I had the good fortune to try Bob Suggitts new big sail for the Laser last Sunday morning and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I am seriously heavy for the boat and have been toying with the idea of buying the Rooster 8.1 rig until Bob mentioned that he was developing his own big rig…Wild 1. Bob’s version differs from the 8.1 in a number of ways. Instead of extending the mast he has opted for a fully battened design supporting more sail area high up.
When you’re my weight, (I’m not saying ….but at least 4 stone more than Ben Ainsle) the standard Laser rig is a bit dull in light winds, slow to accelerate as the breeze gets up and in marginal planing conditions I’m on the wrong side of the margin so get left behind very quickly. “Aaaah” I hear you say “but when the wind gets up, you can hold it down and win”…. errr no…….it doesn’t seem to happen like that…. I can bully the boat flat in strong winds and it works well on a big lake or the sea but it is difficult to translate this into forward motion when the conditions are gusty as they invariably are on our small pond. result? mid fleet at best, tired and usually very wet.
Bob’s sail changes all this. The boat is transformed. The first thing you notice (if you’re a bit fat) is that the boat rolls predictably and smoothly like it used to when you wern’t fat. This brings back memories and makes you realise what you’ve been missing. With the standard rig, the boat is very sensitive and tippy making roll tacks tricky and gusty winds a nightmare. The larger rig, with all that high up sail area, compensates for my extra weight as it flaps through the air when the boat rolls. It feels natural and balanced. There is also more room under the boom, so moving around is easier.
When reaching, the rig is awesome. I managed to get on the plane in a couple of gusts (probably only 12-13 mph) and the boat just took off. Others who have sailed the rig claim that the battened roach spills the heavier gusts and allows a much more forgiving sail.
Overall, I had a very enjoyable morning sail ……started a minute behind the standard rig Lasers in the pursuit race on Sunday and finished not much more than a minute after them…overtaking a couple of 4.7s and an Enterprise… not impressive at first glance but the full rig Lasers were Rob and Kelsey, in that wind, I would not have been anywhere near in a standard rig Laser.
I am now in negotiation with domestic purchase control to see if funds are available in the near future….watch this space.
