Recently there was mention of 2 flaking system - lazy jacks & Dutchman. Normally I sail single handed so some type of flaking system made the job so much easier in any kind of conditions. No one likes to fight sails that are flying all over the place and the larger the boat the worse it gets due to increased sail area. There is nothing like loosening the main halyard and having the sail fall neatly in place. For most of us the Dutchman is not an option. The store bought lazy jacks are expensive for what you get. For example, depending on the length of your boom a Harken is anywhere from $194 to $464 and the Shaefer is $234 to $554. If you take a lot at what is contained in the store bought package you might come to the conclusion that you should be in that business. Is there another way? The answer is yes and it is to make your own system. A friend of mine Skip Meisch from Seattle designed a lazy jack system I used on a Catalina 25 and a catalina 30. It consists of 6 small pad eyes, some plastic rings, 2 small cheek blocks and some thin line. I modified Skip's system so that the system lays against the boom when not in use and I also modified the 2 control lines so that they form into a single "Y" coming down the mast. You could build this system for less than $30 and it would take about 30 minutes to install it. The hardest part is determining where the pad eyes should be placed on the boom. If you would like to see this system go to http://slowflight.net/upgrades/lazyjacks.html Once a person installed a lazy jack system they would wonder how they got along without it.
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Added improvements
I have 2 ideas which might improve your system. The 1st is to use shock cord to they can flex up and down with the boom height. The other which I already have is to rig a small line that leads from the ring they all attach to up the mast and then through a very small pulley and back down to the bottom of the mast. This allows me to raise the lazy jacks when I want them and lower them when not in use. This eliminates the need to be dead into the wind when raising the main as the battens can not get hooked on the lazy jacks. The shock cord will be fairly tight so as to retract and stow neatly when not in use. I will only raise the lazy jacks when I want to lower the sail and stow them away after the sail ties are on.
I have 2 ideas which might improve your system. The 1st is to use shock cord to they can flex up and down with the boom height. The other which I already have is to rig a small line that leads from the ring they all attach to up the mast and then through a very small pulley and back down to the bottom of the mast. This allows me to raise the lazy jacks when I want them and lower them when not in use. This eliminates the need to be dead into the wind when raising the main as the battens can not get hooked on the lazy jacks. The shock cord will be fairly tight so as to retract and stow neatly when not in use. I will only raise the lazy jacks when I want to lower the sail and stow them away after the sail ties are on.
Lazy Jacks - Block position
For those of you that run your lazy jacks halyards up to the spreaders, through a block and back down the mast, where do you position the blocks? It seems to me that moving them out on the spreaders a few inches from the mast might give a better shape to cradle the sails, but would the added load on the spreaders be a problem?
For those of you that run your lazy jacks halyards up to the spreaders, through a block and back down the mast, where do you position the blocks? It seems to me that moving them out on the spreaders a few inches from the mast might give a better shape to cradle the sails, but would the added load on the spreaders be a problem?
Block Position
Mike Misko; I have never seen the blocks place on the spreaders. I think the 2 lines work better when they are closer together such as they would be when placed on the mast but placement is a personal preference and depends on what the person is happy with. Don (Blaine/White Rock): I tried a number of different line but never though about shock cords, which might not be a bad idea. I even went so far as to try Weed Wacker cord, which did not work. I ended up using the thinest line I could buy at Home depot. I want the LJ lines stowed when not in use. I can't stand lines (topping lift, LJ etc) flopping around while sailing as it upsets my carma!!
Mike Misko; I have never seen the blocks place on the spreaders. I think the 2 lines work better when they are closer together such as they would be when placed on the mast but placement is a personal preference and depends on what the person is happy with. Don (Blaine/White Rock): I tried a number of different line but never though about shock cords, which might not be a bad idea. I even went so far as to try Weed Wacker cord, which did not work. I ended up using the thinest line I could buy at Home depot. I want the LJ lines stowed when not in use. I can't stand lines (topping lift, LJ etc) flopping around while sailing as it upsets my carma!!
Don't let Lazy Jacks make *you* lazy 
Lazy Jacks are to control the sail when lowering it. < (note the period) If you have Lazy Jacks set up all the time and have them set when hoisting the sail or while sailing, I respectfully submit that you are not aware of their proper use. I know I make enemies when I say things like that, but sometimes I can't help myself. Notice that Don says "There is nothing like loosening the main halyard and having the sail fall neatly in place." and "the system lays against the boom when not in use". Lazy Jacks are not a topping lift they don't have to be set all the time, thus they do not require any sail cover modification. They stow along the boom *under* the sail cover when not in use. When hoisting the sail, you just take the cover off and hoist away, the Lazy Jacks are still along the boom where you left them. When you are ready to lower the sail, set the Lazy Jacks and let them control the sail as you ease the halyard. Once back in the slip flake the sail properly ans stow the Lazy Jacks along the boom before putting the sail cover back on.
Lazy Jacks are to control the sail when lowering it. < (note the period)
If you have Lazy Jacks set up all the time and have them set when hoisting the sail or while sailing, I respectfully submit that you are not aware of their proper use. I know I make enemies when I say things like that, but sometimes I can't help myself. Notice that Don says "There is nothing like loosening the main halyard and having the sail fall neatly in place." and "the system lays against the boom when not in use". Lazy Jacks are not a topping lift they don't have to be set all the time, thus they do not require any sail cover modification. They stow along the boom *under* the sail cover when not in use. When hoisting the sail, you just take the cover off and hoist away, the Lazy Jacks are still along the boom where you left them. When you are ready to lower the sail, set the Lazy Jacks and let them control the sail as you ease the halyard. Once back in the slip flake the sail properly ans stow the Lazy Jacks along the boom before putting the sail cover back on.
The way I had my lazy jacks set up I could almost get a perfect flake everytime. I had to fool with the initial installation a bit to get it right - the most important pad eyes are the aft ones. When I was flaking single handed that is when the "almost perfect" happened. If I had a second person on board, who could control and tidy up the aft end of the sail, the flake was perfect and I did not have to redo it at the dock. Actually, the only time I had to redo it at the dock was when I rushed it. If I took a little time and made a couple of flakes at the mast end and then secured the halyard wwhile I tidied up the aft end and repeated that process a couple of times I'd get a perfect flake. Proper flaking can extend the life of your sail. I know a lot of sailors who stow their sails in a very sloppy manner. Every time I'd walk by their boats I'd mumble under my breath about it to my wife, who would tell me to forget it. I don't like things that are not nautical - like sailing with your fenders dragging in the water. One other tip regarding your jib: when you roll up your jib you normally take a couple of more turns with the sheet and you might think that is it and there is no way the jib can unfurl by itself but if the wind conditions are right it can. One easy way to prevent this is to secure the jib with a short piece of line, which you merely wrap around the sail. With that it is not going anywhere.
Flaking the headsail
Hey Don - since you brought it up....how about a comment on flaking the headsail for the 2 or 3 of us diehards who still hank them on? The Admiral and I like to keep them attached to the forestay and stowed inside a bag specifically cut for that purpose. But even when we are taking our time, they are not really folded nicely in the bag. And if we are in a hurry, it end up more like stuffing a sleeping bag in a sack.
Hey Don - since you brought it up....how about a comment on flaking the headsail for the 2 or 3 of us diehards who still hank them on? The Admiral and I like to keep them attached to the forestay and stowed inside a bag specifically cut for that purpose. But even when we are taking our time, they are not really folded nicely in the bag. And if we are in a hurry, it end up more like stuffing a sleeping bag in a sack.
Flaking the jib
Mike: I don't know of any neat way to get the jib in the sail bag while it is still attached to the headstay. Most sailors just jamb it in the bag and sometimes they do it when it is wet. Later when they raise the sail they have a bunch of mildew all over the sail. I had a Catalina 25 and before I had the sail bag as you have I detached the sail and flaked it neatly on the dock before putting it in the sail bag. That does prolong the life of the sail. Next, I got sick of doing that and went to your setup. Later I found a furling system specially designed for hank on sails and went to that system. The hank on furling system is the best of both worlds - hank on sail (which I prefer) and easy furling.
Mike: I don't know of any neat way to get the jib in the sail bag while it is still attached to the headstay. Most sailors just jamb it in the bag and sometimes they do it when it is wet. Later when they raise the sail they have a bunch of mildew all over the sail. I had a Catalina 25 and before I had the sail bag as you have I detached the sail and flaked it neatly on the dock before putting it in the sail bag. That does prolong the life of the sail. Next, I got sick of doing that and went to your setup. Later I found a furling system specially designed for hank on sails and went to that system. The hank on furling system is the best of both worlds - hank on sail (which I prefer) and easy furling.
Hank on furler
Mike: I think it was a company located in Fullerton, Ca but I'm not sure (all my sailing records are in storage). I also think I have seen these systems in the advertisement section of sailing mags.
Mike: I think it was a company located in Fullerton, Ca but I'm not sure (all my sailing records are in storage). I also think I have seen these systems in the advertisement section of sailing mags.
sausage bag
store the jib in a sausage bag... it's a long tube shaped bag with breakaway zippers on the top and each end. Once the sail is lowered to the deck you can open the bag up flat and slide it under the sail. Flake or roll the sail up then zip the bag over it. Either leave it on deck for the night or store below after folding the whole thing into thirds. If you want quick deployment you can open the luff end of the bag, snap on the hanks or prefeed the luff tape then hook on the halyard. Connect the sheets at the other end then hoist when ready and the sail will break out of the bag. This type bag seems to work better because it opens flat and then you wrap the bag around the sail instead of trying to stuff the sail into the bag. There are ties on the bag that allow fixing it to stanchions or securing the folded bag.
store the jib in a sausage bag... it's a long tube shaped bag with breakaway zippers on the top and each end. Once the sail is lowered to the deck you can open the bag up flat and slide it under the sail. Flake or roll the sail up then zip the bag over it. Either leave it on deck for the night or store below after folding the whole thing into thirds. If you want quick deployment you can open the luff end of the bag, snap on the hanks or prefeed the luff tape then hook on the halyard. Connect the sheets at the other end then hoist when ready and the sail will break out of the bag. This type bag seems to work better because it opens flat and then you wrap the bag around the sail instead of trying to stuff the sail into the bag. There are ties on the bag that allow fixing it to stanchions or securing the folded bag.
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