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May 01, 2019 4 min read
The Laser (or should I say ILCA Dinghy…) is a beautifully simple boat. However there are some useful tweaks you can make to make your life a little bit easier when sailing and these can really help you focus fully on sailing as fast as possible. Here are photos of my boat, the kit I use and all the small tweaks I have done to make sailing her just that little bit easier.
The tiller is one of the most important pieces of equipment that you can change on a Laser. Ideally it will be super low where the traveller runs over but also have substantial clearance over the cleat near the cockpit. It should be as stiff as possible and in an ideal world not flex at all.
I use the current Laser XD tiller as I find it to be a nice shape, stiff and has great clearance over the cleat.
To secure my tiller after I’ve launched I put the rudder blade all the way down and then tie a simple slip knot in the rudder downhaul rope before passing the rope under the notch in the cleat, through the loop in the slip knot and then back through the cleat on the tiller before pulling on hard and cleating off.
The advantage of doing this is you get a firm connection between your tiller and rudder ensuring there is no wobble between the two and the tiller never sinks lower whilst you sail.
A shorter extension is easier to handle in manoeuvres. However when hiking a short extension can encourage bad posture and difficult to hike out far and forwards when needed. I think somewhere in the middle is perfect. With the rudder on and my extension clipped into the tiller you can see in the photo below how far forward my tiller + extension reaches.
I use a full Harken XD system as standard on most Lasers. A couple of modifications to the controls that I have made are:
So controls look like this:
It is key to make sure you are using good ropes for these control lines and that they are not twisted or fraying as this can add a lot of friction to the system and even cause the ropes/fittings to break.
For the downhaul I recommend you use 4mm rope that is strong and hardwearing to deal with loads.
Here is my recommended rope: 4mm Marlow Excel Control Line Rope
The outhaul is a bit different as it isn’t very loaded, so the priority becomes system smoothness. Therefore, I would recommend using a 3mm soft rope. This doesn’t need to be strong or hardwearing.
Here is my recommended rope: 3mm Dyneema Kingfisher Evolution Race Rope
Take a look at the differences between my downhaul (blue) and outhaul (red) rope.
I pull the outhaul onto the side of my boom to try and avoid it interfering with my sail, especially when tacking. There’s nothing worse than tacking onto port off the start line to see the foot of your sail getting held up by your outhaul!
To do this I tie a small 18mm onto the port side of my boom as shown in the picture below. This is actually good enough to pull the whole outhaul system completely out the way of the sail. I then loop my elastic under and then over the boom before tying it back onto the cleat on the top of the boom.
I now use the new style clamcleat with a notch underneath. This allows you to conveniently tuck away the toe strap elastic so it does not interfere with the traveller rope. See it here: https://www.sailingchandlery.com/products/clamcleat-%C2%AE-racing-junior-mk1-with-becket
I usually use 5mm or 6mm traveller ropes. There are a variety of different ropes you can chose from but I think key characteristics you are looking for are: ultra-low stretch, good grip in cleat and as friction-free over tiller as possible.
I use purchase system on my toe strap which gives you a wide range of adjustment on the water as well as being able to make the toe strap bar tight in light winds. This system done correctly is unbeatable and I would say is a must have for every Laser sailor. See the video of how I do it here:
Last but no means least we have the new stronger kicker key upgrade. With the introduction of thicker sail material with the new Standard MK2 sails our kicker loads have also increased and that meant there were an increasing number of kicker keys breaking, especially in the windier weather.
Laser and Harken have now fixed this and as standard the Laser kicker keys are thicker. Check yours today.
Had the boom and mast in stock. Order processed quickly, great service and local so could pick them up. Friendly and helpful staff as always. Thank you
Ordered this item for an alternative use for my young boy who loves playing spiderman and wrapping/tying objects up with different coloured string/rope.
Arrived quickly and with a fab assortment of different ropes. Perfect for the purpose of my purchase.
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Good back, like the two separate pockets for wet and dry gear, however i find the wet pocket zip does seem to get stuck and would like the back to have straps like a rucksack so you can carry it on your back, other than that extremely happy with the 90l as it gives me tonnes of space for all my sailing gear
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I needed replacement Q Locks (a great product). Arrived in under 48 hours from ordering
A chandlery was the only place I could think where to get this. It's actually the strengthen the post for our washing line the steel wire (hoops both ends fitting diagonally from top of clothes post to base of another post 2 meters away supporting trellis between. The length of steel wire will soon disappear in the foliage & should provide addition structural support for many years.
Service was excellent with the length being ready before the expected date.
Worn these for a few races now and they have been excellent. Really high performing. They are grippy and super supportive even without using the zhik toe straps. I’ve raved about them so much that my crew and colleagues at the club have now also bought the same ones
Ordered this when my son's training sail got rippd in action. Pleased to find it here 20% cheaper than anywhere else and as always delivered correctly and in great time. Thankyou
The bag is well made and large enough for halyards as well as other items. I have used the 3M fixings but these are not really adequate and so the bags will need to be screwed in place.
I would buy again.
Delivery was on time. The O rings fitted the hatches on my topper topaz. No issues excellent service
I ordered the hiking pads for my son who was very pleased with them. The order was delivered within a few days. I’ve ordered items before from sailing chandlery and have not been disappointed with the service I received. Thank you
Loads of space in this bag for all of my kit, extra pockets are very helpful and the compartment inside keeps my dry and wet kit apart. Would recommend.
Not actually for a Topper but for a sailing canoe I have built. Pleased with the quality, delivered promptly, just the job thank you!
I’m using this with the Clamcleat CL211 and they pair perfectly. Strong and with the stiffness that I was looking for. Really pleased with the purchase and excellent quick service.
These work fantastically. Used with 6mm rope they grip instantly. Easy to adjust in small amounts and lock in with no effort at all. I was concerned that when the pressure comes off that the rope would release, but this isn’t the case at all. Really pleased with the purchase and rapid delivery.
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