheet loose. This will cause a flapping of the sail and propel you forward. This technique is useful to get back to shore or dock when out of wind in the middle of lake. It's better and easier than paddling by hand.
 
Hey guys, first post here. Sometimes in super light wind me and my friends would tie a line on either side of the mast leading to the tiller and just sit at the front of the boat and steer it from there. We would also bring the mainsheet forward so we could actually sail legit.. It was pretty fun.
 
Here a few steps
1. Borrow/use someones old boat that they dont really care about
2. make sure its blowing 25+ and there are waves
3. Whilst going downwind, so as far forwards in the cockpit as you can
4. Pitch pole
5. It looks awesome, its fun, its harmless


like this ???

for the record its damn cold in February (even in FLA!!)
 

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I have a few that I do regularly:

Light/no wind:

Windsurf upwind - stand next to the mast, holding the mainsheet and pump like a windsurfer does while holding the mast, i just drop the tiller and make sure it can't get stuck in any direction.

Nose dive reach or downwind - standing in the same position as above, put my front foot in front of the bow eye and nose dive the boat, see how far it can go and i am able to save it (usually results in getting wet)

Heavy wind:

Stand at the back of the boat on a reach - see Tom Slingsby video above, he taught me how to do it. (NOTE: do not use the traveller as a foot loop like the skiffs have, will probably result in ankle damage)
 
I have seen the sindurfer trick done many times. I even used it on a cadet course to hellp teach them trim and balance and how to steer the boat using not rudder at all.

The problem is all the little buggers now sail a lot faster maing my job to stay ahead of them even harder!
 
there's something a couple people tried to do @ our club...if youreheavy enough and ther'e's no wind...stand on the transom (dont hold the tiller) pull the mainsheet in almost all the way and bounce up and down ....see how far you can get teh bow in air before it goes over.
.......another one.....get the boat heeled over as far as possible then reach over and touch teh daggerboard for a few seconds then slam back down on the side before capsizing
 
hi guyz i got a great 1 what you got to do is go sailing in a bout a force 3 or 4 ish and up wind or reaching stand on the side and sail standing up or even upwind use the mainsheet as a trapeze rope and trapeze a laser lol great fun!
 
hi guyz i got a great 1 what you got to do is go sailing in a bout a force 3 or 4 ish and up wind or reaching stand on the side and sail standing up or even upwind use the mainsheet as a trapeze rope and trapeze a laser lol great fun!

k... I'm going to try this one, will have to be pretty heavy winds, but sounds like a hoot.

Two weekends ago I had someone standing in front of the mast, and I was standing on the transom... was pretty light winds, but was kinda cool... the neighbors came by in their pontoon and asked if everthing was ok... I tried to play it cool with a mildly confused look that suggested that there is nothing wrong with two people standing up in a laser going ddw... not sure they got the full gist...
 
I have seen a couple people try to clime to the top of the mast while the boat was sailing. They set the boat on a close reach, secured the mainsheet and tiller. Then they climing up the mast. Out of 3 people trying and countless tries only one person made it to the top without flipping the boat. He was up their for about 20 seconds before it flipped.
 
I don't know if it's too stupid, but to get my six and four year old girls interested in sailing. I taught them how to "hike" this entailed them putting their legs under the hiking strap and dumping their heads in the water. they loved it, and the folks at my club got a kick out of it too.

Other than that, I with others. My only good trick is watching my fat self trying to keep the boat from launching me 20 yards going down wind!
 
After sailing in the sun, I will jump over the side and sail the boat by just holding on to the extension and the mainsheet... obviously not fast, but certainly cools you off and feels cool to be pulled around by the boat...
I ended up doing that in 30 knots today, after missing the toestrap, it actually works quite well trapezing upwind off the mainsheet with your head going under the waves. Unfortunately, I picked a day when someone decided to take a video camera onto the safety boat, so it's all on the club website.
 
The only stupid trick that I could think of is palying tag wth your friends head and the boom on a downwind run. Funny as hell doing it to them, but smarts when they get you back.
 
In light air do a really big roll tack and reach over and touch the center board. Also in light air stand on the transom and gybe. really fun if you get it right but wet and painful if you don't. If you can get your friend to try it first its much funnier that way
 
In light air do a really big roll tack and reach over and touch the center board. Also in light air stand on the transom and gybe. really fun if you get it right but wet and painful if you don't. If you can get your friend to try it first its much funnier that way

Thats definetely great fun except usually I end up trying big roll tacks when the wind is just a bit too strong for big roll tacks and end up going in.
 
:DGet one dad, two teenage daughters and a 35knts plus day. Full rig, crank everything on and go. Three of us fully hiked, one on the tiller, one on the main and the one up front blocking the fire hose. What a blast, who said Laser's were singlehanders?

Fatboy
 
sailing with the rudder up!! and using the boat like a windsurf board... teaches you a lot about weight placement... and you end up doing 1080s if you don't know what you're doing wrong lol...

dumbest thing i ever did while sailing the laser... hmmm... probably capsizing at the startline 20 seconds before the gun went at the monthly club race, 1st sunday feb 2009 in about 15 knots of wind...
 
Oh I've capsized just before the gun too...usually when I'm in a rush and don't duck underneath the boom enough: mainsheet gets snagged onto my PFD.

I must try that one day with the rudder up!!! Best trick so far to suggest :)
 

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