DUTCHMAN SYSTEM: Any experiences?

[Troy Scott]

Boyd,

OK, I guess I'll start out with lazy jacks. Simple and cheap.

Single handing should be a snap away from the marina. However, I'm sure I'll want to do a lot of maneuvering practice before I return to the slip solo. One thing about our marina: people are always eager to help, whether you want it or not. And it's hard to return without an audience. Like most sailors, my best docking jobs happen when nobody is around.

WRT hauling for hurricane season, I guess I just haven't gotten over the shock of seeing my old Pearson sans hull-to-deck joint, toerails, rubrails, lifelines, stancions, swim ladder, etc.. It was held together only by the rig and the bulkheads. Katrina really did a number on it. The only fortunate thing is that I had never really "connected" to that boat. But my CD36 IMAGINE has stolen my heart. I would be really sad if she was taken from me by another Katrina. I just don't think I'm ready to take that chance.

[ronkberg]

This looks like a simple, economical solution. Anyone have system installed and can give us a critique?

http://www.flake-it.com/

[Sailing Soldier]

I had new sails made over the winter and sprung for the Dutchman System.

I'm very glad I did. It is reliable & simple to use. Makes single-handing easier.

Much better than the lazy jacks that came on my CD28.

If you are going to spring for a new mainsail, it's worth the extra couple of hundred bucks!

John Walsh
CD28
#177

[Carter Brey]

Troy,

If you're looking for a very inexpensive but effective solution for singlehanded sail control, you might want to have a look at this:

http://www.slowflight.net/upgrades/lazy ... ow-to.html

I copied this design exactly on my S28, and I have to say I've been impressed, especially considering the 80 bucks or so it cost me in materials. It took about four hours to set up and adjust-- time well spent. I can now deploy and retract the lazy jacks from the cockpit. I pull one line to deploy; I release that and pull another to retract. The usual risk of the lines catching on battens applies, but I've found that some judicious loosening of the lazies if this happens can get around this.

If you're looking for perfect flaking, then a Dutchman system is for you; but if you're simply looking for something to keep the main under control when you drop it while singlehanding until you can moor or dock and tidy up, then this has a lot to recommend it. No alteration to sail or sailcover necessary.

My installation:

[img]http://pws.prserv.net/cbrey/sailcover.jpg[/img]

[Troy Scott]

Carter,

Your boat looks GREAT! I have a lot to live up to.....

Thanks for the link!

That photo looks surprisingly like some of my doodling. I can see where it would work well. I have in mind an even simpler system. It may actually be simplistic and thus may NOT work.... I think for the short term I may install absolutely minimal lazy jacks. Later when I replace the main and get the Dutchman system (or whatever happens to be the latest and greatest at the time) I can eliminate it without much trouble or lost effort.

[Warren Kaplan]

I have found an easy way to neutralize the problem of battens catching on lazyjacks when hoisting the main without having to adjust anything. It does require, however, the ability to hoist the main from the cockpit, and putting the main halyard in a cabintop winch.

On my CD27, even when dead into the wind, sometimes the leach of the sail will blow a little to leeward and the battens will catch on the jacks when hoisting. I simply put the halyard in the winch, enabling me to crank up the sail with one hand. The other hand I use to pull, or just guide the leach of the sail to windward as I'm cranking up the sail. That effectively keeps the battens far away from leeward lazyjacks as the sail progresses upward and they NEVER catch. It takes a little longer to raise the sail that way.....maybe 30 seconds longer than just hauling it up two handed, but it saves a lot of time and frustration over having to lower the sail to get a battens off the jacks.

So, if you can crank the sail up with a winch from the cockpit, just use your free hand, and let the leach slide thru your hand as it gradually unfurls from the boom and just guide that leach to windward. The battens should clear the jacks with no problem.

Works for me and I have no trouble anymore hoisting the main with the jacks deployed.

[Mike Raehl]

Warren,
Can you provide a little more detail on how you "attach" the main halyard to the winch and crank with one hand? Using last year's advice/pictures from Carter and yourself, I finally installed the cabin top hardware to lead lines to the cockpit. Sail raising is much improved except the top most battens do hang up on the lazy jack lines. Guiding the mainsail leach with one hand works, but I still need two hands to work the winch and halyard. I am one hand short.

Following are pictures of my cabin top. (First attempt to post pics to the board.) Thanks again to Carter and yourself for last year's advice on this subject.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m296 ... 04ca80.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m296 ... d82285.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m296 ... b0b2bc.jpg[/img]

[Carter Brey]

Warren,
Can you provide a little more detail on how you "attach" the main halyard to the winch and crank with one hand? Using last year's advice/pictures from Carter and yourself, I finally installed the cabin top hardware to lead lines to the cockpit. Sail raising is much improved except the top most battens do hang up on the lazy jack lines. Guiding the mainsail leach with one hand works, but I still need two hands to work the winch and halyard. I am one hand short.

I suspect Warren has self-tailing halyard winches. C'mon, Warren, fess up.

[Warren Kaplan]

Ya' know....ya' just can't slip anything past Carter. The man has the eye of an eagle in everything he surveys!!

Alas, I was remiss in my narrative and I made a mistake of omission (I make many mistakes!). I have an Andersen 12 self tailing winch on my cabin top. The self tailing feature acts as the other hand.

My main halyard comes out of the rope clutch on the cabin top just forward of the winch. I wind the halyard onto the winch and jam it into the self tailing "jaws". I use a 10" winch handle and I crank her up.

I usually try and do it the usual way if the sail looks like its sitting straight between the lazyjacks. But if there is a problem with keeping the sail in the middle, either half way up, or from the beginning, I just use the winch technique.

I stand on the windward side of the boom (remember the boom should be close to the centerline anyway) and just guide the leach to windward as I crank. That's usually enough to let the battens clear the leeward jacks on the way up.

You do need some sort of self tailing feature if you are sailing solo. If you have crew aboard...well then... there is you extra hands to either haul on the halyard or pull the leach to windward.

[Mike Raehl]

Warren, Carter,
My "new" cabin top winch from eBay was intended to match the two originals on the coaming boards. Guess I missed an opportunity to gain an additional hand.
Thanks again.

[Warren Kaplan]

Mike,

Yeah, the self tailer does come in handy sometimes.

By the way, I neglected to comment on the pictures of Roberta Jane III. The cabin top hardware installation looks first rate. And, she really looks in beautiful condition!! Nice job. Really nice job!!!