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I hoping for some tips on Lazy Jacks. It seems very simple but I want to know if I should get the kind that are fixed up on the mast or the ones that come back down to a cleat so I can loosen them and tuck them in my sail cover. The cost for hardware etc to run the lines back down would be about the same cost to modify my sailcover.
I took "Leoma" across the channel this weekend . The windvane worked perfect coming back on a broad reach. Thee was no need to use it going since she holds the coarse pretty good close hauled.. Anyway hopefully this is the last time I will use this tiller. My worm gear steering should arrive tomorrow.
The weather fax reception was much better out there. I don't have a copy to show you
Following this as I have the same questions.
I'm leaning towards a fixed attachment on the mast. I hope to be able to retract them after the sail is secured.
Then I won't have to modify my sail cover.
Walter R Hobbs
CD 14 hull # 535, Grin
CD 27 Hull # 35 Horizon Song
Lincoln, RI
"Attitude is the differance between ordeal and adventure."
I have decided to put blocks on the mast and the line coming down to a cleat unless someone has a good reason why not. I'm not going to spend big money on all Shaeffer hardware probably use moderately expensive Harken.
Here’s a couple photos which illustrate the method I have chosen. I have lazy jacks which are fixed to pad eyes about four feet up from my spreaders. My adjustment is done from a cleat attached to the bottom of the boom about three feet from the gooseneck. I made them out of 3/16 Amsteel dyneema and four Harken Carbo blocks, two on each side. I adjust them after I’ve gone for my first sail of the season and rarely ever adjust them again. Since they are fixed in place my mainsail cover has three zippered cut-outs on each side to accommodate the lines.
I have never found it necessary to bring the lazy jacks forward to the mast when raising sail. I can count on one hand the number of times they have fouled a batten when raising the main over the years. It is probably attributed to the fact that my lazy jacks only extend about two thirds of the way toward the clew. I designed them to catch the belly of the sail when dropped, not the entire sail along the foot.
My way of rigging lazy jacks is ONE way.....not necessarily the right way for everyone’s application.
Hopefully you can adjust the image size of the photos I’ve attached so you can see the lazy jacks more clearly.
Attachments
This was taken on 4/5/20. I had just bent on the main for the season. My lazy jacks are a bit loose in this photo as I had not yet been out for a sail.
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Orion under sail last season. You should be able to see the lazy jacks in use.
B91E4A21-6E26-4F19-BB1E-AE9D713E72A7.jpeg (579.2 KiB) Viewed 325 times
I use a system similar to Jim. I never take them down and though I can haul them forward, I don’t. Fixed at the mast, just above the bottom spreader—I have bridle with four legs. Slots in mains’l cover to accommodate the legs which use turn buttons to close. Adjust the tension on a cleat each side of boom near the gooseneck.
Extraneous question ... With your cabin top traveler, you don’t feel the need for a vang? A vang and Cunningham are on my wish list.m
On my 27 I have the Schaefer lazy jacks that came with my boat, but these are easily replicated with off the shelf parts ... as you have, I just simply got used to hoisting with them in place. Not a big deal but it does mean you’ll prefer to be a little more head to wind than a boat without jacks (or with jacks that can be pulled forward to the mast). It helps to have the topping lift raising the boom quite a bit which slacks the jacks ... then hoist ... then release the lift.
My sail cover is the hook and line type which does not seem to need slits for the jacks. Plus my jacks only land in two positions on my smaller boom - and once the boom is lifted by the topping lift the jacks are quite slack and the sail cover goes on easily. I don’t think you necessarily need to modify sail covers to fit jacks ... most covers with various snaps or the little turnbuckles will just lift up a little over the jacks. Your cover might not look as pretty, but it will do its job. I should take some pix ...
Extraneous question ... With your cabin top traveler, you don’t feel the need for a vang? A vang and Cunningham are on my wish list.m
On my 27 I have the Schaefer lazy jacks that came with my boat, but these are easily replicated with off the shelf parts ... as you have, I just simply got used to hoisting with them in place. Not a big deal but it does mean you’ll prefer to be a little more head to wind than a boat without jacks (or with jacks that can be pulled forward to the mast). It helps to have the topping lift raising the boom quite a bit which slacks the jacks ... then hoist ... then release the lift.
My sail cover is the hook and line type which does not seem to need slits for the jacks. Plus my jacks only land in two positions on my smaller boom - and once the boom is lifted by the topping lift the jacks are quite slack and the sail cover goes on easily. I don’t think you necessarily need to modify sail covers to fit jacks ... most covers with various snaps or the little turnbuckles will just lift up a little over the jacks. Your cover might not look as pretty, but it will do its job. I should take some pix ...
With my mid-boom sheeting my boom has exhibited no noticeable tendency to lift. The traveler car can be shifted to weather which I have done to flatten my main whenever I felt so inclined. I frequently adjust my main traveler just to watch my speed creep up to amuse myself. They really are an important component to enhance performance.
As far as a Cunningham goes it would be wasted on my boat. I’ve always kept the luff tight....the scalloped effect gets on my nerves. After a couple hours sailing it seemed that I needed to make a halyard adjustment which is one of the reasons I went with New England Ropes “Viper”. It has a dyneema core and I never have to touch the halyard once I have set the sail. I even went from 7/16” to 10mm which is barely noticeable and yet old hands can still grasp it easily.
I have a boom vang on my mid boom sheeted CD30 and have never found the need to use it as a vang. I do however always use it as a preventer when sailing down wind.
I also added lines and blocks to the traveler to make it easy to adjust and I adjust it often. Before adding the lines and blocks I seldom adjusted it.