Lazyjacks - building your own system.

puddock

puddock

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Has anyone any experience of setting up their own LazyJack system?
I know I could just go online and order one........ but that would take the fun out of it. I fancy a "project".
I had a site in my favourites list that had lots of information - but it is now no longer available.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
 
puddock said:
Has anyone any experience of setting up their own LazyJack system?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Take a wander round the marina and check out what other people have got.

Basically,you'll need two cheekblocks and two cleats to go on the mast(some are fitted to the spreaders about 6" out),, half a dozen nylon "eyes", a drill ,a rivet gun,3or 4 s/s slides with eyes to go under the boom--------and the skill to persuade Mrs. Puddock to go up the mast to fit them!:eek:

Don't tell her that was my suggestion!:D
 
I've just done the same thing on my Bav 30, and it's MUCH cheaper than buying a kit. My system was roughly inspired by this, but I used stainless steel rings instead of blocks.

To avoid drilling holes that would then turn out to be in the wrong place, I lashed up the attachments to the boom with bits of string tied to other fittings along its length. Then when I found it didn't quite work right, I was easily able to adjust it until it did.

In the end, I found that I needed far fewer dedicated attachments than I expected. The top point where it all attaches to the mast is tied to the shroud attachment points. The forwardmost attachment on the boom uses the kicker attachment and the middle one uses the mainsheet. So that only left me to rivet an eyelet to one side of the boom at the aft end, and a cheek block and a cleat on the other side. By using mostly attachments under the boom rather than on the sides, the sail cover doesn't need slots cut into it.

Having sailed about four times with the lazyjacks, I've done most of the tweaking apart from shortening the first bit (on the mast), which will require a trip part way up the mast. At the moment there are several over-length bits of string dangling around, which I will cut back to a sensible length when I've finished the adjusting.

Regardless of whether you buy a kit or make it up yourself, you still have to decide where the attachments go yourself, then drill and rivet them, and climb the mast, and fine tune it at the end.
 
Ludd said:
Take a wander round the marina and check out what other people have got.

Basically,you'll need two cheekblocks and two cleats to go on the mast(some are fitted to the spreaders about 6" out),, half a dozen nylon "eyes", a drill ,a rivet gun,3or 4 s/s slides with eyes to go under the boom--------and the skill to persuade Mrs. Puddock to go up the mast to fit them!:eek:

Don't tell her that was my suggestion!:D
Click to expand...

Take a wander round the marina and check out what other people have got.
Tried that but got bundled out by Security.........:eek:

and the skill to persuade Mrs. Puddock to go up the mast to fit them!
In our present state of matrimonial harmony (:mad:) Mrs Puddock may well be hoisting ME up the mast - by the neck! :rolleyes:
 
trapezeartist said:
I've just done the same thing on my Bav 30, and it's MUCH cheaper than buying a kit. My system was roughly inspired by this, but I used stainless steel rings instead of blocks.

To avoid drilling holes that would then turn out to be in the wrong place, I lashed up the attachments to the boom with bits of string tied to other fittings along its length. Then when I found it didn't quite work right, I was easily able to adjust it until it did.

In the end, I found that I needed far fewer dedicated attachments than I expected. The top point where it all attaches to the mast is tied to the shroud attachment points. The forwardmost attachment on the boom uses the kicker attachment and the middle one uses the mainsheet. So that only left me to rivet an eyelet to one side of the boom at the aft end, and a cheek block and a cleat on the other side. By using mostly attachments under the boom rather than on the sides, the sail cover doesn't need slots cut into it.

Having sailed about four times with the lazyjacks, I've done most of the tweaking apart from shortening the first bit (on the mast), which will require a trip part way up the mast. At the moment there are several over-length bits of string dangling around, which I will cut back to a sensible length when I've finished the adjusting.

Regardless of whether you buy a kit or make it up yourself, you still have to decide where the attachments go yourself, then drill and rivet them, and climb the mast, and fine tune it at the end.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Trapezeartist, very handy. Looking at the Harken drawing, it looks like the replacement boom I am about to fit is already set up for Lazyjacks (cheekblocks etc on it already!).
 
puddock said:
Thanks for that Trapezeartist, very handy. Looking at the Harken drawing, it looks like the replacement boom I am about to fit is already set up for Lazyjacks (cheekblocks etc on it already!).
Click to expand...
I take it that the cheekblocks on the boom are for adjustment---mine are on the mast. When sailing I bring them forward to the mast to alleviate chafe on the sail.Looking around Largs I see some with my setup for adjustment,some with stackpacks where the lazyjacks attach to the stackpacks with no provision for adjustment other than shortening /lengthening the knots holding the string to the stackpack. You want to put on a sailcover,so you need to be able to bring .the lot down along the boom .Get a bit o' seinenet as well!:D

It's what I use,doesn't hold water,or catch wind ---and cost me FA!
 
Cheap, cheerful and effective

I don't know what size we're talking about, but a few years ago, PBO showed a Hunter 27(?) where the owner had secured his to the topping lift.

I tried it on a 26' boat and it worked well.

I used a length of about 5mm light line with an eye (with a nylon thimble) spliced in each end. The line was seized roughly midpoint to a suitable spot on the topping lift, so that the eyes hung down on either side of the sail.

Two more pieces of line were needed - one each side of the boom. Each led from a suitable point on the boom, up to the thimble, then back down to a later point on the boom on the relevant side.

Tighten the topping lift (for example to reef or drop the sail) - the lazy jacks tightened. Slacken the topping lift ...

On my last 34' boat, we had a more conventional (StackPak type) system, with cleats on either side of the mast - that required a lot more adjustment
 
I found I had a set when I worked out what the all the 4mm. lines that came with the boat were for. It is a simple Selden kit with two lines which are tied on to the eyes under the top spreaders, I put a pair of cheap plastic blocks on the bottom of the drop but rings would have worked fine. The catching cord is fixed to an eye just forward of the mainsheet and then goes through an eye under the boom aft of the kicker before adjusting with clamcleats each side of the boom. The lines are long enough to allow the whole thing to stow under the gooseneck horns except when dropping. Even with a big main I find two part catches the sail well but it is fully battened. The only change I would make is to place both the eyes on the boom further forward by about a foot to 18".
Once you have the lines you can experiment with the best position fo the eyes before riveting.
 
Not my best efforts but there you go .Wood is temporary,some BS nicked my bamboo. Lazyjacks attach to top of net,stiffeners as in stackpack system ,net passes UNDER boom.Pictured stowed and redy to hoist.Will get tidied for new sail.:cool:
 
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http://www.ezjax.com/
I have been crewing on a 33 foot Ron Holland design for a decade with this retractable system and highly recommend it. No modification to sail cover needed and totally out of the way while sailing. It also stabilizes the boom when raising and lowering the main, due to this particular boat having a large fractional rig and a rod vang.

As others point out, once you figure out the geometry you can make your own... but i have to say that this commercial version is very well thought out.

Best,
L
 
'Figuring out' and 'making your own'.....

Did just that on a friend's Rival half-a-dozen years ago, with an initial setup just like the EZJAX 3-line example. The retractable facility was an irritating 'faff'; the retracted lines hung down, the vertical adjustment lines up the mast 'frapped' in any wind, the loose ends dangled and entwined with halyards.

So we made another mod. This time, we dispensed with the vertical adjustment lines at the mast, and adjusted the lazy-jacks at the boom end - or 'Line B' in the EZJAX diagrams.

The top end(s) of 'Line A' was terminated, in an eye, at the spreader roots. We used a length of 1" fabric tape wound around the root about 4 times, holding the 'eye' of 'Line A' in place, and secured in shear with an inch and a bit of Velcro. This lasted for all the half-dozen years, without concern - except at the beginning when a large ex-Royal Marine Corporal hung, bouncing, on the line to check it.

At the bottom of 'Line B' - actually, 'Line B' was two lines, port and starboard - each of 'em turned through a mini-deckeye riveted near the boom end ( each side ) then led forward a couple of feet along the boom to another mini-deckeye, then turned back and was secured on itself using a rolling hitch. This permitted adjustment 'tight' to 'slack' on each side independently.

No rattles, no 'frapping', virtually no cost. And it lasted for 6 years before being removed by a broker. I'll replace it, for it was effective, easy to use from the cockpit, and cheap to install and maintain.

:)
 
Never having used lazy jacks, or seen them in action, and being a relative novice, my understanding is that the jacks just provide a "framework" either side of the mainsail to support it while reefed/lowering it???

If you want to reef it - how do you lower the main??? Is there another line attached to some kind of a "reefing point" on the track?? After you've reefed, presumably you also have to tie down the main even if you have lazy jacks to stop it billowing about????

Apologies for the dim questions - I'm on a learning kick... :D
 
Take a look at others. Many but kits with blocks ect,which could chafe the sails. I use bowlines and light line 4/6mm signal type, cheap and effective.
 
I wanted to do the same in 2005. I hung two pulleys from the lower spreader (one each side) using dyneema threaded through existing holes in spreader, then used 6mm white line for the lazyjacks which I connected using small rings and bowline knots. I secured the lines to the boom by tying around the boom. In all cases no drilling or riveting required.

To see if it worked in the first place and to work out the length of line required I did the whole thing in 'string' first then used that as a template.

The whole affair was a generous mornings work and was meant to be a 'prototype in progress'...............it worked perfectly and I never changed it! (still on the boat which I have just sold)

Keep it simple, keep it cheep and changeable!

Chox :)
 
Fantasie 19 said:
Never having used lazy jacks, or seen them in action, and being a relative novice, my understanding is that the jacks just provide a "framework" either side of the mainsail to support it while reefed/lowering it???

If you want to reef it - how do you lower the main??? Is there another line attached to some kind of a "reefing point" on the track?? After you've reefed, presumably you also have to tie down the main even if you have lazy jacks to stop it billowing about????
Click to expand...

Reefing works exactly as without lazy jacks - as you say, they just provide a framework to encourage the sail to stay roughly over the boom instead of blowing out to one side or falling all over the deck. They're not meant to secure the sail firmly as for reefing, or to support the boom, or anything else.

In most cases, especially if there's a canvas "sail cover" fixed to the boom, the bunt of the reefed sail is happy enough to sit in the lazy jacks without further tying down.

Pete
 
Having read the above posts, I suggest:

1 Forget the Harken system. You don't need or want blocks in the system, apart from the supporting blocks hanging off the spreader.

2 Use nylon rope. It has much more stretch than the dyneema which will prevent excessive adjustment of the lazy jacks.

3 There lots of ways you can set up the cascade system of lazy jacks ..... I've quickly sketched out a few. See photo.

4 You can use stainless rings, nylon thimbles, or just plane rope loops for where the lazyjacks join.

5 Rather put the saddles on the side of the boom for attachment points rather than on the bottom. They could make nasty gashes in you scalp.

6 Use some scrap string to set up the lengths of the lazyjacks and then use say 5mm nylon for the final system.
 
Just spent a couple of hours fiddling around in the garden with my new (used) boom and some chord and d-rings (I couldn't find any rings).
So far I have come up with this.... any criticisms or advice will be welcome.

IMG_2457.jpg


IMG_2455.jpg


IMG_2459.jpg
 
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