Stackpack / lazy jacks rigging on a Beneteau 311

[Shorinsean]

Hi all,

New poster here, because I have a new-to-me 2001 Beneteau 311. I've been getting the running rigging straightened out after several years of benign neglect.
It has a Doyle stackpack, which I've not used before, and I believe the forwardmost lazy jacks are incorrectly rigged into the stackpack. Does anyone have photos of it done right? The Doyle stackpack installation manual doesn't have that kind of detail, and the forwardmost nylon slug is clearly not performing correctly (see Starboard Detail).

While I'm at it, can anyone recommend a good overall guide or collection of tips for working with a stackpack / lazy jack combination?

Thanks!

 

[Caboteur]

This is from the Bénéteau 31 manual:

There should be a sheave on either side of the mast. Then down through a hole in thespreaders.

 

[Tally Ho]

This is from the Bénéteau 31 manual:
View attachment 227805 There should be a sheave on either side of the mast. Then down through a hole in thespreaders.

By “the spreaders”, I assume you mean the supports in the stack pack, not the mast spreaders?

I have a Mack Pack onmy O’Day 322, and it is rigged just like your diagram, except I do t have any supports in my pack….just the holes, and the lazy jacks run through them, and around the boom in the various positions.



Greg

 

[jssailem]

Welcome Back @Shorinsean. I see you have upgraded your boat since 2022. Congrats.

It is easy to make the stack pack seem complex. It is not. The design has lines on either side of the pack that run from the pack edges (which I believe you called spreaders) to the mast. They gather in a single line and run down the mast to let you raise or lower the pack. @Caboteur provides an image of that simplicity. This image from Doyle supports that simplicity.

Simplify the lines on your boat to provide the ease of use you desire. The images you provided appear to show stopper knots at cringles. In one case, the stopper knot seems too small and partially slides through the cringle. From your image, it is difficult to track all the lines.

I would take the lines apart and connect them to the stack pack as Doyle originally designed them.

 

[Caboteur]

No, I meant the spreaders… so the lines don’t slap in the wind

 

[sailme88]

I have a stack pack built by a local sailmaker. Works great. A friend recently bought a slightly new version of our boat.. It came with a Doyle Stack pack. That rigging too was messed up. Worse, because the sail is sewn into the bag it is very difficult to lift, steady and align the sail to the boom. Granted it only happens once a year, but it CAN'T be done by one's self....

 

[Tally Ho]

No, I meant the spreaders… so the lines don’t slap in the wind
View attachment 227815

Interesting. I added my Mack Pack myself, and I would not drill holes in my spreaders for the lazy jacks. I get it could help keep the line from slapping and it may help keep the jacks spread out some, but I would think chafe would be a big problem.

Learn something new everyday, but I don’t like it.

And to @sailme88’s comments, my Mack Pack is not sewn to the sail, so I can remove the sail easily even with the jacks and bag in place, or put the sail on the boom with the rig in place. I do mine by myself each spring and fall.


Greg

 

[kappykaplan]

my Mack Stack Pack is not sewn to the sail, so I can remove the sail easily even with the jacks and bag in place, or put the sail on the boom with the rig in place. I do mine by myself each spring and fall.

 

[Ward H]

In @Shorinsean s photos you can see that his sail is not sewn into his pack.
In @jssailem s photo of a Doyle stack pack you can see the knots where the lazy jacks are tied to the top of the stack pack. They are not run to the boom.

Shorinsean, I agree with John, tie the lazy jacks to the top of the pack in the appropriate holes.

As for using the stack pack, there are two schools of thought:
Cruisers and others who are very concerned with sail trim, like to lower the stack pack and roll it up agains the boom so it does not interfere with sail shape and windage.The lazy jacks are pulled to the mast.
Others who just day sail tend to leave the stack pack up and don't worry about pulling the LJs to the mast. That's the way I use my stack pack.

If you have full battens and the lazy jacks are taught, the batten ends can catch on the lazy jacks when raising the sail.
I avoid this by raising the boom with the topping lift a little so the lazy jacks are a little loose and carefully raising the sail.
When the sail is up, I loosen the topping lift a little so the boom is supported by the sail.

How you use your the stack pack is entirely up to you.

 

[Shorinsean]

Thank you all; I'll look into setting up the LJ's into the top of the stackpack rather than the bottom as they are today. Regarding sail trim, one of our very experienced sailors has some extra rigging that does as you describe, pulling the LJs forward to the mast. But I fall into the latter "Cohibas and cognac" category, so I'll be perfectly happy to get my rig looking like @jssailem 's.

 

[Tally Ho]

In @Shorinsean s photos you can see that his sail is not sewn into his pack.
In @jssailem s photo of a Doyle stack pack you can see the knots where the lazy jacks are tied to the top of the stack pack. They are not run to the boom.

Shorinsean, I agree with John, tie the lazy jacks to the top of the pack in the appropriate holes.

As for using the stack pack, there are two schools of thought:
Cruisers and others who are very concerned with sail trim, like to lower the stack pack and roll it up agains the boom so it does not interfere with sail shape and windage.The lazy jacks are pulled to the mast.
Others who just day sail tend to leave the stack pack up and don't worry about pulling the LJs to the mast. That's the way I use my stack pack.

If you have full battens and the lazy jacks are taught, the batten ends can catch on the lazy jacks when raising the sail.
I avoid this by raising the boom with the topping lift a little so the lazy jacks are a little loose and carefully raising the sail.
When the sail is up, I loosen the topping lift a little so the boom is supported by the sail.

How you use your the stack pack is entirely up to you.

In light winds, I will loosen my jacks and roll the cover down so my loose-footed main can get a good shape…

In heavier winds, where I am not needing perfect sail shape to get the boat moving, I don’t bother rolling down the jacks…unless we are racing.

Greg