lazy jacks from spreaders or mast?

[Pendragon35]

I'm hoping to fit lazy jacks on my Alberg 35 this spring. I like the plan in Good Old Boats. It's simple, and it makes for lazy jacks that can be out of the way when not in use.

In the article, he hangs them from his spreaders. I've heard several people do it that way, some do it from spreader height on the mast. Any thought on relative advantages/disadvantages?

[s/v Moondancer]

I moved mine from mast to spreaders to make it easier to get the battens past the jacks while raising the main.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

I moved mine from mast to spreaders to make it easier to get the battens past the jacks while raising the main.

So did I,for same reason. Works great.
Note
: I had to put stops (u-bolts) under my spreader tips to keep spreaders from sliding down the stays.

/ Len

[Benz]

If you hang them from the spreaders, make sure you do it from the ends rather than the middle, as spreaders aren't really meant to take a bending force. Spread out like that makes a nice basket for the sail to fall into easier, but you have to make sure you ease the windward lazyjack before letting the boom out, or you'll put a big force aft-ward on the spreader tip.
Ben
zartmancruising.com

[JPA Cate]

We mount our lazy jacks about 2/3 of the way between the mast and the tips. As we always head into the wind to drop the sail, there has been no problem with that location for the attachment. Having the "mouth" of the lazy jacks more open certainly makes life easier. Don't know about the OP, but we got tired of leading the lazy jacks forward prior and after sailing.

Ann

[goat]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Don't know about the OP, but we got tired of leading the lazy jacks forward prior and after sailing.

Ann

It sort of defeats the name to have them cause more work.

[emoji6]

[Joli]

For us, more important than the lazy jack position was hay racks on the boom.

[Snowpetrel]

Just be real carefull if you mount them out on the spreaders that you have some sort of fuse that will break before the lazyjack can rip a spreader off the mast. Often light bungy cord works.

Remember with lazyjacks set on the spreaders if you gybe one will go slack and one will tighten. Hence the bungy.

I prefer to lead them from the mast a few meters avove the spreaders then open the lazyjacks with bungy cord and bullseyes out to the spreader ends. This way the spreaders don't have any download and minimal sideloads.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[thinwater]

The other trick, particularly with full batten sails, is not to take the lines too far down the boom. Better to have some sail droop off side than deal with more fouling trouble. Stop at about 2/3 length.

[UNCIVILIZED]

- Less to zero block & thimbles within reach of the sail = much, much less chafe (& cost).
- Ditto on using leather, sailcloth, or plastic chafe socks on hardware & @ hard spots (splices).
- Plastic or wooden toggles in conjunction with spliced loops work great for DIY, no chafe connectors. Ones which can easily be detached & reattached.
- Seize doublebraid connections in lieu of splicing, so things can easily be taken apart & modified. Besides, splicing doublebraid sucks. So I vote for 3-strand or 12.
- Remember to design your system so that you can controllably disconnect & stow it when it's time to put up that trysail. Otherwise you'll be flailing around with a knife cutting it loose in F8+, which could go badly.
- Then have a KISS way to tightly secure your main when the lazy jacks aren't in place in such conditions, & practice it.

[ggray]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Just be real carefull if you mount them out on the spreaders that you have some sort of fuse that will break before the lazyjack can rip a spreader off the mast. Often light bungy cord works.

Remember with lazyjacks set on the spreaders if you gybe one will go slack and one will tighten. Hence the bungy.

I prefer to lead them from the mast a few meters avove the spreaders then open the lazyjacks with bungy cord and bullseyes out to the spreader ends. This way the spreaders don't have any download and minimal sideloads.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Exactly! And good solution.

[roverhi]

Lazy Jacks need to be mounted high so the sail doesn't spill out because of the low angle. Mine are halfway between mast head and spreaders and work fine. If you don't run them out fairly far towards the end of the boom you end up with sail hanging on top of you in the forward end of the cockpit.

Lazy jacks stay stored at the mast till I'm ready to drop the sail. No problem with them fouling the battens when raising the sail that way. They also aren't messing up the airflow when sailing. Super easy to deploy when needed.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Why up high? The higher up the spar the lazy jacks are mounted, the better the odds of the sail fouling on them. And they serve zero purpose but to keep the sail on the boom, which means that they're only really useful for the first few meters of a the mast above the boom. Non?

Think of them as a funnel for the main. Low, with a wide entry angle/envelope will make'em work much better at catching the sail, including from a much wider range of sail angles, such as reaching. Just as with a wide funnel vs. a tall skinny one.

[Pendragon35]

Thanks to all of you for responding, you've given me a lot to think about.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Why up high? The higher up the spar the lazy jacks are mounted, the better the odds of the sail fouling on them. And they serve zero purpose but to keep the sail on the boom, which means that they're only really useful for the first few meters of a the mast above the boom. Non?

Think of them as a funnel for the main. Low, with a wide entry angle/envelope will make'em work much better at catching the sail, including from a much wider range of sail angles, such as reaching. Just as with a wide funnel vs. a tall skinny one.

I see it as the exact opposite! I'd rather have a tall skinny funnel because it will stack the main much nicer than a wide one which allows the sail more room to flake way out.

Also, a taller, tighter funnel embraces the sail, thus less likely that a batten gets outboard of the lazy jack lines.

Mine start above the spreaders. The sail is guided down into a nice, tight slot. Very little re-flaking required, just tie it up.