Thread: Beth - New Build 'Boreal'

Hehe, I was hoping you might have chimed in with the answer MIK, because I know that you know J. Not sure there is any glory, but the story is quite an interesting one . Anyway, here goes....

At first glance the link between the tiller and leech tension seems impossible to make, but it is a Laser peculiarity because the tiller passes under the rope traveller and when the mast bends, the boom almost touches the deck. When you sheet in hard and the boom block and the traveller blocks meet, we call this condition “block to block” or “two blocked”.

The big problem for Laser sailors is to get the maximum power out of the rig in medium winds they need to get maximum leech tension on the sail. This is achieved by using the mainsheet to tension the leech alone. Kicker tension simply reduces the leach tension as the boom is also a pusher into the mast (bending it) as well as a ‘puller’ down’. So the obvious answer is to use the mainsheet for that extra tension. The problem is that when you are “two blocked”, there is no more tension to left to apply. You could just use kicker to keep the boom on the corner, but unfortunately you would lose pointing ability and speed due to the lack of leech tension.

Ahaa, but there is a way to get another inch or two of tension when two blocked, and that is to have your traveller bar tight. But remember, the tiller passes under the traveller, and therefore it’s impossible to get it tight enough to keep the traveller block right on the deck because the tiller lifts the traveller line up, no matter how tight it is. The higher the tiller, the higher the traveller in the middle. This is why the Laser carbon tillers are designed with a super low profile to keep the tiller low to the deck and enable that extra inch or two of tension to be applied to the traveller. The attached pic of the carbon tiller shows the low profile. Notice also that the forward end of the tiller has a cut-out to ride over the traveller cleat.

But, wouldn’t squashing an aluminium tiller flat work? Yes, it would keep the profile low, but it would bend up and down pretty easily, and there is another Laser design problem to consider. The traveller cleat is right at the back of the cockpit, and any up-down movement in the tiller fouls the darn cleat. So really, the only lightweight way to make a super stiff tiller in all directions with a low profile is to go the carbon route, and this is why Laser sailors spend silly amounts on their tillers.

The other pic shows a sailor with the standard aluminium tiller. You will notice that whilst the traveller line is tight against the tiller, the traveller block is still a couple of inches off the deck. With a carbon tiller, the traveller block touches the deck and imparts that vital extra leech tension.

So there you have it, the carbon tiller provides more leech tension! J

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Aha! I was wondering why that might be. I figured it had something to do with the mainsheet and thought maybe it was sheeted to the tiller, but that didn't seem right and I thought I remembered it being sheeted from the front of the cockpit. Looking at the photos it seems my memory was partly right. I'm glad that my beth doesn't require such exotic steering gear. I can say this because, finally, I got out sailing yesterday!

Unfortunately there aren't any good photos of me actually sailing but I do at least have some photos.

First a few photos of the last stages of getting everything ready. There are a lot of little rigging details to take care of, but I'm glad I took my time because, as designed, the rig seems to work very well.

Things got a bit chaotic in the last minute rush to the end:


Testing the rig. In these photos the mainsheet is attached too far aft on the boom.



But finally, for the exciting part: launch day! I put both boats on the trailer and a bunch of friends came out for a fantastic day of sailing at the lake.

Conditions were excellent - sunny and a decent but very variable breeze. I'd estimate up to 15 knots in areas towards the end of the day (that was exciting!) but mostly probably 7-10 with strange patches of near dead calm. The lake I was on is fairly small (only a couple NM in any direction) so there's a lot of interference from trees.

Overall I am extremely pleased with the boat. She feels very fast but in a very easily controlled kind of way. When everything is going well it's a deceptive speed - like a bullet train. You see the water flying by but everything is surprisingly smooth and in control. By "everything going well" I mean a steady wind, sails well trimmed, and sailing flat. With the gusty and variable winds I was doing a lot of acrobatics and sail trimming to keep things going smoothly and I was worried at times about hiking out too far in case the wind suddenly dropped which I felt would result in me capsizing to windward.

I found, especially in these conditions, that it was important to keep my feet braced against both sides of the boat so I could instantly react to any changes. I did capsize once and that was because I had both feet near the center of the boat and when it started to heel I couldn't bring my weight out quickly enough. The only other time I came close was when the wind shifted in the middle of gybing, catching me by surprise. In that case I think the water came nearly up to the leeward coaming (I had a good view of the centerboard as I threw my weight to the high side). I found that it quickly become second nature to keep the boat from going over too far, but there definitely isn't a lot of room for error.

That brings me to one thing I need to figure out: how on earth do you re-board after a capsize? I found I couldn't even get close to getting in without it rolling over on me. The cockpit seemed to be about 1/3 - 1/2 full of water after bringing the boat upright and as soon as I tried to pull myself in it would just rush over and the boat would roll. I remember reading about using the sails to counterbalance while getting in but in this case there wasn't really much wind at all. Is it possible to do a dry-recovery? When I capsized I fell out of the boat (again, because I wasn't braced properly. Non-skid on the cockpit floor might have helped) but if the near-capsize had gone all the way over I feel I would have ended up just sitting on the side of the hull.

I found that sailing flat made a big difference in speed. Sailing with a good amount of heel (I'd estimate about half the leeward side under water) produced a lot more wake but might help cut through waves (although sailing flat you just seem to glide over them). With the boat flat it felt like I was in more of a planing attitude, even upwind. Downwind there was no question - she absolutely flies, getting faster and faster as the wind picks up.

There are a few rigging details that I think I need to tweak. I should mention that I forgot to bring the boom to mast lashings with me this time which could change things.

The main issue is the downhauls - currently the main downhaul is tied to the boom with a rolling hitch and led through the turning block to a trucker's hitch and then through the clam cleat. I found that 3mm spectra didn't reliable hold in the cleat so I tied a tail of 4mm braid to it and that seemed to hold well.

The rolling hitch on the boom slipped a bit over the course of the day. I think I'll replace it with a small carabiner cow-hitched to the boom and an eye in the end of the downhaul so I don't need to tie it every time. I used a carabiner to attach the halyards on the forward end of the yards and it seemed to work well. This would also ensure the length are right without any fiddling each time.

Second issue with the main downhaul seems to be position - as you may be able to see in the photos it ended up slightly forward of the mast which seems less than ideal from a vanging perspective. I noticed that the sail was vanged much more effectively on starboard tack than port tack (the downhaul and boom are to starboard). The answer might be as simple as sliding the attachment aft, but that seems like it'll just pull the boom forward? Also, I think my main sheet might still be attached a bit too far aft which probably has a tendency to push the boom forward.

For the mizzen downhaul I tied a length of spectra to the deck cleat, took a round turn on the boom, and back down to the cleat. At first I just ran it over the boom without the full turn and I found the boom slipped forward and wasn't very effectively held in position. The round turn seemed to work adequately but I'd welcome any comments or suggestions.

Both halyards seemed to work well. As Robert mentioned, having a dumb sheave for the mainsail makes it a bit hard to hoist, but I wonder if the friction is helpful once the sail is up. I'll try a block and see which I prefer.

The yoke steering setup seems to work pretty much flawlessly. I was impressed with how well the tiller extension worked even when my stopper knot slipped as it tightened up, leaving about 30mm between the extension and the tiller. The rudder forces are generally really low unless you've got the mizzen in too far which can cause some exciting rooster tails.

I found out that this fantastic dock at the rowing club is actually open to the public. It's nice for small boats because it only has a couple inches of freeboard.


The fleet (Lyra, my 13' clinker ply sailing dinghy, in the background. Built to Paul Fisher's Northumbrian Coble design - a very different creature from Beth)


Downhaul details


Main yard details. The leathering is essential for protecting the varnish. Note the carabiner in the out of focus foreground.


First moments on the water! Just after shooting out of the reeds from the launch to the right of the photo.


Paddling back at the end of the day.

Way to slay it!

Congratulations! Beautiful job. I love that boat!

Congratulations Andykane!!!



She is so beautiful!

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Both halyards seemed to work well. As Robert mentioned, having a dumb sheave for the mainsail makes it a bit hard to hoist, but I wonder if the friction is helpful once the sail is up. I'll try a block and see which I prefer.

After several attempts of it I prefer small block on the mainmast's top.

Oh wow! Just awesome, fantastico

Congratulations on your stunning achievement, brilliant!

Gosh ... soooo nice.