In case my first guess about the marbles is incorrect, I'll tell a story in hopes of covering my bases.
When Island Yacht Club in Alameda was a new club, I was one of the first members of its junior program. Kids from visiting clubs would come for regattas (remember the SBRA?) and one of our kids had a scheme for messing up their starts. He would wait until a few seconds before the gun and then turn his radio up full blast to create confusion. Now hold that thought...
A fun old movie was "Ensign Pulver." Near the end of this Navy-themed comedy, the grumpy old Captain got appendicitis. Ensign Pulver, a consummate prankster, had to perform the surgery. Before he stitched up the captain he left a few marbles to rattle around inside him.
So my guess is the Laser sailor left a few marbles to rattle around in his boat, and maybe in others, to distract and confuse the competition.
[QUOTE=Intermission;31619
Do the marbles act as a trim indicator like a tennis ball in an El Toro? /QUOTE]
I will repeat my answer given 4 days ago to Ants on post 5099: "Sorry, but the marbles in the Laser flotation tank do not act as a trim indicator."
And no, they are not slingshot ammo. Nor do they glow in the dark and no, they are not meant to rattle the competition. Somebody knows the answer. SoloSailer?
Marbles...
I had Laser #1172 IIRC, so only slightly less old than Bob's. The Laser's flotation tank was the entire hull. It had a few - not very many - large chunks of foam wrapped in plastic that had been put in before the hull and deck were stuck together. I know because I got a "deal" on the boat, it was a dealer's demo and had been left in the water in Marina del Rey for at least 6 months. All I could afford with the proceeds from my OK dinghy and meager 16-year -old savings. Upon opening the plug in the transom water ran out so clearly the boat was waterlogged. The rules allowed the installation of a deck plate near the daggerboard slot so I cut a hole and rinsed out the inside as best I could and then hung the boat up in the garage for a few months with my mom's hair dryer taped tightly in the deck plate and the stern plug open. I should have weighed the boat before and after but didn't. I don't recall if my parents said anything about unusually high electric bills...
So if a Laser's hull "air tank" was FILLED with marbles, that's a LOT of marbles and a lot of weight. I can imagine only two scenarios: 1) a semi-submersible (and very unstable) boat for photos of someone sailing without a visible hull (would Sled do that?) or 2) an underwater art installation of a fully rigged dinghy, well trimmed, sitting on the bottom of an unknown body of water. I have to say I prefer the visuals although not the environmental impact of #2.
On the other hand, do Laser sailors now sail with a bottle of compressed air strapped to their chests like AC sailors? I can't imagine why, but if so that "air tank", if filled with marbles, would be a nice bit of extra hiking weight, and hard to detect although illegal. I wore wet sweatshirts back in the day before they were outlawed.
Tom K
Good guesses and fun history by Tom (Cover Craft.) Mom's hair blower left running inside his Laser?! However, the marbles in the Laser were not meant to create a semi-submersible, an underwater art object, nor extra stability. I will hint that for the Laser skipper, the marbles provided good value.
Last edited by sleddog; 09-06-2022 at 08:55 PM.
No water in hull = rattle. Water in hull = no rattle
In related news, after the PacCup I retired my red pee bottle. It was time. The replacement is a more-subtle light gray.
Inverness sunrise, yesterday, Tuesday, 9/06/22, at 6:57.
It was a toasty 94 degrees on the CBC deck when I returned at 2 pm. Rare to get that much heat at this location, being close to 59 degree ocean.
Did we mention the remnants of Hurricane Kay will impact S.Cal by this coming weekend? May even get moisture as far north as Central CA.
Last edited by sleddog; 09-07-2022 at 05:53 AM.