How to Rig a Laser Sail Boat

The Laser's rigging isn't as complicated as a ship's.

Rigging the Laser for a day's sailing isn't quite as complicated as rigging a 1,600 register-ton square-rigged auxiliary sailing ship. Parts of the rigging, like the block to operate and tighten the forward end of the sail and and the blocks for the line which controls the sail's twist, are permanently rigged and merely have to be attached to the boat and the boom, the "arm" at the foot -- or bottom -- of the sail. Setting the mast in place and connecting the lines that control the swing of the boom are almost the only rigging.

Instructions

1. Lay the mast, boom and sail on the ground. Unroll and slide the sail onto the mast, starting from the top of the mast and pulling the sail fully onto the mast. Visually inspect the sail's leading edge to ensure it runs straight down the mast. Insert the battens' curved ends into the slots on the leach -- the trailing edge -- of the sail. Apply duct tape to the ends of the battens to ensure they stay in place.

2. Move the boom to the mast and lock it into place on the mast. Attach the clew-- the bottom-rear corner of the sail -- to the rear of the boom by pushing the hook-and-loop clew strap through the grommet in the the clew of the sail and wrapping it through and around the end of the boom, tightly. Pull the kicker shackle -- the kicker is the block and tackle permanently mounted to the base of the boom -- and hook it into the shackle on the bottom of the boom.

3. Slide the clew of the sail to the end of the boom. Tie the outhaul to the clew of the sail and reeve -- the technical term for threading a line through a block -- the outhaul through the clew block at the end of the boom. Pull the end of the outhaul forward to the front block, on the rear of the mast. Loop the downhaul, used to put downward pressure on the boom, through the tack grommet, in the bottom-forward corner of the sail, and around the downhaul block that is mounted to the the kicker. Tie the ends of the downhaul together. Tie the loose end of the kicker around the main sheet block shackle.

4. Fit the tiller into the rudder stock. Ensure that the rudder fits properly in the gudgeons -- the brackets that hold the rudder -- and moves without a loose feeling when you move the tiller. Pick the mast up and set t the mast into the mast step -- the hole in the deck, forward of the cockpit. Do not allow the butt of the mast to touch the ground.

5. Reeve the outhaul to the starboard fairlead block at the base of the mast. Pull it back toward the cockpit. Reeve the end of the outhaul through the starboard cleat. Tie a series of slip knots at the end of the outhaul, to prevent it from running back through the cleat. Reeve the kicker through the port fairlead block at the base of the mast. Like the outhaul, pull it back toward the cockpit and through the port cleat. Tie a series of slip knots at the end of the line.

6. Tie the mast retainer around the kicker block at the mast and though the shackles of both the port and starboard fairlead blocks, using any secure knot.

7. Reeve the main sheet through the main sheet block on the cockpit's forward deck. Reeve the main sheet through the ratchet block, the second fairlead block on the bottom of the boom, so that it enters the forward throat, or opening, of the block. Pull the main sheet through the third fairlead, to the clew block at the end of the boom. Pull the main sheet through the traveler on the stern of the boat and back up to the clew block. Tie the main sheet to the becket, or ring, on the bottom of the block.

Tips & Warnings

• Insert the boat's centerboard through the cockpit deck after you launch the boat. Carry the centerboard's safety line forward and tie it to one of the chocks in front of the mast. This keeps the safety line from fouling the mast or sail control lines.

• Lasers come equipped with a wind tell-tale. You can push it into the small hole near the bow -- the front -- of the boat.

• Always wear a personal flotation device -- a life jacket -- when sailing in a Laser.

References

• YouTube: How to Rig a Laser by Britain's Olympic Sailor; Volvocarsailing