lazy jacks

[midlifesailor]

I'm going contrarian here myself and am planning to purchase a integrated cover/lazy jack system from my boat. I'm most likely going with the MackPack, primarily due to it being about 1/2 as expensive as other similar systems I've seen. I really don't expect it to be a simple as the downsized models dispayed at the boat show, but so long as the sail stays off the deck, I won't mind having to go forward and tuck it away fully.

Yes it would be cheaper to build my own lazyjacks, but I'd have to then pay to modify my current sail cover, so the total coast might be 30% or more of the MackPack. It also makes dropping the sail and securing the sail more of a single process which will likely save some time every time you sail.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by midlifesailor

Yes it would be cheaper to build my own lazyjacks, but I'd have to then pay to modify my current sail cover, so the total coast might be 30% or more of the MackPack.

No, you wouldn't have to modify your sailcover if you make the lazyjacks retractable. See posts #2 and #3.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by knothead

No, you wouldn't have to modify your sailcover if you make the lazyjacks retractable. See posts #2 and #3.

I will second that.

Retractable lazy jacks make it easier to raise the main. The battens do not foul and there is less likelihood that the main halyard gets fed the wrong way.

A separate sail cover allows you see the foot of your main when you you trim the outhaul.

A separate sail cover permits you to leave the cover off and the halyard on, tied through the foremost sail tie, when at anchor or on a mooring.

The only integrated sail cover I seen that I liked rolled up against the boom and stowed nicely.

My $.02.

Jack

[MtHopeBay]

What is meant by retractable? Are lazyjacks usually a fixed rigging? My Balboa 24 came with lazyjacks and I was planning to remove them this winter so I'm following this thread with interest.

Mine look like Harken 252 for small boat but instead of a continuous control line that is fixed on one side of the boom, goes under the boom and is cleated on the other side, it has a seperate control line on each side of the boom, one end of which snaps to a pad eye on the aft half of the boom and the other end cleats on the forward end of the boom. They get removed and then tie off to cleats on the mast when not used.

They were of little use and usually got in the way when hoisting sail. I hadn't considered attaching them to blocks on the spreaders but now I will.
Mike

[midlifesailor]

Originally Posted by jackdale

I will second that.

Retractable lazy jacks make it easier to raise the main. The battens do not foul and there is less likelihood that the main halyard gets fed the wrong way.

A separate sail cover allows you see the foot of your main when you you trim the outhaul.

A separate sail cover permits you to leave the cover off and the halyard on, tied through the foremost sail tie, when at anchor or on a mooring.

The only integrated sail cover I seen that I liked rolled up against the boom and stowed nicely.

My $.02.

Jack

Its a 4 or 5 step process then. Drop the sail, dress the flaking, tie sailties, retract the jacks, install cover (which you're not likely to do at anchor. Add a step at the start to tension the jacks if you retracted them while you were sailing. I don't see the big deal on leaving the halyard attached. If you had a Mack Pack or Similar you could still do that if you wanted.

The Mack Pack is one of the integrated covers that allows you to retract the jacks and roll the cover alongside the boom if you like, and I think even with it up, you'd be able to see the foot well enough to trim the outhaul. I have to go to the mast to trim the outhaul anyway, so I'd defintely be able to see what was going on on my boat. I can see were it might be an issue if your outhaul is lead aft and you didn't roll the cover up.

[jackdale]

I attach the halyard at the dock and detach it when I return to the dock.

Jack

[jbarros]

I'm curious if the boat I crew on is in the minority. It's an older Gozzard, sailed by a gentleman whom is the model of a civilized sailor I wish to become. Everything is done with the right knot, every item on the boat has a place, and stays there, (unlike any other boat I've ever sailed on) and he makes that dog of a boat sail like it's a racer. He also has lazy jacks, so that he can "single hand" when his family feels more like riding on a sail boat than crewing. I can't imagine he'd do something untowards, but I have to ask about other peoples take on his setup.

On his boat, the Jacks stay forward, and are not connected to the boom at all, excepting right before he lowers sail. He'll lock off the wheel, go forward and connect the lazy jacks to the boom, and drop the sail. The sail then gets tied, and the sail cover goes on with the jacks still on.

When we go out, the main comes up with the jacks still on, to prevent it from spilling off the boom, and then the jacks are removed from the boom and attached forward shortly after we commence sailing. It seems to work very well for him, and because the jacks are forward and tight when not in use, they're quiet and do not rub against the sail at all, excepting while raising or lowering, which I can't help but think is a lot better for the life of the sail than any system where they're constantly up.

Is this not a standard way of doing things?

Thanks

-- James

[cormeum]

We have a pretty big main (22' foot, 48' luff) I can fully recommend the "Dutchman". I've never seen any lazyjacks system work as easily.

[imagine2frolic]

Originally Posted by jbarros

I'm curious if the boat I crew on is in the minority. It's an older Gozzard, sailed by a gentleman whom is the model of a civilized sailor I wish to become. Everything is done with the right knot, every item on the boat has a place, and stays there, (unlike any other boat I've ever sailed on) and he makes that dog of a boat sail like it's a racer. He also has lazy jacks, so that he can "single hand" when his family feels more like riding on a sail boat than crewing. I can't imagine he'd do something untowards, but I have to ask about other peoples take on his setup.

On his boat, the Jacks stay forward, and are not connected to the boom at all, excepting right before he lowers sail. He'll lock off the wheel, go forward and connect the lazy jacks to the boom, and drop the sail. The sail then gets tied, and the sail cover goes on with the jacks still on.

When we go out, the main comes up with the jacks still on, to prevent it from spilling off the boom, and then the jacks are removed from the boom and attached forward shortly after we commence sailing. It seems to work very well for him, and because the jacks are forward and tight when not in use, they're quiet and do not rub against the sail at all, excepting while raising or lowering, which I can't help but think is a lot better for the life of the sail than any system where they're constantly up.

Is this not a standard way of doing things?

Thanks

-- James

It sounds very clean, and seaman like. I bet he doesn't cuss at crew either . Maybe he can adopt me? .......i2f

[DropTop]

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.