Oops I goofed. Pls ignore what I wrote. I obviously need to wake up. Thanks for pointing that out. I was conflating the backstays with the topping lift. Duh!
Judy
What a flake!
- Thread starter Phil Herring
- Start date
Judy
That's quite alright, Judy.
There are others on here who already suspect this, but there are plenty of things I don't know.
I was just trying to fill in a gap, I might have, in what I think I know.
So shhhhh, we'll just keep this between us.
-Will (Dragonfly)
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There are others on here who already suspect this, but there are plenty of things I don't know.
I was just trying to fill in a gap, I might have, in what I think I know.So shhhhh
, we'll just keep this between us.-Will (Dragonfly)
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I accept the thought but not sure if it is the only way or even the only best way. Safety is a measured term and I am not sure the cockpit is always the safest place to accomplish all of the tasks as some may have to be fixed from the mast anyway. As in the sail jams against the lazy jacks while being raised. and releasing the halyard in the cockpit does nothing. When going forward the sail is pulled down but jams as the halyard in the cockpit is knotted. The cockpit is manned by the Helmsman. So now it is a dance between the cockpit and the mast by the crew member just trying to raise the sail.
Having a smart foredeck person handling the rig as I have seen on Jackdaw's videos is a joy. That person is quick on his feet and shows evidence of having handled the sails and knowledge of the workings. Likely a big factor in the success in racing.
When it works it is great. when it doesn't it is not necessarily safer.
I like meatloaf and your story. It may provide an explanation why the daughter and mother always found that their meatloaf fit their pan.
This is so true. How did you make it from 15 to the College aged sailor that you are? Possibly by having the Halyard experience mistake and then having to solve it. Such is a lesson that you do not repeat often. Yet some do. The need for instruction and experience is universal. Some things are book learned and some are experience based. Letting the 15 year old have the experience is a part of the task of taking a 15 year old out on the water. And it is a great way to learn to teach 15 year olds. A daunting task on the best of days.
"May the Force Be with You" and take you to the water.
simon, i'm just the caretaker if you will. aeolus is a alden. i'm a huge John Alden fan. read all the books about him. aeolus is a downsized 1890's ish grand banks fishing schooner. alden loved their safe, easy to handle, seakindly, with a good round of speed, designs. (for a heavy boat) these were built for new england coastal cruising. that also makes them ideal scouts for family/ with friends, sailing on the great lakes.
I had a Tanzer 22 long time ago in my beginning cruising and we were with friends coming to the lock of St-Anne-de-Bellevue here in Montreal. We were lowering the main while motoring towards the lock with almost no wind on a beautiful sunny day.
Suddenly a gust caught in the main and almost threw us off outside the buoys in shallow waters. We quickly reacted but since that day we installed a lazy-jack on the Tanzer and our latter boats.
It gives us security in all kind of situation including sailing solo (I do sometimes) with the ease of drop down and not having to worry about the main until we flake it on the boom before putting the cover.
We now have a Hunter 28 that we enjoy a lot...with the lazy-jack!
Suddenly a gust caught in the main and almost threw us off outside the buoys in shallow waters. We quickly reacted but since that day we installed a lazy-jack on the Tanzer and our latter boats.
It gives us security in all kind of situation including sailing solo (I do sometimes) with the ease of drop down and not having to worry about the main until we flake it on the boom before putting the cover.
We now have a Hunter 28 that we enjoy a lot...with the lazy-jack!
Congrats on getting your boat a new mainsail. Yes the newness of the sail is much like the starchy feeling of a new shirt. After use and repetition folding of the sail, soon the sail will become trained. Lazy Jacks are helpful. A stack pack is another good tool.
I enjoy the sail performance of a crisp new sail. I can put up with the inconvenience as long as it makes my sailing faster and easier.
My boat came with a Dutchman, used it, liked it, now would not use anything else, solo a lot, keeps it fast and simple.
I flake my new crisp starched sails. Big fight every time in the first year. This year they are not fighting back as much. The shape is a little different from the original main sail. so I have more surface area at the top, makes the folds at the mast end of the boom a little more bulky. But with the provided sail ties, it does work. I have a standard sail cover to wrap it all. Looks a little overstuffed sometimes. Like to do this early so that when I return to the docks I'm not all sweaty.
This past Fall I finally led my Dutchman line aft so I can tension or ease it from the cockpit.
I have a Catalina 22 with a bolt-rope sail. Seriously thinking about lazy jacks. If the sail stayed attached to the mast, I think it would be fine, but with a bolt-rope, it's all over the place if we don't drop it head into the wind and tie it to the boom. Then neaten it up at the mooring. I know they're a pain, but so is wrangling the sail after an outing when the wind isn't cooperating. And we're on a mooring so I would only need to fight them in the spring and fall when we launch and pull out.
Me, on my Hunter 28.5, small boat I just drop, flake, tie and bag back at dock. I've checkout some lazy jack systems, had one on my first trailer sailor MacGregor 26X, worked fine when dropping, hoisting the main could get tricky if not paying attention, battens getting caught on lazy jack lines. I'll stay with with I've got for now.
Justin, not sure I understand leading the line aft. Mine is set up on my topping lift and I never have to change or manipulate, when the sail goes up it puts a bit of slack in the topping lift and needs no adjustments.
My Boomkicker keeps my boom from hitting my Bimini. I don't have a topping lift per se. It's only used to carry the Dutchman lines. Raising or lowering the mainsail doesn't change my boom much.
Here is a question: If you have a loose footed sail and use a sail bag, are the advantages of a loose footed sail negated?
If you're talking about a stack bag, it seems like it would, but I'm not sure you would use a stack bag with a loose footed sail. I don't have any experience with that particular refinement of the lazy jacks, so I could be totally off.
-Will
By the term “Sail Bag” I am guessing you mean a “Stack Pack”. A tool that is attached to the boom, sitting up above the boom to capture the sail as it is lowered. If so the primary answer is No.
While the StackPack can affect the air flow at the bottom of the sail it has little affect on the value of the loose foot. The loose foot is used to shape the whole of the sail. The shape of the sail is not encumbered by the foot being pulled onto the boom. Performance testing in the late 70’s found that the attachment of the foot to the boom limited the ability to get the desired sail function. Some of this was done by Arvel Gentry for the Americas Cup out of Southern California
My Mack Pack can affect the shape of the foot, so when important to me (usually in light air), I will loosen the Lazy jacks and then roll the bag down to the boom…that way the foot can have an unimpeded shape.
In heavier air, I don’t bother,,,I get hulls speed without messing around with the bag.
Greg
