Stack Pack

[sailPDQ36]

Hey all,

I am looking for opinions on how many uphaul lines I need to attach my pseudo stack pack I built for our cat. Our boat is already rigged with lazy jacks and I can splice up to maybe 5 lines per side, but I am just curious on how many lines others are using.

For what it's worth, I have a hard attachment point for the cover at the mast as well as a direct tie to the topping lift at the aft end, so I am mostly interested in the main center span area.

Thanks in advance.

Tom
Dream Catcher

[CR Kitten]

Good morning, Tom. I saw your picture of your sail cover with great interest as I am also making a cover for our mainsail that will be a boom dwelling unit.

You did not advise how long your boom is so I don't know if my design is of any interst. Your boom is probably longer than mine but I have put 4 loops in the cover on each side but then have the grommet at the forward edge that I will use bungie to cleats we have above on the mast and also to the topping lift. That will make 6 supports along with the top edge batten on each side of the cover so I am hopeful it will look tidy. My boom is 16 ft. 9 in. long with the area that needs the cover being 15 ft. 6 in.

My question to you is how did you attach the cover to the boom? Did you use sail slugs or use bolt rope on the bottom edge of the cover? If you used bolt rope, was it full length or pieces of bolt rope along the bottom edge of the cover? How will this impact the ability to reef? I have seen professionally done covers where an opening was in the cover where reef lines would run. These had a heavy duty facing to handle chafe.

Also, are you using a membrane in your cover? One of the makers of these has a sailcloth piece that fastens the sail to the cover. I did not incorporate that in my design and I hope it will not be a problem.

Our vessel is currently under shrinkwrap for the winter so I am unable to do any fitting so will leave some details until I can try it on for size. Another reason to look forward to SPRING!!

with kind regards,

Leslie
CR 34, "Tango"
Kent Island, MD

[sailPDQ36]

Leslie,

Our boom is 16 feet long, the cover just a tad shorter at 15'6" as our main does not pull all the way back. The cover is attached to a rubber track that I screwed on to each side of the boom. I looked at going the sail slug route, but it would interfere with my jiffy reefing. The track is an off the shelf product I got from Sailrite and it cost in the neighborhood of $5 per 4.5 foot section. The male part to this track is sewn into the bottom edge on both sides of the actual cover material and it slides easily into the boom mounted track.

I plan to put another piece of this track system (2 feet) on either side of the mast immediately above the boom mount (vertical) to hold the leading edge of the cover in place. The aft end of the cover is just tied through a grommet hole to the topping lift.

I spoke with a guy in our yard and he said he's seen the stack packs with anywhere from 2 to 4 lines per side, so I guess we'll probably go with four and I'll just have one hoop too many. Next time I would probably just make three hoops in addition to the two end points for holding the entire cover up.

As an aside, I was able to get a very even side profile by stuffing 3/4" PVC tubing ($0.15/foot) from HomeDepot in an inside batten pocket at the top of both sides just under the top of the webbing loop attachment points.

Tom
Dream Catcher

[senormechanico]

Good idea using the PVC. I used 3/8" solid fiberglass rods on a 15' boom with four attachment points. We sewed webbing loops into buttonholes sewn in the cover.
Steve B.

[sailPDQ36]

I was gong the solid rod (sail battens) route as well, but I wanted to be able to take the whole thing apart and stow it below during the hurricane season, so my PVC pipe is actually 3, 5 foot lengths per side with little connectors holding them together. As a curiosity, where did you get your fiberglass rods?

Tom
Dream Catcher

[Cadence]

Gentlemen,

It is nice to see an intelligent conversation.

[CR Kitten]

Tom, I don't think there is a right or wrong number of lazyjack loops for your cover. Probably as long as the spacing seems good, there should be no issue. When you used the tracks from Sailrite along the boom, did you go the full length or have sections along the boom? I was concerned about drilling holes in my boom and getting the little screws (with their tiny heads) to hold it all together. The PVC tubes are a great idea. I had planned to use battens (sailrite also sells batten material) but the PVC may be the best idea. I visited your site and also spied your dinghy chaps. I think I saw those in "Good Old Boat" and thought they were a smart idea. You did a great job on that project, too! All the folks in the marina must come to you for canvas work. Thanks for the response back.

Leslie
CR 34, "Tango"
Kent Island, MD

[imagine2frolic]

I have one for each side.4 points per side on the canvas with 2 lines. That leads to a Y from the mast to catch the two loops...........i2f

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by sailPDQ36

I was gong the solid rod (sail battens) route as well, but I wanted to be able to take the whole thing apart and stow it below during the hurricane season, so my PVC pipe is actually 3, 5 foot lengths per side with little connectors holding them together. As a curiosity, where did you get your fiberglass rods?

Tom
Dream Catcher

It was several years ago in a hole in the wall on Highway 99 in Lynwood Wa.

Steve B.

[Yotboss]

We found that it's not only the number of lazy jacks lines you have, but the positioning of those lines. In gusty conditions, our sail used to partially blow off the boom, even with the lazy jacks up; the full-length battens are so bendy that they wouldn't stay straight. We re-positioned the lazy jacks so that they are about 1 foot forward of each of the four longest battens and they now contain the sail very nicely as it comes down.

[Pblais]

We found that it's not only the number of lazy jacks lines you have, but the positioning of those lines.

I've found this to be true as well. It helps if they line up such that the batten ends are not too close The sail will bunch up just forward of each batten. If you get the line just aft of a batten it will hang up as you raise the sail a lot easier than if it were forward of the batten end. A 4th batten I would think should fall forward since the bulk of the sail may require the extra support.

[sailPDQ36]

Thanks all, this helps a lot.
Regards,
Tom
Dream Catcher