Stack Pack or Behind the mast furler

[Shooter II]

I'm old, short, fat and ugly.
Christmas coming and I always start dreaming.
Santa can't help with that stuff. So what else might I need help with?
Well . . .
Because I'm not as agile as I once was and because I'm new to sailing and because I'm going to singlehand or not at all, I'm dreaming of a Stack Pack or a main furler. I have a two year old main. The cost of either solution is still a lot of money, therefore in-boom is not on my radar. Behind the mast systems require the cutting of the main, I hear. Stack Pack with Strong Track doesn't give me the same warm, fuzzy. I never hesitate to deploy the jib and will adjust it, probably too much. My main, not so much. My sail cover is due and I would rather not drop a couple of hundred on the sail cover and then not have a need.
I'm looking for responses from those who have either a Stack Pack (or similar) or a behind the mast furler.

Costs nothing to dream, right?

 

[Scott B]

Assuming you have battens in your current main sail, would rule out using your current main with the mast furler, making it a more expensive option? I'm assuming you can use your current main with the Stack Pack.

 

[larryw]

Behind-the-mast furlers, like in-mast furlers, require the sail be a certain shape, and that shape is not the ideal performance shape. Personally, I'd go with the stack-pak, full battens, and a high-roach main, with a fractional jib. Cranking in those 155% mastheaded head sails after every up-wind tack can be a pain, especially for us older dudes, even though we still rule!

 

[COOL]

I cast my vote for none of the above.
Both have drawbacks and are an unnecessary expense.
Any mast furling system has the drawback of requiring
an extremely inefficient mainsail shape.
The Stack Pack or Lazy Cradle type systems are better
in that they will allow you to use your existing main,
although it would be preferable to have a full batten sail.
The sail stowing aspect of these systems work well,
but they are unsightly and cause too much windage
while sailing. Unless it is very challenging to put your
boom cover on, due to dodgers and biminis etc., these
types of systems should not be needed on your size boat.
I would suggest that all you need, if anything, is a well set up
Lazy Jack system that can be pulled forward out of the way
while sailing, and after the main is furled and lashed to the
boom.

 

[Patrick17430]

If you need to simplify your sailing , Get your furling system. Not everybody is obsessed with having sails be the exact shape for racing everywhere we go. I'm shorter, fatter, older and balder too and I just want life to be simple, easy and more relaxed. I love my in-mast furler. Its easy . I don't have to worry about people falling off the boat near as much and now my wife and kids love to do all the work. I just steer the boat, bark out orders and drink ice cold cervesa's. Life is good.

 

[RickS]

The Tides Marine Strong Track is a fantastic maintrack system and really increases the ease of hoisting and dropping the main. We are satisified with the Quantum style stack pack on our Jeanneau for ease of use, ability to capture the sail when it is lowered, and the quickness putting the sail to sleep after sailing. The system is attached to a lazy jack system. The drawback is the zipper along the top of the pack can be challenging to pull from the end of the boom. As the zipper moves closer to the mast, it is still pretty high. We are all over 6' tall and can manage, but the short stature crew members struggle with the height of the zipper on top of the sail stack pack system. Put your sail cover on the main and try pulling an imagary zipper from the clew to to tack to get an idea if you could reach the the zipper on a stack pack system.

 

[Ron20324]

Like Rick says, the zippers get a bit high up close to the mast. I added two mast steps to make it easier.

 

[DougM]

I've got the "stock' Beneteau lazy jack mainsail cover combination which is fairly easy to use. The zipper is not a problem because I'm 6'6''. The only thing I have to remember in not to walk off the back of the cabin top when I'm unzipping the cover. That last step can be a real surprise.

I wish that there was a quick way to completely remove the cover when going for a long sail, more for appearnce sake than for any other reason.

After seeing some of the grief that others have gone through with in-mast furlers, there is no way I would even consider that as a viable option. Besides tha sail area is reduced and the shape with no battens is not good.

 

[COOL]

For those having trouble reaching the zippers on their covers,
try tying a light line to the zipper slide and leading it aft to a small
bullet block near the clew, with another part of the line running
forward to the mast. This will allow you to control the zipper with
out having to lean out over the cockpit.

 

[Dave Groshong]

I really like the Doyle Cradle System, comes complete with cover and lazy jacks. I think it's better than their Stack Pack, because the sail is not sewn to the cover:

http://www.doylesails.com/cruising/cradlecover/index.html

 

[Blitz]

I went around i circles for a few years - just recently ordered a Stack pack for the ease of handling while short handed. I won't know until this summer (2010) if it was worth the extra expense, but yes I could see how some might think it's just a glorified lazy jack system.

ask me this summer if I like the change from a traditionally handled main (no lazy jacks) to the Stack Pack.

I'm not a racer, so perfect sail shape hasn't been an issue. I went with the stack pack with the new mast track (Tides Marine Strong Track) and a fully batten main. it might drop too fast now- if that is a problem, we'll see

 

[bffatcat]

main furling system???

I gotta agree with cool Im an old guy too 72 Not fat though I think lazy jacks are the best answer for you because they will hold the sail in place until you get back to your slip or mooring where you can furl it and put your cover on at your leisure. Myself I dont have em. I usually luff up my main outside the harbor drop and furl it. Takes me about 5 minutes.
but Im a minimalist not fond of gadgets

 

[agaliha]

I have a stack pack with Strong track on my B361. I love it! It is so easy to use that I never hesitate to fly the main. I have a North main with 4 full battens and there are no compromises on the performance, unlike a furler. To me, it is the best of all worlds.
Go for it!
Agaliha

 

[sailaway78]

I have neither

As another one of the older citizens on this board, let me chime in. I do not have lazy jacks, stack pack or roller furling on the main. What I do instead is sail only with a roller furling jib when it is a little sloppy out there. Maybe it's just this boat, but I find that I can sail just about as fast with the jib alone, as I can with both sails. And of course I never hurry to get where I'm going. I do have a 170, on a roller furler, which I can use without leaving the cockpit. As a matter of ease, safety and simplicity, I do not want to get out of the cockpit if the weather is much less than perfect.