Hello all, I have recently started sailing a solo at club level racing (Southshields). There is quite a strong laser dinghy presence and some solos which is great. The last race I did was very challenging - I could not get the solo to point to windward as high as the other racers and trying to figure out why. It seemed I could only get power heading 10-20 degrees further down wind than the rest of the fleet.
I suspect that my settings were not correct. It was a good breeze 15-18 knots with gusts of 25-30 (probably the strongest I have sailed in yet). I had the kicker on as hard as I could, the same with the outhaul and the cunningham too. The one factor I did not try (as I was too busy enjoying all the rolling and spilling caused by wind over tide) was the center board which was fully down the while time. Off the wind I had tons of power, but as soon as I headed a bit upwind it was like someone flicked a switch and boat stopped moving.
Many thanks,
Robin
checking that the centreboard bolt isnt loose is good.
Pete Bond of Severn used to supply a elastic bunjee strap,the ones with the adjustable plastic clip.
round a loop on the board and under the thwart and mainsheet mount.
not high tec but a £2 solution