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I am in a constant fight when I come home from a sailing trip with my main sail, esp. when single handed and / or there is wind.I cannot flake it nicely on the boom and struggle with tie downs and try a different method each time I am coming back.
Anybody has a secret woring technique how to lower the main and flake it (without lazy jacks)? Please let me know it......!
Hans

You said the magic two words, Sir;

LAZY JACKS

Don't leave home without 'em My main was UNMANAGEABLE without them and I feared for my life sometimes when on deck in wind wrestling with it - - - now with LJ's - - - no problem Why fight it - - -just get 'em

Rick

...esp. when single handed and / or there is wind.I cannot flake it nicely on the boom and struggle with tie downs ...

Hans-

I know exactly what you mean. Singlehanding, my primary concern is just getting 3, 4, or 5 bungees on before jumping back down into the cockpit and making my approach to the dock / anchorage look as efficient as any two person crew. After that, IMO, who cares!...Two words...
SAIL COVER!!

Loefflerh wrote:I am in a constant fight when I come home from a sailing trip with my main sail, esp. when single handed and / or there is wind.I cannot flake it nicely on the boom and struggle with tie downs and try a different method each time I am coming back.
Anybody has a secret woring technique how to lower the main and flake it (without lazy jacks)? Please let me know it......!
Hans

I built my own Sail Caddy system, which is great. Just point into the wind, work the downhaul, and the sail just falls into the "basket". Unless it's really, really windy, no need to tie the sail down. Just head into the marina.

PatrickS wrote:

Loefflerh wrote: I built my own Sail Caddy system, which is great. Just point into the wind, work the downhaul, and the sail just falls into the "basket". Unless it's really, really windy, no need to tie the sail down. Just head into the marina.

Would that be similiar to a Lazy Jack system

Rick

Patrick,

I was talking to another member about the Sail Caddy and he mentioned someone here had made one, that must be you. We are waiting for the Mods Page to be returned. If you have pics and any specifics maybe a post would be great. Otherwise we can wait, just a thought.

Gary

atzserv wrote:Patrick,

I was talking to another member about the Sail Caddy and he mentioned someone here had made one, that must be you. We are waiting for the Mods Page to be returned. If you have pics and any specifics maybe a post would be great. Otherwise we can wait, just a thought.

Gary

Check out the Sailcaddy page to see how this system works. You can then decide how you want to proceed. I purchased one this year and just installed it. A bit time consuming but very easy to install. The system is well designed and thought out, and uses good quality materials. He price is reasonable, there is no tariff on import to the US, and shipping is included. Plus you can email Chris from his page to get an invoice so you can use Paypal which is a plus.

Have to agree with all the other skippers...lazy jacks are essential...especially if sailing solo...The MAC main being about 8 metres by 3 is just too big and HAS to be controlled.
simply make your own. no need to buy expensive kits.
Here's how...measure along the boom [ the is about 3.2 mt.] and divide it into four equal sections. This gives three points apart from each end. Imagine five dots joined by a single line..one and five are the ends and the other three are along the length. On each side of the boom fix or rivet a small cleat or saddle. From the mast,
number the three middle cleats 1,2,3,
Now you will need some light cordage. I found that about 1/4 inch is o.k.
Quality is up to you.
treat each side of the boom separately. Rig a small pulley either on the mast near the spreader or on the spreader itself close to the mast. Run a cord from the deck through this pulley and back down towards the top of the boom, to with about four feet. this will be your lazyjack halyard.
There will be one halyard for each side.
At the end of this cord fix another small pulley. Call these P1 [ on the mast] and p2. now run a line from cleat 1 up to and through P2 and back to an imaginary point about 2ft 6in above the boom and at a point about
halfway between cleat 2 & 3. to this end also fix a pulley. The third line runs through this pulley and joins cleats 2 & 3.
When the halyard slack is taken up, all the lines will position themselves via the pulleys. Look at the pattern to make sure the lines will contain the mainsail where it flops. Even try temporarily tying the lines to the boom before fitting the cleats. they may require this testing before fixing. Also it is not necessary to have expensive SS pulleys. Nylon or even plastic will do as the system handles no weight. The lazyjacks need to be firm when lowering the main but might require slacking off when sailing to allow the sail to form its proper shape.
As usual, i am miles from my and do not have a ahndy photo of the rig...Seems complicated but is not. and costs nearly nothing. You can make the connections as temporary or as permanent as suits you.
hope this helps...puggsy 06

I just found this site and Lazy jacks might soon be a mod I do myself.
http://shop.trailersailor.com/detail.ht ... &group=909

seems resonable priced I guess.

Puggsy,

Thank you for the detailed description of your homemade LJ.
I still got 2 questions, did you bring the main lines back to the cockpit or did you terminate them at the boom and how many feet of line did you end up using?

Thanks again

Jurgen

PatrickS,

I've locked at the sailcaddy site and the system seems to still have problems in windy conditions. Do you use a lazy jack arrangement in addition to the caddy?

Thanks

Jurgen

Hi all,

I do a lot of solo sailing, and here is what I do.

All of our lines are led aft into the cockpit, including a main downhall I rigged, so I can bring the mainsail it down in a hurry.
I do not flake the sail on the water as it takes to long, so I use a technique called "the hammock".

1st - I center the boom and tighten the mainsheet so the boom does not wander. We have a Boomkicker that holds the boom up that helps.
2nd - Make sure all the sail is on one side of the boom.
3rd.- Grab the bottom five or six feet of sail leech. (from where the sail is attached to the end of the boom). Do this by hanging on to the end of the boom with one hand and running your other hand up the leech as far as you can reach.
4th - Pull the sail leech you are holding out parallel to the deck, and then loosen it slightly to make it like a big hammock.
5th.- Throw all of the sail into this hammock you made. (just ensure batons are parallel to the boom)
6th - Take the leach you are still holding onto and bring to the end of the boom to close up the hammock. All the sail is now trapped in this hammock and is easy to put a couple of ties on.

This gets the sail down and tied quick. When I get to the dock, I unload the hammock and flake it proper.
It has saved me on windy days.

Darry
Windchime

Thank you all for helping. Just tried the Wind Chime method 's in the drydock and that works fairly well; in the long run I will install lazy jacks according to puggsy's instruction. Right now I am just too bussy working, I am always looking down to my sailing grounds and imagine myself sitting on my M!
Hans

Having now tried to use a 50 boat with lazy jacks, Not worth the effort.

Heading into the wind but blustery, couldnt keep the damn sail from snagging on the way up...... I have thought about it for my X, but now I can see it won't give me the convienience I need, without an experienced helmsperson watching that windicator......it aint going to happen. Definitely a pain in a blustery wind to have to walk back on the boom to wiggle, clear and untangle the mess, while keeping tension on the sail....

(On the bene)By the time I loosened them up enough not to foul........ there was too much sail in the yard.

I'll stick with wrestling the main on the X, I am not going to add that 'feature'....

"Hove too" which blankets the main with the jib, then main falls into the hamock as described above. I use bungee chords with ball ends that are permentally attached thru the reefing grommets.

Bob