Advice on stack pack

[richardbrennan]

I recently had a new stackpack from Kemps and I am also very pleased with it. However, what has made the biggest difference to the ease of hoisting the main is the sail itself. My old one was by Norths and the batten pockets stuck out like the proverbial "sore thumb". My new main is by Kemps and the batten pockets are little inboard of the leach and the sail snags much less. This just might explain some of the different experiences individuals are having.

 

[RichardS]

I was fed up with the stitching and the tape loops for the lazyjacks suffering UV and failing every few years. The last stackpack I had made the lazyjacks tie directly onto the battens via cutouts in the batten pocket. This seems to be a much stronger method of construction.

I understand the issue but don't understand how the lazyjack lines can be attached to the sail battens.

OK - I've just got it. I think you are talking about a stackpack with something like dowelling rods running the full length of the stackpack across the top on both sides.

An interesting idea although I don't know if my stackpack has full length dowels but I'll check.

Richard

 

[JumbleDuck]

Really don't know why you bang on about this. Most sailmakers offer discounts at certain times of the year and at boat shows. Why do you pick on this company as if it is doing something out of the ordinary and bad?

Because I think it is bad and jolly well ought to be out of the ordinary. Sure, offer an autumn discount ... but offer it openly to everyone, not just those who can get to Southampton. Spring discount? In the busiest time of the year for sailmakers? Yeah, right.

Or maybe they are just doing a DFS, and never actually charge anyone full price, in which case it's just dodgy marketing (morally and legally) and not just irritating bad practice.

Oh and just to get it over with, the same (still) goes with knobs on for Beta, whose pricing policy seems to be "whatever we can get away with on the day". I prefer not to deal with companies which can't give a straighforward price and stick to it.

 

[alahol2]

Because I think it is bad and jolly well ought to be out of the ordinary. Sure, offer an autumn discount ... but offer it openly to everyone, not just those who can get to Southampton. Spring discount? In the busiest time of the year for sailmakers? Yeah, right.

Or maybe they are just doing a DFS, and never actually charge anyone full price, in which case it's just dodgy marketing (morally and legally) and not just irritating bad practice.

Oh and just to get it over with, the same (still) goes with knobs on for Beta, whose pricing policy seems to be "whatever we can get away with on the day". I prefer not to deal with companies which can't give a straighforward price and stick to it.

You're not a haggler then? There's hardly a thing I buy that I won't try and haggle down. There's nearly always a 'discount' to be had.

 

[JumbleDuck]

You're not a haggler then? There's hardly a thing I buy that I won't try and haggle down. There's nearly always a 'discount' to be had.

No, I don't really haggle. I prefer to find a supplier whose prices aren't affected by how grumpy or generous they are feeling on the day. Others may enjoy haggling of course, and that's fine.

 

[Stemar]

If you're making a stackpack for an old, soft sail, make sure you allow space for a nice stiff new one. I didn't so, when I got a new sail, I had to made a piece of material with a zip on each side so I could close the top. I usually only open one zip and tuck the flap down the side.

I think a lot of the problems with battens is because the jacklines are carefully positioned to catch the battens. I had to move mine a bit further forward and it reduced the problem enormously. It hasn't completely gone away, but watching the batten and raising through the critical height when it's clear removes the problem.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I think a lot of the problems with battens is because the jacklines are carefully positioned to catch the battens. I had to move mine a bit further forward and it reduced the problem enormously. It hasn't completely gone away, but watching the batten and raising through the critical height when it's clear removes the problem.

I think I may borrow a local school gym, lay out my mainsail and do some careful working out of optimum lazyjack divergence points. I doubt I'll get them good, but I might get them better.

 

[Daydream believer]

I think I may borrow a local school gym, lay out my mainsail and do some careful working out of optimum lazyjack divergence points. I doubt I'll get them good, but I might get them better.

Get a felt tip pen & draw them on so people THINK you have lazyjacks & everyone of them will then tell you why they are wrong & how they should be adjusted

 

[JumbleDuck]

Get a felt tip pen & draw them on so people THINK you have lazyjacks & everyone of them will then tell you why they are wrong & how they should be adjusted

Good plan, but dark red sails. Can I use Tippex?

 

[Halo]

I have a Doyle Stack Pack and it works fine. As others have said it is necessary to go to wind when hoisting but the autohelm is well able to keep her in line sufficiently if I am single handing. The only thing I am dissapointed with is that the material has faded more quickly than I would have liked.
Use has been made easier by a couple of mods as follows
1. I have replaced the original reefing lines on the main with thinner ones. This makes hoisting and furlung much lighter / more slick and I can hand-ball the battens past the lazy jacks. This means I can choose my moment to get past the lazy jacks if the mainsl leach is flapping.
2. My stack pack has a bolt rope which feeds down a slot on top of the boom. The clew of my main has a metal slider which had to be put in before the bolt rope. This made mounting the stack pack more difficult because the main and stack pack had to be loose on deck at the same time. I opened out the slot immediately aft of the aft end position of the bolt rope. This enables me to put the main on after the stack pack and to remove the main with the stack pack in situ.
Hope this is useful
Martin

 

[xeitosaphil]

Martin,
sounds like you have the same design stack pack as myself see post 40. Reducing the weight of the 3 reefs is something I had considered but not done yet. Good idea about the slot for the Mainsail slug, but I got around that problem by using a Velcro sling around the boom, it seems to make it easier for outhaul adjustment due to less friction on the slug.

Philip

 

[Seajet]

]If you're making a stackpack for an old, soft sail,[/B]

Compared to a new cheap starchy job ? I for one replace sails every few years, and remember foes in racing dinghies changing their - sponsored - sails we were very jealous of, every few months !

 

[Stemar]

]If you're making a stackpack for an old, soft sail,[/B]

Compared to a new cheap starchy job ? I for one replace sails every few years, and remember foes in racing dinghies changing their - sponsored - sails we were very jealous of, every few months !

If I had that sort of budget, I wouldn't be sailing a Snapdragon

My old sail was like a comfy shirt and folded down a treat. The new one takes twice as much room, but even SWMBO can see that we sail better with it.

 

[vyv_cox]

Compared to a new cheap starchy job ? I for one replace sails every few years, and remember foes in racing dinghies changing their - sponsored - sails we were very jealous of, every few months !

This is where paying a bit extra for the best cloth really pays off. I bought my Vectran sails in about 2000, replacing the previous Dacron ones that were clapped out at 3 years old. I cannot detect any shape change in the Vectran ones, despite considerable use. I had a new UV strip and some re-stitching done about three years ago and asked the sailmaker for his opinion. He could not detect any deterioration in the sailcloth.