Toe Straps

[Anonymous]

Gidday all

After sailing my lone Sabre against a fleet of Lasers and Corsairs for the past six months, I need to carry out some minor maintenance during the Christmas break, including the replacement of the toe straps.

Currently they run from the transom to the thwarts.

I am finding this a little inconvenient as I find I generally have to sail astride the thwarts to get acceptable trim, especially to windward. Consequently I have had to adopt one-legged hiking – a practice that has caused me a little consternation at times!

Do the toe straps have to terminate at the thwarts, or can they be continued forward towards the front buoyancy tank and anchored into a stringer with, say, a saddle? Or is there another recommended way of terminating them?

As I have no other Sabre to compare to, I am unsure as to what is allowable, or works really well.

Thanks for any help

Petro

[heymacaulay]

Hi Petro,

To the best of my knowledge there are no restrictions on toe straps. Just make sure they are attached to a strong point of the boat. Most people attach them to the front buoyancy tank while others attach them to the front of the centreboard case. I have even seen one boat with two sets of toe straps – one led to the front for beating, the other set attached out wide for hiking when going downwind on heavy days. I think this is a bit excessive, but it emphasises the flexibility you have within the rules.

Regards,

Alan Riley
Sabre 1564

[Anonymous]

Thanks Alan for the advice and your suggestions.

I’ll replace them sometime over the next few weeks, ready for the second part of our season.

Cheers

[Author]

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