by 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).
~ green ~ lake ~ ~