Dutchman mainsail system experience?

[Blue Seas]

Our stack pack system needs renewing for next season so before I commit to purchase I wondered if anyone had actual experience of the Dutchman system? I did look at the Dutchman 10-15 years ago but then forgot all about it but apparently they have sold over 15,000 systems now so some folks must like it.
Thoughts from the mighty?

 

[BCsailor]

Dropping our sail the other day, I marvelled at how easy our Dutchman system flaked the sail.

We've had Dutchman systems since 2008. Love them. No catching of sails when raising or lowering, and simple flaking.

 

[stephen_h]

I had the Dutchman on a ketch rigged wharram and thought it was great.
Never had a problem but have heard about wear on the sail but no experience.

 

[dgadee]

I have the boom brake but never heard of their sail handling. How much is it?

 

[Blue Seas]

I have the boom brake but never heard of their sail handling. How much is it?

It varies depending on mast height and boom length but roughly $550 for a 20-25 footer up to $2,500 for a 60 footer. Then goes up to $6,000 for 90'.

 

[smert]

We have a Dutchman system and love it. We had a stackpack on the last boat which was fine but we never got on with it as well as we do with the Dutchman.

We haven't seen any wear on the sail (previous sail was 20+ years old with the Dutchman since new!)

 

[Sybarite]

About 20 or so years ago it was being actively promoted by Bénéteau.

FWIW. It seems like a good idea to me.

 

[BCsailor]

Current sail with Dutchman is about 12 years old. ZERO evidence of sail wear due to Dutchman system.

 

[greeny]

I'm just considering a new stack pack but looking at Dutch man as an option. From what I see the Dutch man needs a separate sail cover in 3 or 4 parts whereas the stackpac is all in one. So the stackpac scores for me on ease of use. Or am I wrong?

 

[smert]

Our sail cover is one piece. The filament lines are slackened off once the sail is down and sail ties are on. This lets the cover basically sit as if they are not there.

 

[greeny]

Our sail cover is one piece. The filament lines are slackened off once the sail is down and sail ties are on. This lets the cover basically sit as if they are not there.

So do the vertical lines attach to the topping lift or a different line? The ones ive looked at seem to be supported by the topping lift.

 

[smert]

The topping lift is attached to a continuous loop that the verticals hang from. The continous loop is attached to the end of the boom where the topping lift normally would with a jamming block. The jamming block allows the position of the attachment of the verticals to be adjusted up and down the line of the "topping". Up = tight, down = slack.

The vertical lines are only tight when the sail is going up or down or if it's reefed (but that's more because our reefing ties are too short!)

 

[dgadee]

Seems very expensive system for what it consists of. Where does the cost arise?

 

[smert]

When we got our new main a few years ago the cost of main + Dutchman parts and fitting, was less than main + new stackpack and fittings from the same supplier. Other suppliers were cheaper for the stackpack option as that's what they knew.

I think retro fitting onto an existing sail reduces the value proposition though. There are not many sail lofts in the UK that are familiar with the system. Doyles were about the only one that we found that we were confident with! Most others had either never heard of it or hadn't seen it. Doyles had at least made our old sail!

 

[BCsailor]

Our main sail cover (with Dutchman) is all in ONE piece. The sailmaker/cover maker needs to be familiar with covers for sails with Dutchman systems. The cover has openings where Dutchman lines go. Absolutely no need to slack off topping lift when putting sail cover on. (Indeed, one normally tightens the topping lift before dropping main.)

 

[flaming]

We had a Dutchman system on Dad's old Legend 336. Boat was new in 1996.

In summary, it worked, but in my opinion gave few advantages over a stackpack and a set of lazyjacks. No major disadvantages either to be fair, other than that putting the sail cover on could be a bit fiddly.

When we snapped one of the "fishing line" type vertical strings Dad took that as a cue to replace it with a stackpack.

 

[mainsail1]

Please advise the ignorant like me.....what is a dutchman system?

 

[Tranona]

Little bit of googling would answer your question dutchmar.com/dutchman-sail-flaking-system/