How do you secure your mainsail onto your Boom?

Appledore

Appledore

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We now have a stackpack, so don't need sail ties.

On the previous boat, I used short lengths of 3-strand with an eye spliced in one end. Put the end through the eye, pull it tight, then a slipped overhand knot to hold it. Similar ties are often made of 1" webbing, with the eye either sewn or knotted (fig-8 or bowline). These are a bit better than the rope version, but the rope was what I had to hand.

The velcro ones look like they'll do the job, but I'm not sure they add much over the webbing version, and it might be harder to drape half a dozen over your shoulders when you step out on deck to stow the sail.

EDIT: Just looked again and I see they're only 18" long. Will that reach around your just-lowered sail?

Pete
 
I use one line. One end is secured to the mast. When the sail is furled, the line is looped up over the sail, then under the boom, a loop through the top loop and repeat. Looks very neat. When you come to unfurl, you pull the end of the line and the whole lot comes undone. The line is hanked and stored under the boom.

I used to have bungee sail ties, but I was always scrabbling round trying to find them all, and trying not to drop them overboard when putting them on. Those ebay ones look a real fiddle trying to get the webbing through the eye with one hand. I found the bungy/ball things worked well.
 
Salty John said:
Webbing sail ties come typically in sets of four, 2m long, made from 25mm webbing with either a loop in one end or velcro or snap buckles. Readily available from UK chandlers.
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there's someone who posts on here, runs a chandlery business and sells something like that

clipper-1.jpg
......
clipper-3.jpg
......
clipper-2.jpg


Uses the name "Peppery Jack" or something similar
 
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Lazyjacks are the answer to your prayers but, before I had them, I had a double length of bungee runninging below the boom, whipped together at intervals and hooks attached to one length, between each whipping, a bit like this

x-------------x-------------x------------x-----------x
x------J------x------J------x------J-----x-----J------x


Gather the sail and bring one bit of the bungee up from each site and fix with the hook on top. Dead simple to set up and use.
 
We have an arrangement a bit like Stemar described above, but I dodn't make it myself I bought it.

It came from Gael force last week. they didn't have any conventional sail ties (which is what I was looking for) but had this instead for a very reasonable £9.99

It's one length of bungee with a hook on each end that you hook under the boom.

Then it has 6 or 7 ties hanging down ready to be wrapped around the sail and hooked together.

Here you go, this is it http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/en/Trem-Millipede-Sail-Tidy/m-3549.aspx

Ask me again in a couple of weeks after we have launched for the season and actually tried it out.
 
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I have a length of 3-strand rope with about a foot of shock cord attached to one end. At each end of this I have a snap hook. Every couple of feet is a webbing sail tier simply pushed through the lay of the 3-strand rope.

Before furling the sail, this assembly is stretched under the boom from the gooseneck to the after end. All the sail tiers are then hanging down in the right place, ready for use.
 
The trouble with bungee ties( around the boom) is that if in heavy seas one is laying over the boom for support ones face will be close to the sail. If one end of the bungee came loose it could spring round & poke one in the eye. I would rather use convetional sail ties. I now have a sail bag on the boom but I used to tie 4 sail ties round my waste where I could find them as I tied the sail.
 
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Daydream believer said:
I would rather use convetional sail ties
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Me too. Webbing ones four or five feet long, with a loop on one end. I used to hang them round the back of my neck like a tailor's tape-measure. Dead easy to pick them off one at a time when you have an arm-full of sail and are using your body to help hold it all in place. When not in use they would be cow-hitched through a grab-handle just inside the hatch. This applies to practically every boat I ever sailed (which was quite a few since they were all chartered) until we got Kindred Spirit in 2009.

Pete
 
parsifal said:
I have a length of 3-strand rope with about a foot of shock cord attached to one end. At each end of this I have a snap hook. Every couple of feet is a webbing sail tier simply pushed through the lay of the 3-strand rope.

Before furling the sail, this assembly is stretched under the boom from the gooseneck to the after end. All the sail tiers are then hanging down in the right place, ready for use.
Click to expand...

Thanks - that sounds very neat.
 
Jamesuk said:
You can never have 'too many' sail ties :-)
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+1

Webbing sails ties are best. Easiest to use and they spread the load on the sail a bit.

I've seen a few boats with mainsails cut through where rope (3 strand or braid) sail ties have been used. Admittedly boats that appeared to have been left for a while, but still I wouldn't use rope except short-term in an emergency.

I bought some velcro sail ties. Bloody useless. Most people should be able to quickly tie a slip knot in webbing blindfold regardless of how much the boat is being thrown about. Trying to line up the velcro in poor sea conditions is *&£@"%&

And about twenty-odd years ago a bungy that slipped out of my hand in the wet broke my glasses. I reckon if I hadn't been wearing glasses I'd've stood a good chance of losing an eye.
 
Webbing (from cheap Lidl ratchet fasteners if your budget is low) with a 6-inch eye sewn on one end. The other end is poked through the eye, tightened like a lasso and then made fast with a slipped sheet bend to the eye. Polyester webbing is not that expensive and lasts longer. If your boat is larger than a dinghy think 4 feet instead of 18 inches.
 
Stemar said:
Lazyjacks are the answer to your prayers but, before I had them, I had a double length of bungee runninging below the boom, whipped together at intervals and hooks attached to one length, between each whipping, a bit like this

x-------------x-------------x------------x-----------x
x------J------x------J------x------J-----x-----J------x


Gather the sail and bring one bit of the bungee up from each site and fix with the hook on top. Dead simple to set up and use.
Click to expand...

Have used the "double bungee" method (home made) for years. simple; quick to apply; works for me.
 
ProDave said:
We have an arrangement a bit like Stemar described above, but I dodn't make it myself I bought it.

It came from Gael force last week. they didn't have any conventional sail ties (which is what I was looking for) but had this instead for a very reasonable £9.99

It's one length of bungee with a hook on each end that you hook under the boom.

Then it has 6 or 7 ties hanging down ready to be wrapped around the sail and hooked together.

Here you go, this is it http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/en/Trem-Millipede-Sail-Tidy/m-3549.aspx

Ask me again in a couple of weeks after we have launched for the season and actually tried it out.
Click to expand...

I had one of these on my last boat. I worked extremely well, and if I have time to get a new sailcover made I am going to ditch the stackpack and lazyjacks this year and go millipede again instead.
 
ProDave said:
We have an arrangement a bit like Stemar described above, but I dodn't make it myself I bought it.

It came from Gael force last week. they didn't have any conventional sail ties (which is what I was looking for) but had this instead for a very reasonable £9.99

It's one length of bungee with a hook on each end that you hook under the boom.

Then it has 6 or 7 ties hanging down ready to be wrapped around the sail and hooked together.

Here you go, this is it http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/en/Trem-Millipede-Sail-Tidy/m-3549.aspx

Ask me again in a couple of weeks after we have launched for the season and actually tried it out.
Click to expand...

I used to always use these pre lazyjacks
 
On bigger flash boats I have sailed on most seem to use the sail ties of webbing witha loop sewn in one end. Works OK especially if you can get the user to put ina simple tuck under kind of knot. Not half hitches.
I use a series of pieces of bungee witha loop in one end and a plastic hook on the other end. those steel hooks are deadly.
I find in a bit of wind when raining the main that I need to remove the bungees not all at once but from the front first to stop the whole main billowing out over the side. So less keen on the straps or bungees joined togeher along the boom. OP should use what he has and try different devices. He will find what he likes olewill
 
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