Lazy jacks for 26S

Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
What problem do you have that you’re trying to solve?

Lazy jacks add to the set up and breakdown time of a trailerable. My boat is trailerable, and I have built retractable lazy jacks for it, but they add 5-10 minutes to the time. I appreciate them when dropping the 245 sf of mainsail in high winds. In 25+ kts of wind and rough water, getting the mainsail down quickly is critical.

I tried them on smaller trailerable sailboats, but IMO they weren’t worth the extra rigging.

If our course isn’t directly into the wind during hoisting, we usually retract one or both lazy jacks before hoisting the mainsail, and use two or three sail ties in the traditional manner. That way we don’t catch battens on the way up.

I tried retractable lazy jacks on my Catalina 27, with a mainsail of about 150 sf, but removed them because they were more trouble than they were worth for double handling. I definitely didn’t need them on my Potter 19, with a mainsail of about 90 sf, which I frequently single handed.

Your mileage may vary.
 
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Sep 20, 2011
29
MacGregor 26 Lake Waccamaw, NC
Thanks.... I single sail in lakes, and wanted to make dropping the main easier before I put a cover on it. Looking for past experience from Macgregor 26C sailors if lazy jack installation was worth it.
 
Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
Try them and see if you like them. You can always remove them if they’re too much trouble when trailer sailing.

My personal opinion is that if I can yank the main down and get my arm around it and get one sail tie around it, I don’t want to bother with lazy jacks on a Trailersailor. If the boom is too high for me to reach it, or the mainsail is too big to woman- handle, then lazy jacks are worth installing on a trailerable boat, in my experience.

YMMV.
 
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May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Listen to Judy, Only if you have a problem that cannot be cured with efficient procedures to raise and lower the mainsail. You may not want to pay to install a bigger problem than what you may have right now. Go to the archives, there is plenty on the hassles of lazy jacks and also information on when they are necessary.
 
Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
The biggest complaint you’ll hear about about lazy jacks is that battens (and square top mainsails) get caught in them during hoisting if you don’t stay bow to wind almost perfectly during the hoist. But that’s due to a lack of proper technique in most instances, IMO.

If you make the lazy jack retractable to the mast, you can get one (the leeward side) or both sides out of the way during hoisting. Before you start hoisting the mainsail, point as close to upwind as practical and safe, and ease the mainsheet to let the boom align itself into the wind. You then hoist the main just as you have always done, releasing sail ties as you hoist. Re-Deploy one or both sides of the lazy jacks, at your leisure, anytime before you want to drop the mainsail.

But like I said before they add extra time to the rigging when trailering. On most trailerable boats, the mainsail isn’t big enough to make it worth the extra rigging time, IMO, if you trailer most of the time. If you rarely trailer, then they may be worth having, even with a mainsail of only 150 sf, like you have on the Mac25.