Tranona
Well-Known Member
With my boat it is exactly the opposite. Start zip from the boom end as the boom is long and the end is easily reached standing in the cockpit. Zip can be done up as far as the front of the sprayhood while still in the cockpit. The sail is very bulky because it is low aspect ratio (and new!)but zipping forward pulls it down nicely.With my set up the lazyjacks are set at the start of the season & need no further adjustment.
One other point about starting a zip from the boom end is that one might be standing on the cockpit seats, reaching up to catch a swinging boom, in a big swell, to get the tail of the zip & pull the first 6 inches to get it running. Just tightening the mainsheet does not stop the end of the boom swinging.
Off Barfleur one year in a big swell, my wife tightened the mainsheet, stood on the cockpit set to start zipping on our first cover, She accidentally kicked the cleat on the traveller car, releasing it. The boom swung her out over the guard rail. The back of her knee hooked on the wire but she managed to hang onto the boom with her body over the side until the next wave swung it back & threw her into the cockpit on the other side.
On the systems I have seen, one cannot just pull a cord on the zipper, without getting the zip properly started a foot or so in the first place. I had a newbie crew who went to zip up. He lost his balance whist standing on the seat & ripped the zipper clean off the zip as the boat rolled.
After that I had the zip completely changed, zipping from the mast & adding straps.
As for reef lines, I can pull mine in from the boom. But as mine have minimal friction this is not an issue when hoisting the sail. For some I can see that might be
You really cannot be prescriptive about such details. Much depends on the individual boat. Kemps made the new sail and stackpack at the same time and we considered all the options before deciding exactly how it would be made.