Beginner Question re: Lazy Jacks

[goboatingnow]

i loosen mine a bit once I open the bag , I haul , the battens occasionally snag but only if the person at the helm isnt head to wind

[MikeHelms]

Thanks I’ve been having that happen on my new install.
I have to admit I love them when single handing in lowering the sail!

[Letterkenny]

Not worried about snagging when I raise them as I just watch the sails and put the autopilot dead into wind if short handed. I more so just noticed the sail touching them when underway and had me wondering.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

Not worried about snagging when I raise them as I just watch the sails and put the autopilot dead into wind if short handed. I more so just noticed the sail touching them when underway and had me wondering.

i tend to ensure that the LJs are loose , mine are tied off on the mast and if I need to reef etc , the booms drops and the LJs can start taking weight

[Clivevon]

Originally Posted by DEAN2140

We have chartered numerous boats with a lazy jack sail bag system and never have a problem with hooked battens; just go head to wind under power. It's not that hard.

Lucky you.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

You didn't ask, but:


Lazy Jack Trick
Many folks complain about full battens getting caught up when raising the mainsail. They then spend a lot of time moving BOTH sides of the lazy jacks to the mast.

We developed an easier way with our lazy jacks.

We have a small cleat on the forward starboard side of the boom. When we put the halyard on the headboard, we move ONLY the starboard side of the lazy jacks forward and snug them under the forward side of the horn of this cleat.

Then, when we raise the mainsail, instead of going exactly head to wind, we bear off a tad to starboard so the wind is coming from the port side of the bow.

We then raise the mainsail and it doesn't get hooked on the lazy jacks even though the port side jacks are still there.

Been working for 20 years.

Yes, we have to go forward again to unhook the starboard lazy jack for dousing the sail if I forget to do it right when the main is raised, but there's never any hurry. The drill is: after the main is raised, I unhook that starboard lazy jack, so they're both ready to go when we drop the sails at the end of the day.

So, for those of you with lazy jacks, consider doing only one side.

Your boat, your choice.



C:\Users\Stu\Stu\Boat\Lazy Jack Trick.doc

On some boats the headboard of the mainsail will snag the lazy jack if the boat is not directly into the wind. (and that snag can get serious if not detected, I've heard of a mainsail which got jammed by the lazy jack line in the sail track under tension, be careful)

[Jhclay]

Looser is better. If your lines go to the cross trees then you need to adjust them so that they don't touch the sail, or take the weight of the boom, when the boom is "out". Lines that go to the mast will not vary as greatly in tension as the boom moves (but are more likely to touch the sail).
Preferably, the system should be easy to adjust quickly. So if you get snagging when raising the sail it provides another way of resolving the problem.

[Nani Kai]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

You didn't ask, but:


Lazy Jack Trick
Many folks complain about full battens getting caught up when raising the mainsail. They then spend a lot of time moving BOTH sides of the lazy jacks to the mast.

We developed an easier way with our lazy jacks.

We have a small cleat on the forward starboard side of the boom. When we put the halyard on the headboard, we move ONLY the starboard side of the lazy jacks forward and snug them under the forward side of the horn of this cleat.

Then, when we raise the mainsail, instead of going exactly head to wind, we bear off a tad to starboard so the wind is coming from the port side of the bow.

We then raise the mainsail and it doesn't get hooked on the lazy jacks even though the port side jacks are still there.

Been working for 20 years.

Brilliant! Can't wait to try it. How is it that simple solutions are sometimes so elusive? As a rookie salmon fishing in Alaska I would often be the target of the captain's sarcastic comment "Hold on there greenhorn. Think this through. There must be a more difficult way to do that." KISS is most often the best way and also often overlooked.

[JBP]

Originally Posted by smith8273

So, I want to leave the jacks up, and get a cover made to fit around the lazy jacks.

I leave my lazy jacks up, but in the loose sailing position. They are loose enough with the boom on the topping lift that they easily wrap around under my conventional mainsail cover.

[Martkimwat]

I have my lazy jacks attached to two eyelets beneath my spreaders. I have them adjusted such that when the boom is over on either tack, the leeward lazy jacks do not touch the mainsail, due to the geometry of the setup causing the leeward lazy jacks to slacken off and the windward ones to tighten up. The net result is once I got the lazy jacks adjusted just right, I no longer need to adjust them at all. I also use dyneema lazy jacks which means I can use a much thinner line, thereby reducing windage and also lessening any likelyhood of chafe. I don't usually have any issue with the battens catching either, because the gap between the lazy jacks is wider due to the spread caused by putting the attachment points out on the spreaders. If you do this, just be sure your spreaders have a clamp arrangement around the shrouds, otherwise there is a possibility of the lazy jacks pulling your spreaders down which would not be good! (some spreaders, particularly swept-back spreaders, have this facility as standard, straight spreaders may need a cable clamp fitted on the shroud immediately below the spreader attachment point.)

[lo2jones]

On Maramel, a 54 ft schooner, we stowed them against the mast. This is probably advisable on any boat that’s on a long passage.

[and4ew]

On the boats I've seen with Lazy Jacks and sailbag, the sailbag covers the foot of the sail. I've wondered if the bag itself interferes with sail performance. I seem to recall reading that that part of the sail doesn't generate much power anyway. True?

[chasfgr]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

So this is my first boat that used a lazy jack and lazy bag. Does the main usually touch the lazy jack rigging when sailing or should it be tightened enough so that can’t happen?

Unless on a long sail (more than 24 hours), I don't bother to release lazy-jacks, the leeward one will touch the main on broad reaches.


I try to set my lazy jacks so that the boom-bag collects all the main when it's dropped.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

So this is my first boat that used a lazy jack and lazy bag. Does the main usually touch the lazy jack rigging when sailing or should it be tightened enough so that can’t happen?

To prevent chafing I always tie the lazy jack lines back to the mast.
However, I use slab reefing without a boom bag.
Certainly works for me.
I am sure others will have their own ideas, whatever works for you.

[Plumpton]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

You didn't ask, but:

So, for those of you with lazy jacks, consider doing only one side.

Your boat, your choice.



C:\Users\Stu\Stu\Boat\Lazy Jack Trick.doc

Yes, good idea. Our yacht has a boom cover independent of the lazy jacks, so we hook the lazy jacks around the bullhorns on BOTH sides of the mast. Once the sail is up we put the lazy jacks out ready for the sail drop.