BY CHRIS FOSTER
Chris Foster has been sailing Laser IIs longer than most people and has crewed and helmed the boat succesfully in Open Meetings and Championships. He is a qualified sailing instructor and has run many Laser II training days.
The rigging manual outlines the basic method of getting the boat from the packages onto the water. Here I have tried to add some refinements to make life easier for those who wish to race.
The Laser II is rigged very simply, but care over detail saves
a lot of disappointment and upset on the water.
Mast
Check for straightness!!
Check all fittings, pins/rings and tape them all up.
Tighten the diamonds evenly. (If you have a tension guage most people sail with 20-25). Wire them up and cover liberally with tape.
WD40 the overlapping section in case you need to part the mast
WD40 all the moving parts (every time you go sailing).
Shorten the spinnaker halyard cautiously. It is supplied too long but when you have cut it there still must be enough to let the spinnaker fill comfortably on a run. Mark the fully up position at the cleat.
Mast rake - Fast people sail with anything from nothing to a lot!
It is measured by getting a builders tape and fastening it to
the main halyard using one shackle. Pull up the halyard to the
top and measure the length against the radius of the gunwhale.
Upright is approx 6m 37ins - heavy crews. 6m 27ins light crews.
Experiment!! (For those with new boats a good first setting is
three from the bottom at the front on the shroud chain plates).
Hull
Check all screws/nuts/bolts are tight and secure.
Check the toestraps are protected by the plastic tubes at the securing points.
Check for watertightness, by tipping the boat up on its stern
and waiting for a few minutes with the bung out. If leaks are
occurring then unscrew any suspect fittings and refit with sealant
in the screw holes.
Ropes
Spinnaker sheets can be any material including Spectra. The advantages of these hi-tech materials are they do not stretch. Unfortunately something has to give and there are many bent spinnaker poles as a result.
The standard purple sheets are quite adequate but they are far too long! Cut enough off to enable the crew to be able to fit the pole whilst the spinnaker is still in the chute.
Most of the ropes supplied are adequate for the job if a bit on the long side. Shorten as required.
If there is not already one fit a block at the back of the cockpit for the spinnaker halyard to go through.
You can now add the sails and prepare the boat for the water.
Jib
The jib shackle at the tack (bottom front corner) must be arranged
so that the spinnaker cannot snag on it. Tape it up also. Pull
the jib up tight - the crew should pull the forestay (using padding
on the hands) so that the mast is heaved forward and the jib halyard
secured onto the halyard rack. The jib cunningham should be as
loose as possible for the wind strength, but there should be no
creases in the luff. The jib sheets can either be left loose in
the boat with a figure of eight about a third of the way up or
the ends tied to the trapeze handles if preferred.
Mainsail
Pull the mainsail up with care. The boat should be head to wind and the crew should feed it into the mast and ensure the boom is completely free.
New boats may have a main halyard that is long enough but it still
maybe necessary to put a shackle on the end if there is any tension
on the luff. Put it on the lowest point of the rack and pull the
boom down onto the gooseneck and put the kicking strap on loosely
to ensure that it will not come off again. Tie a knot in the outhaul
at the maximum offwind point. Attach the cunningham and apply
tension to the kicking strap.
Spinnaker
Tie the halyard to the head of the sail with a bowline loop. Tie
the sheets onto the corners with a small bowline. Thread the downhaul
part of the halyard on the inside of the spinnaker using either
a small shackle or a plastic polo ring sewn on and then tie to
the top patch.
Other Rigging Points
The spinnaker catcher at the bow should be bent up.
Tape up all shackles, split rings and anything else that could come loose.
Mark the dagger board for the various positions.
If the crew needs more grip on the gunwhale the "sex wax" used by board sailors works well if a little messy.
(Phil Poyner's Championship Article has more rigging tips).