I have a Hunter 37.5 and a Neil Pryde Stack Pack. The problem I encounter is trying to work the zipper. The distance to the top of the stack pack is quite high and I find it very difficult to access. I am contemplating getting rid of the stack pack and going back to a conventional sail cover. Is there something out there to alleviate my problem?
Stack Pack Access
- Thread starter korchinskyp
- Start date
Yes, a mast step (if height is a challenge) and a continuous zipper line. One end tied to your zip fob and going aft to the boom end and the other end tied to the zip fob and going forward to the forward jackline (or there-abouts). Zip and un-zip from the mast.
My 40.5 has two additional steps installed on the mast which are very handy for a number of reasons. On my recently-installed unit, I am installing a zipper train just as Gunni suggests (I was told that's what the big cats use). I rigged it with two min-blocks on each end but I found that they tended to foul when slack. So, I am replacing them with low-friction rings of 10mm inside measurement. Should do the trick. http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?18752
I'm not familiar with your setup, but it sounds wrong that a 25 has to be that tall. My B323 came with the NP bag. (I added two mast steps.) When it wore out I went with a regular sail cover. Now thinking about going back, as my various crew can never flake the sail and set up the cover properly- I'd rather do it myself back at the dock.
Here is an option: Remove the zipper pull tab and replace it with a SS ring like the type used to hold keys. Get some parachute cord or other strong light line. You can either tie to the ring of use a snap hook. The line should be long enough to run from an open stack pack to the mast and around it, back to mid boom. Just pull the line to you and it should zip closed. Zipper lube will greatly help. You can either add a pull line to open (leaving the closure line in place) or feed the closure line back to where you can grasp it.
Just finished the change to low-friction rings in place of the mini-blocks. Works very well.
There is no need to attach the stackpack/Lazybag zipper pull at the mast. You just need a continuous line with both ends tied to the bag zipper pull and one end routed to a block or low friction ring at the boom end (which is typically very difficult to reach). Then from the mast you you can pull one end of the line or the other depending on whether you want to unzip or zip the bag. I loosely hitch the line to my forward lazyjack to keep it at hand.