cskudder, that doesn't apply here, if we're talking only about things like lines and control line blocks. There are very few restrictions on them, and the choices are between more or less expensive legal alternatives.
I know. It looked good. And it's legal.... I've added purchase without buying a new vang- lashing blocks on the sides.
Going "old school" all the way makes no sense. Let's face it, the pre-2001 rules were bad. Having loops in the ropes instead of blocks was just plain stupid. Small real blocks aren't prohibitively expensive. Please don't even think about the word "thimble" anymore.OCVT: You can go with "old school" 1990s style rigging for your vang, outhaul, cunningham, and clew tie. Think single-braid spectra and thimbles. Items to buy: thimbles ($1 each?), maybe 30' of 1/8" spectra ($1/foot?).
If you're not going to splice it, a double-braid with a Dyneema core is better.Traveler: Vectran. Don't spend money on something like a spliced loop. Just tie a big loop. Maybe 10', at $1/foot.
Rooster Polilite isn't awfully expensive. It's really not that special, either. Any 6 to 7 mm rope that is fairly stiff is good enough.Mainsheet: If you have the funds, get a Rooster mainsheet. 6mm if you're strong/sailing in light air; 7mm if you're in heavy air or (like me) tear up your hands easily.
To clarify I only sail recreationally.... and a big question is, are you racing + need to be class-legal, or just recreational? The answer to that will guide a whole lot of the suggestions, and of the costs.
My laser in BC right now and I am not but I can post some pics as soon as I get out there.It would be easiest to answer your question if you posted pictures of your current equipment. We could then make a quick priority list.
8:1 is old school. If you're very light like the original poster you'd want at least a 12:1. There are at least two ways of getting that with adding two single blocks. (And lots of rope of course.)...there is a way to get your old school vang an 8:1 purchase with just one additional block so that would be a very cheap and easy upgrade.
The "new" deck equipment is not inexpensive, and not worth the money if you aren't adjusting your outhaul a lot. Moreover, the boom-cleated outhaul line doesn't "dangle" any more than a deck-cleated one. (In fact, it doesn't dangle at all aft of the cleat, although it's easier to catch a raised centerboard with it.)...an inexpensive Cunningham/outhaul upgrade which will bring the latter down to the deck. It makes for easier adjustment and you won't have that outhaul line dangling around your head.
And if the second block makes the system 50 % easier to pull it's totally worth its price.One block is less expensive than two
and by the way, it's line, not rope.
It's important for everyone. The outhaul, though, is not as important in adjusting it as one might think, as it affects only the lowest third or so of the sail plan.Adjusting sail draft is very important if you're light
Let's face it, if you don't race (or train for racing) you adjust the outhaul on shore and leave it there. If you race on a local level you want to let it off at the windward mark and then pull it back in for the next upwind leg, and that's it. If you can reach the mast (to which a boom-cleated outhaul should always be led) when going downwind you're all set.playing it from the boom can be difficult and painful for a novice.
That was from a time when the cleat plate design wasn't finalized, 1999ish. Let's not go back there.at one time there was a picture of a simple upgrade using two clam cleats and a block of wood or aluminum.
Of course. That's exactly the same that I am trying to say.1. regarding one block or two is a cost-benefit analysis that will have to be done by the original poster. I was pointing out that it is possible to increase the purchase significantly at an absolute minimum cost.
No it doesn't. My local sailmaker has done a lot of cool computer visualizations of these sort of things (I'll try to post some later), and if I remember correctly, the area of greatest pressure on a fully-powered (main)sail lies just above halfway up the mast. That's where the heeling moment comes from, force times lever. And that's why adjusting the outhaul doesn't help much when overpowered. Sheeting out and flattening the whole sail with the vang does.The lower third of the sail generates the most power
Most of us here are not professionals...
We aren't getting paid to sail our boats.