Lazy jack alternative

CapnGL

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Sep 22, 2016
146
MacGregor 26D COUR D ALENE
So I was reading about these in reference to gearing up for solo sailing. The problems encountered with tangled lines got me thinking of designing a cradle for the sail. 3 flexible but Sturdy U shaped rods. Tall,med@short. These would be able to fold down along the boom when not in use. No lines blocks or other hardware to chafe the sail.... Just thinking outside the box here. Just a concept at this point. Being a novice sailor I'm sure I'm probably missing something very important that will negate the idea.
Cheers
Capngl
 

CapnGL

.
Sep 22, 2016
146
MacGregor 26D COUR D ALENE
Thanks Stu... Appears that on my 26D it would be better to just learn how to quickly flake my sail than hassle with LJ's...
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,402
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
One the compromises every lazy jack set-up faces is how many legs, and how far back on the boom. If you have only 2 legs and don't extend them far back, you will avoid tables at the cost of less positive sail control. You can also test locations by rigging something up with clothes line and lashing to the boom, before you drill. I have a longish boom but I have only 2 legs, and not far back. The sail does fall off the boom a bit, but it does not tangle when hoisting.

The trick is picking the compromise that works for you. You can have perfect sail control or easy hoisting, but probably not both.
 
Jul 12, 2011
1,165
Leopard 40 Jupiter, Florida
Like most labor saving devices, there is a trade-off between the fixed cost/effort of setting them up, and the labor they save. Most mainsail handling tools like lazy jacks are great for a single job (dowsing), and are just in the way the rest of the time. For example, I don't think your solid rod idea would work, personally, because of the pain of storing, then moving, a bunch of 8-foot tall bent rods in a hurry (where were you going to put them?). You can learn from history because sailing is so old that almost everything has been tried at some time in the past. I've never heard of a similar system working. Lazy jacks, and the related Dutchman-system that passes lines through the sail, have been around (and complained about) for centuries. I suggest getting on someone else's boat and seeing how they work their main. For example, I always laughed at lazy jacks, until I got on board with an older fellow on his 26 foot boat. He used the system so well, and had it tuned nicely, that the main literally tended itself. Turn to the wind, drop the halyard, and grab the sail cover. By the time you made it to the mast, the thing was almost perfectly flaked - 'twas magic!
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country

I've had good luck with lazy jacks and wouldn't want to be without them but not sure I would use them if I was day sailing. They store on the trailer on the boom with the sailpack but do take a little longer to rig the boat, but not a concern with how we use the boat.


I set the tension on them when I rig the boat and go in the water with it and don't mess with it while sailing or generally over the course of a trip. Maybe I don't have perfect sail shape all the time but I'm happy. They sure help in reefing and in dropping the sail quickly. I find that I'll leave the sail up in conditions I might not of when I started sailing since it it so quick and easy to drop the main with the lazy jacks into the sailpack vs. dropping them in a heavy wind and having to try and secure the main. The same can be said about the roller furling.

Only down side is I have full battens and they have gotten caught on the lazy jacks a couple times while raising the main, but I raise and lower the main at the mast, so I just drop it slightly and help it past the lazy jacks. Never really causes a problem.

More on them here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-22.html

Sumner
===============================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...

MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
Nov 22, 2011
1,192
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
One of the things I did when I installed lazy jacks on my previous Catalina 30 was to make them retractable. I had them pulled forward to the mast for raising the sail, and would deploy them right before I dropped it. It only took a few seconds to deploy them. After I got back to the dock, I would retract them again so I could put on the sail cover and be ready for next time.