dutchman

[wjs]

I do quiet a bit of sailing on my 9.2A alone....I love the serenity. However bringing down the mainsail and securing to the boom can be a chore while solo. I am thinking of installing a dutchman system on the main, I am told this would make life simpler. I have a fixed topping lift and my sail maker wants me to consider a controlable topping lift with the Dutchman system.

Does anyone have experience with a Dutchman?
I prefer the fixed topping lift since I am pretty busy in the cockpit already while solo. Is a controllable topping lift necessary?
Any thought on this?

 

[Bomlo]

My 9.2A came with a dutchman system and it has worked well for my casual sailing and cruising. I use it with a fixed topping lift. For ease of use it beats the lazy jack system on my previous boat. The only down side for me is the minimal additional cost of preparing a new sail for use on this system. You also need to adjust the mainsail cover to go around the control lines.

 

[wjs]

Bomlo, thanks for your input. Unless persuaded othewise, I am going to stay with the fixed topping lift and proceed with the Dutchman.
thanks again
wjs

 

[Calypso]

I have the Dutchman on the 9.2C with adjustable topping lift. I'm a fairly new sailor and the only thing I use the topping lift for is to raise the boom at anchor! Dutchman works nice.

 

[BobM]

Topping Lift

Bomlo, thanks for your input. Unless persuaded othewise, I am going to stay with the fixed topping lift and proceed with the Dutchman.
thanks again
wjs

FYI, there should be a number of ways to render the topping lift adjustable by using the current fixed topping lift and some hardware off it. Talk to the sailmaker about his recommendation. I doubt he is making the recommendation lightly. It is very easy to make it adjustable at the boom, but it is most useful if the line runs back to the cockpit, as you don't need the boom centered to access it.

The topping lift can be used to "cheat" a little in light air. You can pull the boom up to put more belly in the main.

 

[wjs]

Bob, thanks for your feedback. Sounds like I can make the topping lift adjustible with minimal add'l expense or effort. I'll discuss with the sailmaker.
wjs