Are Lazy Jacks 'Hip' ?

[cwyckham]

My boat and the last two boats I raced on all had lazy jacks that are kept at the mast when not dropping. Very common on boats over 30' or so.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by Catpainzmcspice

Do you have problems catching the battons while raising the main? That's my main practical concern on top of my concern of being perceived differently.

Yes, it takes a steady hand on the helm to keep her into the wind when raising the main. I have a Doyle Stack Pack and full battened main.

[Wainui]

I designed a lazyjack system that stows forward around the horns when sailing and when the mainsail is covered. Instead of drilling into the boom for small padeye's, I drilled and tapped some brass mainsail slides with small eyebolts which fit into the sailtrack on the top of the boom. I have a loose footed main. The lazyjacks run down and under the boom and go up to the eyebolt on the opposite side of the boom. This gives enough space for the sail to fold on each side. I have a 23' long boom with a fully battened main. The eyebolts thread through the slides and hold them in place. This works well for my heavy main
Regards
Mark

[roverhi]

Oops, a typo on the description of the lazy jacks. The lazy jack line is 1/4" not 1/2".

I put padeyes on each side of the boom to position the jack line. That doesn't allow a lot of room for my heavy, stiff main to flake out unless the jacks are set up loose. Besides saving on padeyes, one underneath the boom instead of two on the side of the boom for each line would have allowed for more room for the main without them flapping so much.

[billyehh]

I single hand with a stack pack system and would struggle without it. It took practice to get the main up without fouling the battens. Now most of the time it is easy and once the sail is about 1/3rd up, no problem. Still is a challenge when the wind is shifty. The main comes down in about 4 seconds.

[Catamount]

My lazy jacks are made of 1/4" spectra line, with just eye splices -- no blocks or any other metal hardware, except for the eyelets where they are attached to the mast and boom. The spectra line is pretty slippery and slides over itself well -- and doesn't chafe the sail. They are retractable.

[daddle]

You won't lose too many style points with lazyjacks. Almost negligible if they are only deployed when needed and otherwise stowed ... kinda like fenders.

To avoid batten problems they should head high on the mast - unlike the useless and frustrating ones my PO installed headed at the first spreaders.

[philocat]

Originally Posted by jackdale

The lazy jacks are used when lowering the main. After it is down, stow the lazy jacks at the mast; that prevents batten issues.

Now theres a good idea. I often wondered how long the usually flimsy jacks you often see would last in the sun. If the jacks are stowed as you say and raised just before lowering the main then it can heavier line -and avoids chafe and tangles as well.

[arisatx]

Originally Posted by Catamount

My lazy jacks are made of 1/4" spectra line, with just eye splices -- no blocks or any other metal hardware, except for the eyelets where they are attached to the mast and boom. The spectra line is pretty slippery and slides over itself well -- and doesn't chafe the sail. They are retractable.

Went for full bling with 1/8" spectra and Antal rings on lower legs and then end to end spliced to 1/4" NER double braid for the retractable portion to be cleated off. Light, little chafe, strong.

[nico105]

I too have lazy jack system as Roverhi posted in his link...exect mine don't tie off the the mast, they come down and tie under the boom and give one move lazy jack closer to the mast. I had them down for a bit for a repair and replacement of one of the lines and when sailing w/ out it was a real pain. They are back up and i too find them to invaluable.

[IdoraKeeper]

I have em and I use em. They reduce the time required to stow the main and mizzen. I still need to go forward and use the sail ties prior to docking. If I don't, the view forward is generally obstructed. They do retract to the mast nicely but will make a racket of the wind is greater than light unless restrained by bungee.

Idora is a beast at the dock so I need to be able to see what I don't want to hit.

Todd

[sf-robert]

Originally Posted by Catpainzmcspice

My question is this... in the eyes of my boating peers, will I lose respect if I rig a lazy jack system?

We added lazy jacks to our Gulfstar 37 and have never regreted it, and I don't care what others think. They have made lowering the main something manageable, especially in the strong afternoon winds on SF Bay. We only use them for taking in the sail and stow them along the mast and boom at other times.

[roverhi]

Went for full bling with 1/8" spectra and Antal rings on lower legs and then end to end spliced to 1/4" NER double braid for the retractable portion to be cleated off. Light, little chafe, strong.
__________________
You can turn Lazy Jacks into an expensive high tech proposition but you don't need to. 1/4" double braid is way way way more than strong enough to handle the load and considerably cheaper.

Be careful using very small diameter line like 1/8" under tension. Did that with my 1/8" spectra topping lift and it 'sings' like a guitar string when the winds get much above 10mph. It ain't no Santana and is annoying as hell.

[Pblais]

I've had them on both boats. The first were retractable from mast halyards and the current is not retractable but is adjustable. I found the extra halyards on the last boat get in the way. Raising the sail with lazy jacks deployed is not hard. It's getting the first batten past the second jack line. As you begin you just watch the sail flop back and forth and time the tug on the main halyard. When the lower batten clears it usually is simple.

I used tiny blocks but only whip the jacks to the blocks. In a very high it will break apart and not be a problem getting fouled. It did that bringing the boat home and it seemed a good idea for fixed jack. I can adjust the new ones from the end of the boom. They are tied up high on the mast but thread together on each side so you can set the tension to match the belly of the sail. You don't want any chafe and you'll never just guess the right tension. I have slots in the sail cover with zips on two legs and a flap with a twist fastener on the end. You line the slots in the cover to the jack lines and start fastening. The cover hangs loose and open on the bottom to dry out the sail. I have a few twist fasteners on the bottom so the cover won't balloon out.

My jacks are not tight so don't sing. You can't sail with them deployed tight.

Retractable has that advantage but if you forget to delpoy them soon you may not feel comfortable going forward. In any case jacks beat having the sail all over the deck. Stacpacks are popular here. Dutchman systems are also nice but it takes time to train the memory of the sail. If you race with a crew then of course you probably don't need them but sailing short handed it helps a lot in rough weather.

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by daddle

To avoid batten problems they should head high on the mast - unlike the useless and frustrating ones my PO installed headed at the first spreaders.

Could you elaborate on that. I just ordered Lazy jacks from Hood Sails and will have to use the first spreader as its my only one.