Home Built Stack Pack

Ward H

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,744
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
I thought I’d share an upgrade recently made to Sun Dog, our C30.

Along with a new main sail and Tides Marine Strong Track we built and installed a Stack Pack.

I've heard and read good things about the Strong Track and Stack Pack combination including in posts and in chat with @Tally Ho so I thought I’d give it a try.

I've also read @Hayden Watson’s post on building his version of a stack pack and I asked him many questions about his design. He shared ideas with me on his stack pack build and even sent photos, the build instructions his wife Sue put together and diagrams of the layouts for cutting the materials.
@jssailem had put me in touch with Hayden a few years back after seeing firsthand how well Hayden set up his C30. With Hayden's help I've copied many of his ideas as I tweaked Sun Dog's sail controls.
Many thanks to Hayden.

I also studied the Sailrite video on building a stack pack. They offer a kit but I chose to buy the parts piecemeal as I already had a supply of hardware.

My wife Debbie used her skills in applying the boat name using heat transfer vinyl.

I still have some tweaking to do on the lazy jacks and a few other minor things but so far it is working well.

Here's a couple of photos.

IMG_3852.jpeg IMG_3853.jpeg
 
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Hollyberry

Hollyberry

.
Sep 24, 2021
386
Beneteau 35s5 Telegraph hrbr Thetis Island
We have a Lietch & McBride version of the stack pack idea.. what I really like about this one (our first) is that if you can ease the lazy jacks, there are snap buckles that allow you to gather all that cloth and tie it snug to the boom. This avoids all that cloth slapping around and presents a much cleaner look under sail.

Perhaps they are all like this, but I see a lot of boats sailing with the 'pack' hanging there like a billboard. Either it's not a standard feature or some people just can't be bothered....

We have a spinnaker pole track and car that we no longer use; the lazy jacks are tied to the pole ring so it's a simple action to lower, stow, and unsnap and re-raise the pack by simply moving the car to pre-determined positions.
 
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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,157
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Ward H said:
I thought I’d share an upgrade recently made to Sun Dog, our C30.

Along with a new main sail and Tides Marine Strong Track we built and installed a Stack Pack.

I've heard and read good things about the Strong Track and Stack Pack combination including in posts and in chat with @Tally Ho so I thought I’d give it a try.

I've also read @Hayden Watson’s post on building his version of a stack pack and I asked him many questions about his design. He shared ideas with me on his stack pack build and even sent photos, the build instructions his wife Sue put together and diagrams of the layouts for cutting the materials.
@jssailem had put me in touch with Hayden a few years back after seeing firsthand how well Hayden set up his C30. With Hayden's help I've copied many of his ideas as I tweaked Sun Dog's sail controls.
Many thanks to Hayden.

I also studied the Sailrite video on building a stack pack. They offer a kit but I chose to buy the parts piecemeal as I already had a supply of hardware.

My wife Debbie used her skills in applying the boat name using heat transfer vinyl.

I still have some tweaking to do on the lazy jacks and a few other minor things but so far it is working well.

Here's a couple of photos.

View attachment 216671 View attachment 216673
Click to expand
Looks top notch @Ward H ! I really like the customization with your boat name:)

Greg
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,157
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Hollyberry said:
We have a Lietch & McBride version of the stack pack idea.. what I really like about this one (our first) is that if you can ease the lazy jacks, there are snap buckles that allow you to gather all that cloth and tie it snug to the boom. This avoids all that cloth slapping around and presents a much cleaner look under sail.

Perhaps they are all like this, but I see a lot of boats sailing with the 'pack' hanging there like a billboard. Either it's not a standard feature or some people just can't be bothered....

We have a spinnaker pole track and car that we no longer use; the lazy jacks are tied to the pole ring so it's a simple action to lower, stow, and unsnap and re-raise the pack by simply moving the car to pre-determined positions.
Click to expand
That sound really convenient. Can you share a photo? My Mack Sail Mack Pack doesn’t have that feature, but maybe I can add something. I usually leave mine “up”, unless I am really light air and want to free the loose foot on my main.

When I lower the Mack Pack, it is an unruly mess.

Greg
 
Ward H

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,744
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
Yep, following Hayden’s design, we can lower the stack and use sail ties to roll it up and secure on boom.
we can also lower one side from the cockpit if we wish to prevent the battens from catching the LJs.

Thanks Greg!

ward
 
Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
2,933
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
Here is a photo of the Pap Pac rolled up.
I really Hate having the pack up when I'm sailing so it's very convenient to lower it down and roll it up along the boom.
One
Thing that I struggled with was how to hold it back toward the end of the boom. I ended up adding a stainless steel ring to the topping lift that has elastic clips to grommets on the top of the pac.

20230427_154338.jpg
 
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Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
2,933
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
Here are the rest of the photos I sent Ward to help with his build
 

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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,157
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Looks very nice, and functional.
thanks for sharing the photos.

Greg
 
Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
2,933
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
Tally Ho said:
Looks very nice, and functional.
thanks for sharing the photos.

Greg
Click to expand
Thanks. I looked at every pac I could find and picked out the best features from each. I then worked from there to address the things I still didn't like
Pretty darn happy with the final results
 
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Ward H

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,744
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
We mostly day sail on Barnegat Bay, New Jersey and in recent years have lost too much sailing time due to multiple heat waves.
>90* temps plus high humidity just suck the strength out of me so we decided to look for ways to conserve energy when we go sailing.

We feel the stack pack will do that. Let loose the dock lines, leave the slip, unzip the pack and raise the main. When we're ready to douse the main just let loose the halyard and when we get back to the slip stuff the remaining bits of sail into the pack and zip up.
Easy enough so we can go out for a few hours, come back to the AC for a few hours and then back out for an evening sail.

I'll still have fun trimming the sails when the pack is up but on those days when conditions favor a nice long day of sailing or if we'll be cruising, I'll move the LJs forward, roll the pack to the boom and have fun getting the most out of our sails.
 
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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,157
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Ward H said:
We mostly day sail on Barnegat Bay, New Jersey and in recent years have lost too much sailing time due to multiple heat waves.
>90* temps plus high humidity just suck the strength out of me so we decided to look for ways to conserve energy when we go sailing.

We feel the stack pack will do that. Let loose the dock lines, leave the slip, unzip the pack and raise the main. When we're ready to douse the main just let loose the halyard and when we get back to the slip stuff the remaining bits of sail into the pack and zip up.
Easy enough so we can go out for a few hours, come back to the AC for a few hours and then back out for an evening sail.

I'll still have fun trimming the sails when the pack is up but on those days when conditions favor a nice long day of sailing or if we'll be cruising, I'll move the LJs forward, roll the pack to the boom and have fun getting the most out of our sails.
Click to expand
I usually unzip the pack, and attach my halyard at the dock, but sail is up almost as soon as we get out of the marina entrance.

What I REALLY like is that upon return, I can drop the sail in the pack, give it a few tucks here and there, and head into the marina. Under AP, I can remove the halyard and secure it, finish getting the sail tucked in the pack, zip it closed, get the halyard and sheets all coiled and stowed before I get into the marina…

I dock the boat, hook up the power, close thru hulls, throw a cover over the helm and lock the door…

Gteg
 
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Hollyberry

Hollyberry

.
Sep 24, 2021
386
Beneteau 35s5 Telegraph hrbr Thetis Island
Tally Ho said:
....

What I REALLY like is that upon return, I can drop the sail in the pack, give it a few tucks here and there, and head into the marina. Under AP, I can remove the halyard and secure it, finish getting the sail tucked in the pack, zip it closed, get the halyard and sheets all coiled and stowed before I get into the marina…
...
Click to expand
Same...l really appreciating not having to deal with sail ties - either removing, stowing, or retying them. Liking the stack pack idea much more than I anticipated..
 
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Hayden Watson

Hayden Watson

.
Apr 5, 2009
2,933
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
On my modification I get all of those benefits plus I am able to get the jack lines out of the way when hoisting the sail. I also don't have the pac interfering with the loose footed sail trim. I also have built-in sail tires that will hold the main on top of the boom with the pack lowered
Win, win, win!
 
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