About a year ago I asked the question "Lazyjacks are they worth it". The response was
a resounding "yes".
Missus has just finished making the stack pack and I've got the jack cords sorted.
So I'm thinking of putting the saddles and blocks on the spreaders about 200mm from the
mast.
It's been suggested that this may lead to too much strain on the spreaders resulting in them
breaking off.
Would any of the forum support this notion ??.

Having tham out on the spreaders makes it much easier to avoid snagging a batten when you hoist the sail. But yes, you need to make sure the load is not too much and avoid having them too tight.

Cheers, Graeme

My spreaders are just under one meter long each side and I just measured out to the lazy jack blocks it was 280mm from the mast out to the block Ive never used them but should be OK
They are in my room not on the boat so it was a easy measurement Sam

Mine are about 200mm out from the mast on the top spreaders. There is not that much load on them unless you forget to haul in the topping lift when you go to drop the main.

One of the things I'm going to have to watch is letting the mainsail go. It has what
I think is called a roach ??. It's a curved leach. It means I don't have a topping lift
coming from the mast but a short lead from the end of the boom to the backstay.
If I let the sail go, then the weight will be on the lazyjacks until I get the topping
lift organised. Problems ????

Mine's attached to the mast, you can put some shock cord from the lazy jack lines out to the shrouds to pull them out a bit for ease of raising the main.

Hi Ss
my lazy jacks attach to mast
i wouldn't use spreader,though it would make hoisting main easier
If spreader tips get pulled down a bit they are no longer in compression and could fail
not worth the risk
the suggested shock cord sounds a good alternative
I can ease them if I can be bothered,or if short handed,from the mast.
cheers

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samsturdy said..

One of the things I'm going to have to watch is letting the mainsail go. It has what
I think is called a roach ??. It's a curved leach. It means I don't have a topping lift
coming from the mast but a short lead from the end of the boom to the backstay.
If I let the sail go, then the weight will be on the lazyjacks until I get the topping
lift organised. Problems ????

Have a think about converting your boom vang to a rod kicker set up which will be a good alternative to a topping lift. This is an up market version.

www.seldenmast.com/files/595-558-E.pdf

You don't have to go that extreme of course. On my old boat I used a fishing rod blank that did the same job.

OK, so now I'm in a bit of a quandry, do I or don't I. Looking around the local boats in the
Creek it's half and half mast or spreader.
As we (Missus and I ) are fair weather sailors I'm inclined towards mounting them on the
spreaders for ease of raising the mainsail......unless someone convinces me that I will be
doomed if I do.
Thanks for the response. I'll endeavour to post some pics when it's installed.

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samsturdy said..

OK, so now I'm in a bit of a quandry, do I or don't I. Looking around the local boats in the
Creek it's half and half mast or spreader.
As we (Missus and I ) are fair weather sailors I'm inclined towards mounting them on the
spreaders for ease of raising the mainsail......unless someone convinces me that I will be
doomed if I do.
Thanks for the response. I'll endeavour to post some pics when it's installed.

I tied my jack blocks around the base of the spreaders with vb cord to see how they where going to work before I committed them to a permanent fixture . It's only a small main so I left the vb cord in place. I will probably use the bolts that hold the spreaders in the sockets as a mounting point later on.
Check out this video Sam,, But you will have to watch it on youtube by clicking on the youtube button in the bottom right corner

Thanks Jo, any info is better than none. I guess we do whatever to get the job done. I'm trying to
get it so I don't have to do anything......doesn't seem to work somehow.!!!.
Just as an aside to the post. I have seen a stack pack set up that had a conduit running along the
bottom, inside the bag. A rope from the cockpit ran through the conduit to a block on the mast, then
up the mast to another block just above the stack pack and then to the zip.
This enabled the helmsman to drop the mainsail and zip up the bag without leaving the cockpit. Seems
a bit "Heath Robinson" to me, but would it work ???.

That bloke in the video should just uncleat the mainsheet and haul away!

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Ramona said..
That bloke in the video should just uncleat the mainsheet and haul away!

I guess if the bloke had done that he would have called the video" uncleat the mainsheet and haul away!"

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Jolene said..

Ramona said..
That bloke in the video should just uncleat the mainsheet and haul away!

I guess if the bloke had done that he would have called the video" uncleat the mainsheet and haul away!"

I can not see why he even bothers with lazyjacks if he has to fool around at the mast and let his main fall out on to the cabin top! I unzip mine and then do everything else in the cockpit. Yes I have to watch the first two battens don't catch on the lazyjacks as I haul up the sail. On a mooring and with the mainsail uncleated the main will generally have the wind on both sides, I don't ease the lazy jacks till the sail is raised and let the topping lift off as I sail off.

The thing I'm trying to avoid is going atop the cabin to deal with the mainsail while underway, hence Lazyjacks.
As long as the sail falls into the bag fairly tidily, it can stay like that until I get back to the mooring.

Just to close the thread; here's some pics of the finished job:




Phil; the Rigger, up the mast


Stackpack, without the lazyjack cords


Stackpack showing lazyjack loops


Quick Sail Hoist & Drop to check if everything works

Very nice. What are you going to call those knots?

Ha.....they were just temporary to make sure everything worked OK. You're creative Ramona
you think up a name for them.......how about 'Jack Knots'.??.

sturdy knots ?

Good one Sands.

A couple of comments......I lofted the Lazy Jacks cords on the garage floor, really glad I did
as they fitted perfectly.
When I came to trim the cords to length on board, I used a hot knife powered by an inverter. worked really well
so the cords won't fray.

How old is Mrs. Sam?
You could call them granny knots, but make sure to duck when you say that.

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SandS said..

sturdy knots ?

How about sturdy sam knots

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neptuns.usefulknots

Any knot is a good knot till it comes undone or wants to be undone.
Love the app for the phone or computer
taught me a Knot or two !

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samsturdy said..

Ha.....they were just temporary to make sure everything worked OK. You're creative Ramona
you think up a name for them.......how about 'Jack Knots'.??.

I was thinking "bunch of bastards"

remember cant do knots tie lots

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LooseChange said..
How old is Mrs. Sam?
You could call them granny knots, but make sure to duck when you say that.

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LooseChange said..
How old is Mrs. Sam?
You could call them granny knots, but make sure to duck when you say that.

She is a Granny LC so that's appropriate.Ha.

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aus005 said..
remember cant do knots tie lots

I think that would be me aus.

Have you been for a sail yet?
Would love to hear how it works.

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samsturdy said...

Good one Sands.

A couple of comments......I lofted the Lazy Jacks cords on the garage floor, really glad I did
as they fitted perfectly.
When I came to trim the cords to length on board, I used a hot knife powered by an inverter. worked really well
so the cords won't fray.

Can you elaborate a bit more on what was required to loft the cords on floor? Did you mark out the full size of the mast and boom?

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Sectorsteve said..
Have you been for a sail yet?
Would love to hear how it works.

No Steve we haven't been sailing yet. I think next Monday looks promising so will report.
The quick up and down test I did on site worked well, so I don't see that there should be
any problem......but.....