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When I bought my boat this past spring, it had a fixed lazy jack system on it that the main was always catching on when going up, and messing up sail shape. That only lasted a few weeks before I made a new set of lazy jacks.
I installed 2 Fairlead V-Cleats (one for port side, one for starboard side lazy jack) on the forward side of the mast. Up from those run the "lazy jack halyards" using 1/4" 3 strand line to blocks on the mast (I would have preferred the spreaders, but the blocks were already there from the previous set). The 3 strand gives a nice degree of stretch which is quite usefull in proper tensioning of the line.
After the line goes through the blocks it runs down to another block.
Running through that block is a 3/16" braided low-stretch nylon line attached to the boom about a foot from the gooseneck on one end, and contains a block on the other end of it.
The line that goes through that block (also 3/16") has both ends fixed to the boom about equal spacing down the boom (for larger sails, the first adjustable line would be duplicated as many times as necessary until only the final 2 points are fixed.)
The setup on the port side is an exact mirror of the starboard side
With this setup whenever I don't need them up, I release the line at the V-Cleat and pull the lazy jacks down and forward, and hook them under the reefing hook at the gooseneck (you can install a hook of some sort on the mast in front of the gooseneck if you don't have reefing hooks on each side). then I pull the line tight at the V-Cleat and secure it in.
I've never had problems with raising or lowering sine adopting this setup, and it only takes seconds to put up or take down the lazy jacks, and everything is self adjusting with tension at the cleat so they don't hang slack when up or down. When I install a rigid vang next spring, I won't have to adjust anything on the lazy jacks either.
I think I spent less then $100 for everything involved, and it only took a few hours to complete. I'm VERY happy with the system as it is.
P.S. I tried to attach a little diagram but every time I try to attach a file to the post, it fails.
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Four Points - 1990 Hunter 27'
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