> You aren't legally allowed to add anything to the Laser (or Rad) mast except
> tape. I would have to say that your Radial sail with a halyard is very
> likely not legal anyway.
> Teresa, are you SURE it's really a Radial rig? All Radial sails I've ever
> seen have a sleeve that goes over the mast, just like the full rig. IF yours
> has a sleeve, I'd use it if I were you.
> It might be an old "M" rig - they might have had a halyard - but they're
> actually not used very much any more.
> Sorry to be negative here, but I don't think you have to worry about Laser
> class rules if you're going to sail with that rig anyway.
>
> Lainie Pardey
> Laser Class rep.
Since you are supposed to be a Laser Class Rep for your club, you need to
familiarize yourself with the Laser class of boat. ILCA published a Laser
handbook 04/86 with specifications on the Radial sail and instructions for
rigging it along with many photos. This particular handbook shows the old
metal basket style mast topper with rivited fairlead for the halyard and this
mast topper fits over the top of the mast (duh). My newer Radial sail (1992
vintage -- NOT an M-RIG !!!) , lower mast section, and mast topper - all
purchased from Laser - are similar to the one featured in the ILCA publication
except that the mast topper is cloth with a fairlead sewn on. The sail sleeve
is wider than the sleeve on the standard sail to accommodate the halyard
which runs down the inside of the sleeve along the mast. At the gooseneck
is a hook to which the halyard is tied after the sail is hoisted. However,
when the sail is pulled down, the halyard tends to rotate around the mast,
making hoisting the sail a bit tricky since there is no eyestrap to keep the
halyard in line with the fairlead.
The latest Radial sail configuration, which you evidently are more familiar
with, was redesigned to eliminate the halyard -- the mast sleeve is sewn shut
at the head of this sail. Those of us who have the previous generation of
Radial sail are not allowed to modify the sails that we have, but we are left
with the problem of the slippery halyard.
Currently, I have fashioned an eyestrap with duct tape, but am not sure is
this is "legal" under class rules. If this is legal, is it legal to rivit an eyestrap
to the lower mast section?
Teresa J. Yeary
Yeary@vet.ksu.edu
