Towing a Laser

thistle2311

New Member
I just bought a laser and will be towing it to the race site in all kinds of wind and waves behind a bowrider power boat. This would be on a moderate lake. Chop can get to 1 foot, wind up to 20 kts plus.

What is the recommended way to set a laser up for towing and for rigging once at the site? I would rather not have to go ashore to get set up after towing to the race location.
 
thistle2311 said:
I just bought a laser and will be towing it to the race site in all kinds of wind and waves behind a bowrider power boat. This would be on a moderate lake. Chop can get to 1 foot, wind up to 20 kts plus.

What is the recommended way to set a laser up for towing and for rigging once at the site? I would rather not have to go ashore to get set up after towing to the race location.

I don't know the answer to your question specifically. When we were towed to the race site, because of low winds, at Master's MWE this past February, we tied the lines around the masts of the rigged boats, and sat in the boat and steered. You should be very careful towing the Laser. You must go slow, as the hull pounding up and down will actually pound it apart, or so I've heard. Just out of curiosity, why don't you sail to the race site? We sailed two miles out into the Gulf to get to our race site, and it was a nice warm up.
 
to be honest you'd be better off sailing it to the race location, less stree on the boat and they aint easy to rig on the water
 
If the wind is reasonable, sailing is the way to go and that's what I would do. Dometimes the wind is light and on the nose so sailing can mean missing the race. It's a Tuesday nite series so just one race and if the wind dies for the day it is a long paddle.

I would have to have the sail on the mast when towing and don't want to flog it. Pretty tough when you can't raise sail on the water.
 
teh problem with having the sail rolled around the mast is that you won't be able to have the battons in.
 
thistle2311 said:
If the wind is reasonable, sailing is the way to go and that's what I would do. Dometimes the wind is light and on the nose so sailing can mean missing the race. It's a Tuesday nite series so just one race and if the wind dies for the day it is a long paddle.

I would have to have the sail on the mast when towing and don't want to flog it. Pretty tough when you can't raise sail on the water.

To keep from flogging the sail, have it completely rigged and put on some vang, but have the other controls eased.
 
Just to be clear you can NOT tow the boat with the rig up without a person in the boat too.
 
Take off the rig and the blades. Tow the boat either really short with some kind of protection on the bow, or rather long. Lasers do start to roll on the wake of the boat that tows it. You will need to figure out what works best.
Rig the mast and sail before you take off, but leave it on the boat with which you tow the laser. Once at the site, start with blades and then put on the mast. This will take some practice, but I have done it many times. Do not stand on the laser when you do this, but hold the mast while you stand at the other boat. Lastly put the boom on together with yourself, Rig all the lines and go sailing.
One of the things that you need to look out for is to not damage either of the boats. Some good cushion-like fenders will help.
Have fun!
GWF
 
Hi,

Assuming you HAVE to tow it, here are some ideas and suggestions.

I've heard, but not tried, that empty lasers tow better backwards, or a very short line that lifts the blunt stern, because they track better, with the round part of the bow cutting the water, vs. the flat bottom.

Assuming you HAVE to rig on the water, I'd consider:

Foam centerboards sink! Find a old wood one, in case you drop it. Wood rudders will sink anyway, due to the aluminum head.

For ease of assembly, which is a priority to me due to being fleet captain, and having to get my boat done, plus various duties, I suggest:

leave the boom fully rigged under the cover (or as you tow), incl mainsheet and complete outhaul, c-ham secondary(tied to deck, not the vang), compass, ports, etc. Both the outhaul, and c-ham attach with hooks, so they are both left rigged, handles tied, under the compass, etc, all the time. My centerboard bungee stays rigged to the boat, not the board, then hooks onto a loop on the the board. Mast retaining line has a hook.

You drop in the mast, boards, then climb aboard, and let it drift behind your anchored/moored boat, but still tied, so you float head to wind. Hook board, hook c-ham, hook outhaul blocks to the mast, insert boom in the gooseneck, hook sail on (clew hook is tied to the boom, not the sail). Good to go, two minutes tops.

Note: these are compromises/illegalities over full race set-ups for various reasons. But, emiminating knot tying is the suggestion, because you'll be bouncing and slamming the tow boat, and ducking the boom, etc.

Have fun, and don't drop anything!

Al Russell 182797
 
don't underestimate the speed you can tow a laser at because at orange bowl the puerto rican kids were flying in from the course at the end of the day because of the total lack of wind.
 
one kid would tie to the motor boat and tie to their mast and then everyone else would undo yheir mainsheets snd tie them to their masts and pass them up to the next boat and they would tie it around there masts. the lines of boats would get huge.
 
vtgent49 said:
Hi,


Foam centerboards sink!


Mine don't. You sure yours do??



Ok back to the topic.

I would figure out a way to pull the laser on top of the powerboat. All you need is a couple hunks of carpet.
You could get really fancy with a special rack.
Certainly in one afternoon and with a couple trips to the hardware store, you could create a durable rack that fits on the powerboat and carrys the Laser.

You could easily carry the Laser to the race course.

In fact, you could probably make up a system where you could rig the Laser while it sits on a rack on top of the powerboat, then slide the rigged Laser off and go race.
Neither you nor the Laser would arrive at the race in an abused condition.
 
thistle2311 said:
I just bought a laser and will be towing it to the race site in all kinds of wind and waves behind a bowrider power boat. This would be on a moderate lake. Chop can get to 1 foot, wind up to 20 kts plus.

What is the recommended way to set a laser up for towing and for rigging once at the site? I would rather not have to go ashore to get set up after towing to the race location.

I would recommend buying a foam floating dolly. Then you could toe it on the dolly and rig on the water when you get there
 

Back
Top