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Does anyone have any recent experience with purchasing and installing a Mack Pack for their mainsails? I'm seriously considering this as an option to improve sail handling on our Omega 36 and would like to hear from someone who's gone down this road before me.
The main problem with a stack pack type cover, especially if you have the lines led back to the cockpit, is that the Mack Pack makes it difficult to see when you've got good shape on the reefed mainsail. Other than that, they're quite good for main sail furling and control.
However, you can get almost the same amount of control with a good lazy jack system. The Mack Pack is pretty expensive, given what it does.
By furling, I mean when you're storing the main on the boom when you're at anchor-not that the boat had a boom or mast furling main, since that is the definition of furling a sail...See this wikipedia entry or see these definitions of the word.
Dave, there is in mast furling and boom roller furling for mains. I have a stack pack on my boat with jiffy reefing. I highly recommend the set up. I am not sure how the words reefing, furling and flaking can be used interchangeably.
Sailingdog: As far as cost goes, I looked into a stand-alone (harken, I think) lazy jack system and it was cheeper, but not by a huge magnitude. I kind of like the idea of not having to put on the sail cover - zipping up the mackpack after droping the sail apeals to MY lazy side.
I installed a lazy jack system on my boat recently, upgrading the one from the factory, and it cost all of $125 or so.
150' line $39 on sale at WM
8 padeyes $20
6 1" ss rings 30
2 Harken micro blocks $20
16 3/16" x 1/4" ss Pop rivets
Works just fine. System has four legs and looks basically like this drawing.
For furling the mainsail, I ran a piece of shock cord through the four padeyes on each side. The shock cord on one side had three hooks threaded on it, one between each pair of padeyes. To furl the mainsail, I drop the main, reach over the boom and grab the shock cord, and pull it over and hook it on the hook. Keeps the sail neatly bundled on top of the boom. The shock cord and hooks probably cost all of $20.
So for less than $150, I have a four-leg lazy jack setup and a mainsail furling system that is dead simple to use. The sail cover just goes over the whole system.
You can spend $900 if you want... or you can do this.
Dave just unzip the the stack pack and you ready hoist sail. when it's come time to douse the sail just release the halyard and she flakes in the right in the bag in 30 seconds you zip it up and are done. I like lazy to!
I had Quantum make me up a stack pack and I absolutely swear by it. It was about a 1000 bucks, but is really worth every penny. Here's how it works.
The pack itself is run into the slot (track) in my boom. The canvas then runs up either side of the boom around the main, and then the lazy jacks attach to heavy duty canvas loops stitched into the upper edge of the pack. To raise main, I simply unzip the pack and raise. To lower the main, I head into irons, and blow main halyard. The main drops right into the bag, no issues. I then do a little tidying up of the main by pulling aft on the leach. Once she has some nice folds, I simply zip up the bag and voila.
Now, when just day sailing in the SF Bay, I leave everything as is. However, when I'm planning a long cruise, we set sail and then roll up the canvas close to the boom. The pack has built in tie downs to secure the roled up canvas. I then run all the lazy jack lines to the mast and secure them. That way I have nothing interfering with my main trimming. SD is right about interference with your view of the main for trim purposes, but as a racer gone performance cruiser, I thought of that before making the purchase
Now, when just day sailing in the SF Bay, I leave everything as is. However, when I'm planning a long cruise, we set sail and then roll up the canvas close to the boom. The pack has built in tie downs to secure the roled up canvas. I then run all the lazy jack lines to the mast and secure them. That way I have nothing interfering with my main trimming. SD is right about interference with your view of the main for trim purposes, but as a racer gone performance cruiser, I thought of that before making the purchase
Main Entry: 1furlhttp://www.aolcdn.com/ch_rl/mp3player.swf Function:verb Pronunciation: 'f&r(-&)l[/I] Etymology: Middle French [/I]ferler, from Old North French [/I]ferlier to tie tightly, from Old French [/I]fer, ferm tight (from Latin [/I]firmus firm) + [/I]lier to tie, from Latin [/I]ligare -- more at LIGATURE [/I] transitive senses : to wrap or roll (as a sail or a flag) close to or around something[/I] intransitive senses: to curl or fold as in being furled[/I]
you drop a sail in to a stack pack
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