Traveler
The traveller allows the boom to travel from one side of the boat to the other, depending on which side the wind is coming from.
Generally, you will leave the traveler on as tight as possible in most conditions. However, you may want to loosen it a little in very light conditions so that the boom can easily move from side to side when tacking / gybing.
Check out the video below with some hints and tips setting up your Laser traveller with Steve Cockerill from Rooster Sailing…
Laser mainsheet attached to boom on deck
I am new to sailing the laser and my main sheet keeps getting stuck around the stern corner of the boat near the traveler. Am I doing something incorrect on a tack with the traveler or do I need a thinner main sheet?
Appreciate any insight…
Hi David
Thanks for your question. It’s a good one as it is a fairly common problem.
I assume this mainly happens when you are gybing. Talk to different people and you’ll probably get slightly different answers, but it basically has to do with the slack in the mainsheet while going through the gybe. Just before you go into the gybe, pull on a bit of mainsheet so that there is less slack to get caught around the stern corner. Then as the boom is going over, give the mainsheet a bit of a tug (try grabbing it between the boom block and the mainsheet block) to take up a bit more slack. This should avoid it catching. You should find that as you get better, you will tack & gybe faster, and you shouldn’t have as many problems.
All the best, and let us know how you go.
Brendan
Firstly heel to windward (the side you are sitting on) as you start bearing away. When you get onto a dead run sheet in rapidly 2-3 armfuls of mainsheet till there is no slack. When the boom starts to come over give the mainsheet a tug and if you can help the boom across by pushing it mid gybe. Sometimes though your mainsheet will get caught and you just have to set it free without slowing the boat down too much.
Good advice, thanks Matt