Lazy Jacks

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Lazy Jacks

Postby AlaskaDS » Wed May 20, 2020 1:16 am

Has anyone had experience with lazy jacks on a DS? They are featued in

https://youtu.be/Mm8xjwYqR_U

Seems a system that could be easily rigged and derigged would benefit the singlehanded sailer in highwind conditions.
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Re: Lazy Jacks

Postby GreenLake » Wed May 20, 2020 3:27 am

I've seen them in action on big boats I sailed on. Don't see the point of them for the DS - unless your situation is unusual. I've not had a situation where dumping the main onto the port bench was a problem (when lowering) or when the sail couldn't be raised from that location (when raising). My experience is 90% taking off or returning to some dock (except when I'm sailing from a beach). Most dock locations are/were not that exposed, and generally I lower the sail only at the dock (docking against the wind), unless I happen to be motoring in. For raising the sail at the beach, I push off, let the boat drift away and turn around pointing out, then raise the sail. I know I've managed that with six people on board. Don't remember how, but the fact that I don't remember is a good indication that it wasn't a problem (beach is on the protected side of a headland).

So, if your conditions are at all in the same ballpark, you may find that the cost benefit relation for the lazy jacks isn't positive enough. As I said, I've used them on other boats, and while helpful, they do represent another piece of gear that you need to pay attention to. For example, they can have a tendency to snag a batten when raising the sail.

I like to roll my sail and not flake it, so I tend to take it out completely from the mast track, disconnect the halyard and then roll it from the top. I may attach the rolled sail to the boom and use the halyard to hold it up (e.g. if docked for a bit). Or sometimes I take the boom off and keep it with the rolled sail on the side deck (while clearing up the cockpit, for example).
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Re: Lazy Jacks

Postby AlaskaDS » Thu May 21, 2020 2:29 pm

Agree on all of that. Seems like the best designs can stow easily until needed and not obstructing hoisting main.
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Re: Lazy Jacks

Postby GreenLake » Thu May 21, 2020 4:07 pm

I've sailed on a 30' boat that did not have them. That owner preferred to secure the main only temporarily after taking it down, then later dump the main onto a dock, and flake neatly it on the boom by bringing in each section from the foot. However, IIRC that boat does not have sail slides. I've sailed on a 39' boat with sail slides and the main was flaked as it came down. The sail slides were critical to the operation as they defined the midpoint of each fold.

If you already have sail slides, I can see a lazy jack setup. The DS boom is short enough that you can possibly flake the sail single handed if roughly held in place by the lazy jacks. There's an alternative, "dutch" something, where the extra lines go through holes in the sail, but that requires the lines to be vertical, I believe.

I've seen the the video you linked before, but while I can see that there is some sort of lazy jack system installed, I didn't see it shown in operation, and you can only see the bottom portion of it. What kind of system did you have in mind.
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