More on topping lifts

[Joe Myerson]

Thanks, Todd.
While my catboat, with its huge mainsail, required lazy jacks, I have never felt the need on my 25D. I always sail with both reefing lines rigged and this seems to help with sail handling.

Best,
—Joe

[John Stone]

Here is Roger Olson's (former school teacher, former owner of the Sam L. Morse Co. and experienced cruiser) views on topping lifts and lazyjacks, from his voluminous book "Plot Your Course To Adventure: How To Be A Successful Cruiser". (an interesting and worthwhile book, imo)

Apologies, but the pics are in reverse order, read the bottom one first.

A little thread drift here. But, back in the 1999 when I was looking hard at getting a BCC (one of the loveliest sailboats I have ever seen) I travelled to SOCAL and visited the BCC production facility. Roger owned it then. Could not have been nicer. I really enjoyed talking with him. We toured the yard together and he really impressed me. I was trying to figure out how to buy a BCC bare hull with all the hardware. Without an engine it was still around $100K if I remember correctly. More than I could swing. I finally gave up on a BCC when Gayle told me we were having twins. I just couldn’t make the space work for us.

Roger worked for Sam Morse earlier in his life and built a BCC called Xanthias and sailed her to the South Pacific. She is featured in Ferenc Maté’s book The World’s Best Sailboats, pg. 166. Gorgeous. Back in early 2000 he built another one and last I read he sailed off again. I didn’t know he had written a book. I’ll have to look into it.

The book excerpt you posted describes topping lift and lazy jacks for battenless sails. Battenless sails are what the Pardeys advocated. Sailmakers hate them due to their loss of performance, primarily upwind, though on a cruising boat it’s probably negligible. A battenless main is so much easier to handle under sail especially in an engineless boat. If I was going to compete in the Golden Globe that’s the rig I would use on the Far Reach.

I still can’t take my eyes off BCCs....

[Joe Myerson]

I still can’t take my eyes off BCCs....

I agree, they are some of the most beautiful sailboats ever built.

--Joe