lazy jack advice

brianbourgeois · #1 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

i am looking at puting a lazy jack system on my 32 footer.
does anyone have any pros or cons of different systems.
thanks.

Denr · #2 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

I took them off my 34 foot boat after I sailed it the very first time! They caught the battens on both the north and south bound trip of the main, fact of the matter is that a mainsail on a boat in our size range can be EASILY handled without the use of lazy jacks, it's just not that big, yes I single hand all of the time!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

catamount · #3 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

The lazy jacks I have are made of slippery spectra line, run through eye splices rather than blocks. The slippery but strong spectra greatly reduces chafe. Blocks or any other metal bits will be hard points that will cause wear on your sail.

The lazy jacks are retractable, so I can loosen them and pull them forward to the gooseneck and out of the way of the sail when up, or out of the way of the sail cover when the sail is down.

svindigo · #4 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

My advice would be to make sure that after you have dropped your sail(s) bring the lazy jacks forward and stow them against the mast. When you hoist your sails they are out of the way. We only have our lazy jacks out when we are dropping the sail. Once flaked and tied down we stow them as described.

Ike

gershel · #5 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

That won't work with a stack pack, will it?

Marc

Ronbye · #6 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

This topic has been discussed before in previous threads. There is a lot of good advice and everybody has an opinion on this. For me, keep it as simple as possible. Look at the previous threads and you will get lots of advice. Do a search on Lazy Jacks.

svindigo · #7 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

Marc,
I don't have a stack pack so not an issue for me but I believe you are correct. The stack pack lazy jacks I think are used to hold up the pack after zipping up but I could be wrong.

Faster · #8 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by svindigo

My advice would be to make sure that after you have dropped your sail(s) bring the lazy jacks forward and stow them against the mast.
Ike

We use ours in a similar manner, but stow them on shockcords attached to the cabintop handrails. This keeps them from vibrating and rattling against the mast when stowed. The lower sections of our lazy jacks are made of shock cords as well, so it all takes up quite nicely.

T37Chef · #9 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

Check out E-Z-JAX Systems

Saw the system at the Annapolis Boat show and I am considering it for my boat. It seems to make sense for my application. What I like about the idea is that I won’t have to fit the sail cover and it’s out of the way when the sail is raised so the battens don’t catch. You can even control it from the cockpit if you choose that option.

I would be interested if anyone has used the ezjax and how they like it.

RichardElliott · #10 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006

I used EZ Jax for many years on an Islander 28 with a full batten main and installed a second set on my Ericson 34. They work great, especially with full battens. Short battens tend to hang up on any lazy jack system.