Lazy Jack and Stack Pack

[Athene V30]

About a year ago there was a discussion regarding Lazy Jack / Stack pack systems and they seem to be a great idea particularly for shorthanded sailing.

In the Compass catalogue there is a version for c£330 for 2.4 to 2.9m boom.

Has anyone got a Compass Quick Stow system? Is it any good or is it going to fall apart in a couple of years? Is it easy to fit?

All help greatly appreciated!

Thank you

 

[FullCircle]

Peter I have a standard Jeanneau system on mine, and looking round the whole thing, it cant be more than 150 quids worth including the sailcover that slots into the boom. It hasnt even got any blocks, just bowline loops!

 

[robmcg]

Had stackpack and lazyjacks fitted to our Moody 31 last season - excellent for controlling the mainsail - let the main halyard go and whoosh it's straight down and just needs to be zipped up. Got ours from Jeckells - custom built and fitted like a glove, for not much more money than the compass version you mention. Heartily recommend them (no link - just satisfied customer).

 

[jeremyshaw]

Some things to think about with a stack pack:

1. Best place to fit the hoisting point i.e. crosstrees.

2. Does it come with little blocks or do the lines just pass through loops (much more friction, but OK for smallish sails).

3. How does it fit round the mast? Is there a separate bonnet or is it all designed as one. Will this protect any mast clutches or get in the way?

4. Will birds be able to get inside and roost? The back end is often left open - easily fixed if a tie is sewn in at manufacture.

5. What's going to happen with water which gets in the bag when it's open under sail? Are there drain grommets?

6. What's the quality of the zip and material - sunbrella is excellent.

7. What is the fastening point? I had a bag where the lines fastened to the boom so the thing flapped around a lot. The kind where the lines fasten to a top batten work a lot better.

8. If you have battens with projecting ends then they can snag on the lines as you hoist and make it much more difficult, especially for a single hander, as you have to get the sail in just the right slot.

9. Effective way to tighten up the bag equally and tie off (cheek blocks on the boom and cleats typically.

10. Is the geometry/design going to work so you get a good consistent lift right along the boom, with no puddling of water in the middle of the bag?

11. Are there good reinforcements round the stress points - typically the lift points.

Makes it sound complicated I know, but a good bag looks the business and makes life a lot easier. A bad bag is just not worth the hassle.

 

[Landale]

Like wize from Kemp - Magic!!....

 

[jwilson]

I second the bit about small birds roosting inside - I've had to modify mine (standard Jeanneau fitting) to stop this. Also this winter I'm changing the standard fixed lazyjack lines with loops only - to add blocks and allow the line tension to be adjusted.

Apart from that it's really good ....

 

[Achillesheel]

We bought ours from Arun, about the same price as the Compass offering, but custom made, and very well made. Includes boat name.

Lazyjacks make life a lot easier lowering sail, but you have to be careful hoisting sail as the battens can get caught round the lines. A bit of judicious timing of the hoist will fix this.

 

[bilbobaggins]

Three of my friends - no, I'll re-phrase that - all three of my friends have fitted self-made lazy jacks systems, with an acceptable degree of fiddling until it all worked. All three slightly-different systems have been working well for several years, at small £cost, and large improvement in convenience.

The original argument was "I don't want to shell out upwards of £200 for a proprietary system that I may not like. Can we come up with something cheap and cheerful I can try out to see how I get on?"

One particularly-effective set-up on a 34' Rival has the top-ends of the upper lines secured to the roots of the main spreaders by 8" approx. Velcro straps from Homebase. There was deep suspicion, when they were fitted, that they were not up to the job. Wrong! Two of us gave each strap the benefit of our combined 'Heave-ho' weight, and over three years later, they're still giving uninterrupted service.

That set-up used a pair of 4mm by 3m s/s wire dinghy shrouds ( eyeleted at each end ) dropped P and S from the said spreaders , which support a single line starting at a s/s No 3 reef-pendant eye already on the boom.... led up through the eye on the lower end of of the Port s/s wire.... down to pass under the boom forward ( through another under-fixed boom-eye about 1 metre back from the gooseneck ) ... back up to the Starboard s/s wire's eye... then finally back down to the original s/s No 3 reef pendant eye under the boom, on the Starboard side.

This was made adjustable by fastening each of the two ends of the line to the relevant s/s eye by means of a rolling hitch; push up to tighten - pull down to slacken.

A subsequent mod had the ends of the line led through the No3 reef pendant eye as above, but then one end led forward to another eye under-mounted in the middle of the boom, and secured off with a rolling hitch. This allowed more adjustment, from either side.

No holes were drilled, no expensive fittings purchased, existing bits found and re-cycled..... More wedge left in the beer pot.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Athene V30]

Many thanks - rather not spend money! SWMBO always says I have short arms and deep pockets.

 

[balladsailor]

Had mine made by Kemps five years ago...totally satisfied.
Wouldn't be without this system, especially when shorthanded.

 

[alldownwind]

Compass price is expensive especially as it's not custom made. I've got a replacement stacker on order from Quay Sails at the moment, £300 IIRC (for a 31-footer).
A lot of Compass stuff seems pricey. I bought a 'world radio' recently, I notice they sell it at £100-plus, I got the exact same thing on Amazon for £42.