what caused this problem with laser 2?

T

Tom A

New Member
Hi
I am a novice sailor of a Laser 2. Last sunday, I ran into a technical glitch that I dont understand. Please let me know what you think.

Sailing in Minnesota in 15 mph winds, I cast off from my mooring, headed off the wind on a port tack, and pulled in my mainsheet. The sailboat then bore off the wind and headed hard to starboard, directly towards the seawall on the side of the lake. It seemed to have a mind of its own, did not respond to tiller. We jibed around, went on a starboard tack, and the same thing happened. The sailboat had a death wish, trying to meet up with the wall. The only thing that saved us was when the centerboard buried itself in the sand as we ran aground. We dropped the sail and went to lunch.

During this adventure, I looked up and noticed that the top of the sail was curved in an opposite direction to the bottom of the sail. It was as if the top of sail thought we were on a starboad tack, while the bottom thought we were on a port tack. I pushed on sail and was able to flip the direction of the top batten, so that the sail was a single airfoil. However, the top of sail immediately switched back.
What caused the sail to do this? Is it a batten problem? I usually leave the battens in the sail when I roll it up. The top batten does not seem to be curved, and does not seem to be loose. This never happened before when I sailed in lighter winds. When I rigged the sail on the windy day, I tied the clew tie down line tighter than usual. Did this keep the sail from assuming its proper shape?
Should I secure the top batten in a different manner? Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Please let me know--I would like to take it out again soon on a windy day.
Thanks. Tom A
 
Tom A said:
During this adventure, I looked up and noticed that the top of the sail was curved in an opposite direction to the bottom of the sail. It was as if the top of sail thought we were on a starboad tack, while the bottom thought we were on a port tack. I pushed on sail and was able to flip the direction of the top batten, so that the sail was a single airfoil. However, the top of sail immediately switched back.
What caused the sail to do this? Is it a batten problem? I usually leave the battens in the sail when I roll it up. The top batten does not seem to be curved, and does not seem to be loose. This never happened before when I sailed in lighter winds. When I rigged the sail on the windy day, I tied the clew tie down line tighter than usual. Did this keep the sail from assuming its proper shape?
Should I secure the top batten in a different manner? Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Please let me know--I would like to take it out again soon on a windy day.
Thanks. Tom A
Click to expand...

Tom, I'm little more than a newbie myself, but as I read that the top of the sail was inverted, I thought, too much cunningham. Then you wrote that you had tied it tighter than usual, so that's probably it.

With my Laser 1 at 15 mph, I'd have a moderate amount of cunningham.

What do the experts think?

Merrily
 
The thing with the batten has happened to me before too. In one instance it was what Merrily suggested - too much cunningham on. However, the next time I went out I did loosen the string that ties the batten into the pocket which seemed to have an effect.

You can always grab the boom and give the sail a few sharp shakes if this happens again. It should pop the batten onto the correct side.

Just purely for interests sake - what is your sail number?
 
I can think of a couple of issues. First the top batten is also called a "compression" batten as you can tighten and loosen it based on how much sail draft you want/need. Its possible that you had it way too tight which would cause it to invert but I can't imagine that would cause you to be wildly out of control like you mentioned. My other thought is you had your diamond wires too loose (for the heavy air) which caused your spreaders to invert forward instead of aft and thus caused "reverse bend" on your mast which would indeed cause you to sail out of control....
 
Thank you all for your replies.
I will check the tension on the batten, rig the sail with less cunningham, and avoid tying down the clew too tight. I also have met someone who was just at the Laser II World regatta in Toronto, Alex, and he has offered to help me get my boat right. I hope to get some sailing in before the November gales.

I will let you know how it goes. Again, I appreciate your thoughtful ideas.
Don't know my sail number, but will check next time I go out

Tom
 
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