Rooster Radial Laser Sail Mast Sleeve too Wide?

Paul Rose Design

Paul Rose Design

New Member
Hi Everyone,

I attended a Laser training day at my club yesterday (Glossop Sailing Club, UK) and it was brought to my attention by the more experienced laser sailors that the luff of my brand new Rooster Radial sail retained too much 'sag' and crease even with the downhaul on tight. Please see the attached photo.

They investigated it further, and watched as I sailed the boat, noticing I was being overpowered by what they at first believed to be too little cunningham tension. However, when the boat was on the shore they observed the fact that the sleeve on the Rooster Radial sail appeared much wider than was was neccessary and especially in comparison to their own sails. This in turn - they believe - is reducing the effect the cunningham has on the sail due to the excess amount of sail.

Looking at the images I've posted here, does anyone else think the sail has been manufatcured wrong, it would be great to get other people's opinions on this before I take the issue back to Rooster. I only bought the sail - brand new - from them back in May this year.

To me it looks like the sleeve gets wider half way up the mast, tapering both at the bottom and top... is this correct?

:confused:

Paul
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Easiet way is to get a tape and measure the width at various points, it does seem to widen in your photos but that could just be the camera angle doing it. Bear in mind the sleeve diameter does alter on the class legal sails too as the tube at the head of the sail will never fit over the bottom section.

Also do give Rooster a call, they are normally pretty good with sorting out any issues/concerns.
 
Thanks Jeffers, your advice is very much appreciated... I'll get an accurate measurement at various points on the sleeve before giving Rooster a call.

Cheers pal!
 
Does it need to be wider there to allow for mast bend? The sleeve may tear otherwise. The wide spot looks to be were there would be maximum mast bow.
 
torrid said:
Does it need to be wider there to allow for mast bend? The sleeve may tear otherwise. The wide spot looks to be were there would be maximum mast bow.
Click to expand...

I did consider that but I do not have a sail to hand to check it out. I think him giving Rooster a call and posting what they say is the best way forward.

To be fair if you grind cunningham on and release the kicker then you will get a big crease up the luff of the sail. That does not mean there is nothing wrong with his sail though, it may be it was stictch/glued incorrectly in the loft.
 

Thanks for the pointers guys... I'm going to take this up with rooster now that I have the measurements of the luff sleeve... I've included pics... but basically the sleeve begins at 12cm wide gradually widening to 14cm before gradually tapering down to 9cm as it reaches the mast head. 01.JPG04.JPG08.JPG
 
Just remember that there is no obligation for Rooster or any other sailmaker to make "copy" sails which are anything remotely similar to a authentic Laser Sail. None of them measure in.
 
AlanD said:
Just remember that there is no obligation for Rooster or any other sailmaker to make "copy" sails which are anything remotely similar to a authentic Laser Sail. None of them measure in.
Click to expand...

Alan is 100% correct with what he says here however, as Rooster sell these as a training sail that is supposed to perform like the genuine article it would be very bad form for it to be different.

Feedback what Rooster say, you may find them a little busy this week as they have the 8.1 Nationals this weekend at Wier Wood so perhaps leaving it until early next week might be advisable.
 
Hey guys, apologies for the late response.

Rooster took their time getting back to me, but here's their response to my query. I'd appreciate your thoughts...

" Hi there - yes the radial sleeve on Mark 6's are very shaped. Increasing the cuningham tension will bring the fullness forward (as you have proved very well). Reduce cunnigham tension - and add either sheet or kicker will take the fullness aft. Your cunnigham tension on a replica sail will have a huge effect since the sailcloth is much more stable. So Pull it on 2cm - and you have the same effect as pulling on an official sail by 12cm.
I hope that helps."
 
Sounds like Rooster have given you some advice. As they are using a different cloth and perhap orienting the weave differently (which I do find a little strange given that they are sold as 'training' sails) it means the sail will need to be trimmed differently.

I do not suppose there is another Rooster replica you can compare it too?

Failing that give it a try, if you do not need to pull as much on then pulling excessive amounts on will have a detrimental effect and make the sail look awful (and different) to an 'official' sail.

The reason they were slow in getting back to you is probably because Steve himself needed to reply, not sure if you have seen but he has been quite ill recently (in hospital for some time I believe). Happily he is now recovering so Rooster should respond quicker now.
 
Thanks for your thoughts Jeffers.

I'll try and compare to another Radial if I come across someone at the club with one, failing that I'll give Steve's advice a try.
 
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