Sail Pack Construction

[Kimarah]

We are trying to decide whether to replace our moth-eaten mainsail cover with the same vanilla version or to upgrade to some sort of Sail Pack with lazy jacks. Either way, I would want to do the work myself, since the competition for the available boat dollars is stiff.

We looked at a friend's boat last weekend, and he had recently redone his Sail Pack so that it is no longer attached to the sail. It's attached (with screws) to the boom. He didn't like the fact that with the Sail Pack sewn to the sail, he couldn't repair/replace it without removing the main from the boat. Also, the size of the main made it difficult for him to do work on the Sail Pack himself, due to space constraints in his house.

It got us thinking about alternate attachment schemes. Any opinions/recommendations along these lines?

Thanks for your time-

Carrie

[osirissail]

The sailpack/stakpack I made myself is not attached to the boom or the sail. I made it in two pieces that join together underneath the sail with cut-outs for the sail slides on the boom. The sides are attached to the lazy jack lines which go underneath the boom and up the other side. Tightening the lazy jack lines hauls up the sides of the envelope when the sail is flaked. The lines can be loosened or let out to prevent the lazy jacks from interfering with the boom elevation when sailing.
- - Each side is a very long triangle piece of Sunbrella sewn to provide extra cloth as it nears the main mast. You need to allow for the much larger bulk of flaked sail at the mast end of the boom. I use velcro and snaps to attach the sides together as they pass under the mainsail but above the actual boom tube. The top of the stackpak has a long length of CPVC plastic pipe sewn in to minimize sag in the cloth in between lazy jack down lines. I chose CPVC pipe as it is stiffer than the white PVC pipe.
- - I added two horizontal pieces of Sunbrella with a zipper joining them so that I can "zip" the bag closed above the flaked mainsail. The zipper has a long continuous pull line so I can stand at the mast and un-zip the top of the bag or zip it shut later.

[Zydeco]

We have a loose footed main and our sailpack is attached to the boom with a bolt rope that slides into the sailtrack. Otherwise it's similar to the one Osirissail made.

[Kimarah]

Ah, I see I left out an important detail. Our main is on a luff rope, so there isn't any space for the two sides of the sail pack to connect underneath. I gather that in these cases, the usual methid is to sew the sail pack right to the sail, which seems like it would be a huge pain.

Otherwise, thanks for the construction details.

Carrie

[osirissail]

The last thing I would recommend is attaching the stackpak system permanently to the actual sail. I would suggest in your case that wide flat webbing straps be fed under the boom instead. Space them to allow for anything else attached to the boom. You can purchase small flat "Footman's Loops" to retain and guide the web straps so they do not drift fore and aft on the boom. West Marine has them as do other boat parts houses.
SEAFIT Loop at West Marine

- - An alternative is to sew the bottom of the bags to the lazy jack lines but I like having only the top of the bag sides fixed to the lazy jack lines.

[6string]

Check out sail rite. They have a sail pack kit along with a DVD on how to do it. They use a hot knife and make a slit along the foot of the sail and feed webing through it to attach the two side together. The slit is in a reinforced webing along the foot. This part of the sail does not get much stress in it so it will not cause any trouble. The DVD can be bought seperate if you just want the directions instead of their complete kit. I bought the kit and will be starting my cover this winter. I took the dimensions off the boat before putting it away earlier this week. I will finish next spring when we are back in the water.

Good Luck

Jeff Anderson
SV/Mezzaluna
Baba 40

[blahman]

Carrie,

I make sail covers and stackpacks for folks (even have a cute little ad in the classified area); am working on two now. Shoot me an email and I'll forward you some instructions and notes on how I build them and what works well, some photos, etc. It's not tough (no harder than a regular main cover) and makes mains'l handling easier while extending the life of your sail by keeping you from manhandling the material and leaving it on the boom uncovered because it's too much of a PITA to go find and put the cover on.

Cheers,
Aaron N.

[Kimarah]

Aaron,

What a nice offer. I did see your cute ad. I hope you get a good response.

I got the Sailrite instructions. They seem pretty straightforward, except that for a main with a bolt rope, they suggest you cut holes in the sail.

I'm currently pondering the option of adding slides to our main, and to the sailpack. That seems the most elegant solution and also probably what we'll have when we replace the main in a few years. I think the only downside is the expense, but I'm going to consider things while at the boat this weekend.

If you've already got stuff written up, I'd love to have your notes. Otherwise, I'll get started with the Sailrite instructions and reserve the right to yell if I get stuck.

Carrie

[blahman]

Hi,

I've received about six other requests for info and have decided to make a photo album of the next cover I make and an accompanying description of how to build, all of which I'll post on CF sometime next week.

~Aaron

[Jimbo2010]

looking forward to it.