Lazy Jack Sail Cover - Full length or shorter Batons?

[Abestea]

I have just recently sewn a replacement for the sail cover which goes round the mast and reaches the edge of the lazy jack sail cover. This was failing apart, but now I have made that part look good, it shows how poor a condition the sail cover is. So I am going to sew a replacement lazy jack sail cover.

Now something which has always annoyed me about the sail cover compared to normal sail covers is that it really doesn't fold away at all! The current cover has a few boom length batons which gives it a good shape to allow the sail to drop. However, at the end of the season it is a pain to stow on board. It is also a pain to try and get it in the car to take it anywhere and unfortunately I now don't have the same loft space that I used to have so it is difficult to store here.

I have not had a chance to examine many other lazy jack sail covers but are they all like this?

I am contemplating splitting them into 3 to see if this would help or is it a rubbish idea?

 

[mrangry]

Surely if you remove the batons it will fold to a small size. I just lash the batons when removed to the handrail on the coach roof.

 

[duncan99210]

The stack pack we made for our boat has pockets for the battens, closed by a buckle. The battens are removed to stow them on top of the boom (using a couple of large cable ties); the canvas work is rolled up and stowed below.
Trying to split the battens into smaller lengths defeats the reason for having them unless you can devise some method of join the sections together. For that you’d need to use round section fibreglass rod rather than flat battens, as it’d be much easier to join them together.

 

[Abestea]

Thanks for the responses.

It is why i posted as I was concerned that the tautness/stiffness that the full length baton brings would be lost and trying to find a way to recreate it would just over complicate something that should be simple. Enough things need fixed on a boat without adding more to it!!

I had been thinking about making small pockets similar to where the batons go in the main sail in the new cover and hadn't considered a pocket the full length of the cover. The batons in the original cover are sewn in and can't be removed, but if I create larger pockets in the new one then I can do this and stow the batons on the boom.

Brilliant! I am a man with a plan! Once again the forum helps

 

[Boathook]

The battens in my stack pack are full length and in pockets with buckles on the mast end. I store the battens down below or at home over the winter. I 'roll' them up to about 1m diameter and hold them with duct tape. The sailmaker delivered them like that years ago and seemed happy when I chatted with him about winter storage.

 

[PetiteFleur]

The full length battens in my sail cover are secured with velcro on a tape which covers the batten end and folds over the end onto the velcro. Works well, battens stowed in the cabin.

 

[blush2]

We stow ours in the boom, which is open at the aft end. The number two wooden boathook lives in there all the time

 

[RJJ]

We have two full length battens, circular section, which break into two bits like tent poles. Dead easy. No reason they couldn't be in three bits.

That said, boom stowage is easy.

 

[Neeves]

Blue Streak here make hollow tubular battens of various sizes that, intentionally, fit inside each other. I am sure they must be available in the UK, from other suppliers.

We used them to house our HF aerial from the deck gland to the insulator on the stay (as they are strong enough to use also as a hand holds) - lots of alternate uses to actual sail battens.

Your specific problem is alien to us - we can sail 365. The idea of having an asset sitting idle seems a contradiction

Jonathan

 

[Stemar]

My stack pack is a home brew with full length battens. The pockets are open at each end, so they can be removed easily, and to stop them moving, I have small eyelets in both sides of the pockets and matching holes in the battens. Cable ties go through and hold everything in place. I know the ties won't last for ever, but the mast comes down every few years, so that isn't a problem.

 

[thinwater]

If you put full batons in the sail, where they do a lot of good, you don't need batons in the sail cover. You also need fewer legs on the lazy jacks. But this does not answer the question.

The answer seems simple. Make the cover batons easy to remove.