Single handed mainsail handling

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Nidri240

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What is the forums opinion on the best way to handle the main whilst sailing single handed? My boat is a Trapper TS240 with a fractional rig. I don't have a problem with lowering the main, it is easy enough to stand by the mast and roll the sail into itself whilst lowering it and securing with a couple of sail ties. The problem comes when preparing to hoist. The main is stored flaked over the boom and it's almost impossible to hoist the sail singlehanded without it billowing out everywhere and hence jamming in the mast groove.

As I see it my options are:

1. Fit lazy jacks to hold the sail in place as it is hoisted.
2. Have the sail modified to take slugs

Unfortunately there are problems with both options. Will the lazy jacks hold the sail well enough for it to feed into the mast?

The mast opening is extended to 400mm above the gooseneck, so this opening will need to be blocked to allow slugs to work.

Has anyone else faced this dilema, and what solution did you come up with?

All suggestions gratefully received.

Giles
 
Lazy jacks would help, but the biggest improvement would be to use a 'floating' prefeeder as used on tape luff headsails. On a headsail on a boat of that size I'd attach it to the tack fitting on about 15" of line if the foil entry was at about 24" up.

So for the main I'd try it attached at the gooseneck on about 12" of line in your case.

If you've not seen them in action, these things are amazing, they kind of seek out the creases and sort them, really good. Do buy a decent one with rotating balls though.

Pretty sure I have one in the garage if you want to borrow it to try. pm if so.
 
I had the same problem a few years back & overcame it with a combination of lazyjacks & sail 'slugs'. Vast improvement in singlehanded sail handling with probably a very marginal impact on performance & very low cost to do. You need to close some of the opening in the mast groove with judicious hammering & maybe a wood block to avoid distortion (like panel beating), attach the slugs just behind the luff rope and secure the sliders in the mast with a screw closure in the now reduced opening. Also makes reefing from the cockpit a further possibility.
 
Use a Spinlock pre-feeder; that's the one with the rotating balls. Sounds rather painful /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. On my last boat I had s/s plates to close off the mast gate. Very useful as the crusing main was on slides and the racing one on a bolt rope. I'm sure any s/s shop can help out.

I fitted lazyjacks but hardly ever used them. A sail on slides ain't going anywhere easy enough to "bag" the sail on the takedown and then flake later.
 
Sail slugs - I hate mine with a vengeance ..................

As to hammering the slot !! I carefully advise not to do it ... best is to fashion a plate to bolt on to close the opening and stop slugs falling out .... the plate also having a stop on it to stop slugs dropping all the way down.

Lazy-jacks - I cannot see with slugs as well making enough difference IMHO.

Best answer is the rolling balls - a luff feeder fitted to the mast below the luff entry point .... this basically straightens the luff-rope before it touches the groove ... not perfect - but probably as good as you'll get.

IMHO of course ....
 
I guess the "slugs" people are refering to are runners that go up and down the luff groove & meen that the luff itself is outside the groove.

If this is the case then that's what I have. I don't have lazy jacks & the halyard winch is at the mast but never have to free anything so it could be brought back to the clockpit. Everything's made far easier if if the sail's hoised and lowered with the boat into wind. Anything more that 45 degrees off and the sail billows out. I can just about get away with being close hauled with the headsail only as this blows the main back so I can do the operation under sail. However, if I'm not head to wind, the battons can get trapped inside the shrouds high up so lazy jacks wouldn't really help. With a fractional rig you'd be better off than me in this respect since the shrouds will be attached lower down.

Seems like the biggest problem you have is jamming. This would be cured by slugs being permanently inside the groove. Billowing is solved easily by being head to wind or just off and sailing under headsail.
 
I am seriuously considering removing my slugs and reverting to luff in groove main ..... then I can re-instate my roller-boom reefing allied to the slab reef points to straighten the boom etc. This will then a) prevent overboard mainsail antics, b) tidy up a useless reefing system fitted by previous owner, c) give me better mainsail stowage under the cover without all the flaking and pulling / shoving etc.

Regardless of what people say about roller-booms - they are kind to sails when used properly especially for stowing sails instead of folding etc.
 
I sail mostly singlehanded, so do have this problem, the lugs on the main are pre fed into the track on the mast, I do not have any neat plate or fixing to stop them falling out (I am entirely non mechanical so will need find someone who does this) but solved this wa few turns of thick tape (gaffer?).

To raise the sail (sorry, do have lazy jacks, tho not so sure they may not be part of the problem!) I turn head into wind, lock the tiller, and raise the main from the cockpit, then bear away and unroll the genoa.

If anyone can help with fittings for the mast to form a "lug gate" I would be pleased to hear.
 
Had the same problem on my oyster 41 and sorted it with slugas and lazy jacks - I was able to get the correct infil and gate for the mast so the slugs could drop down to the boom

can now drop it single handed
 
Where did the infill come from?

Although my gaffer tape is effective, and I can drop the main from the cockpit, it does mean a knife and new tape if I take the sail off between visits.
 
I have slugs and a stack pack on our very similar boat, with halyards led back to the cockpit, I have not done anything fancy with the feeder section that is about 25 cm from the boom, instead I rely on a piece of 10mm elastic wound round the mast several times, this can be slipped up or down to allow the slugs in or out of the track. I generally do not have to visit the mast to raise or lower the main unless a reef is needed in which case the clew needs hooking on and several slugs need freeing. This system works very well for me, normally sailing in effect single handed as the crew seem to be occupied with other task at the beginning and end of a sail
 
I much prefer slugs as well. When I swapped from a boat with a mainsail that needed feeding to one that had slides I found hoisting much less effort and no need to run between winch and the mast.

With my current boat it's just steer with the tiller between my legs and haul the main nearly all the way up by hand, then go and finish at the winch - all under engine to keep steerage way to keep the boat head to wind.

Reefing's a bit more awkward and I tend to roll away most of the jib then set the autopilot to keep the boat beating slowly. With a loosened mainsheet and kicker I find this works pretty well if I'm quick. If I'm slow then either the boat is driven away from the wind by the jib, or goes dead into wind then starts going backwards, thus confusing the autopilot and me.
 
I converted my mainsail to slugs last year. I bought a sail entry fitting [a sort of "points" gadget] which fitted the cut out in the mast. Selden part nr 505.501.01 in my case.
Try Fox Rigging at Ipswich, very helpful blokes.
 
Whilst my boat came fitted with lazyjacks it was never totally successful for single-handing until I went the whole hog and replaced the bolt rope with slides and had a fully battened main.

The problem with just fitting slides is that you lose some of the lift as the high-pressure happily wafts through the aperture into the low-pressure - this is more than compensated for by the additional lift from a fully battened main.

I know your problem on lifting will not be resolved by just fitting lazyjacks. You'll come 75% of the way towards resolving it by fitting slides AND the lazyjacks - unfortunately you'll find your main doesn't set as well or give you the drive you have at present.

You could try a patent feeder at the beginning of the luff groove to take the bolt-rope, but lifting and dropping in lively conditions will be wellnigh impossible, even with lazyjacks.
 
My slugs are held in the groove by a pin that I only pull out to reef (roller reefing) I have homebrew lazyjacks - total cost a fiver - but when the main's going up, I slacken them right off or they tend to catch the spreaders unless I'm absolutely head to wind.

The slugs stay in their groove when I stow the sail, so hoisting's and dropping's no problem.

The lazyjacks catch the sail when I drop it, then, rather than have loose sail ties, I have a double length of bungee stretched end to end under the boom. These are tied off in three convenient places and one of each double length has a hook attached. I bring the bungee around the boom and sail from each side and attach with the hook on top of the sail. It's much quicker than faffing around with sail ties and you can't drop it when you're in a hurry!

If I didn't know what I meant, I'm not sure if I 'd understand what I'm going on about! If anyone's interested enough and can't work it out, PM me and I'll send a you diagram.
 
Ok. This is how to do it

This is difficult to describe as I've sold the boat I did it on and don't have any pics of it.
Here goes. Find some rigid plastic pipe that just won't fit in the open groove (a bit too fat) you want to secure. Cut a groove in the side of the pipe the same size as the luff groove in the mast. Cut the pipe to the length of the opening.
This pic shows the type of pipe I used. I've marked the cut position with a marker pen.
mastgate.jpg


Put the slugs in the mast and hoist the sail so the sliugs are all up the mast. "pop" the pipe into the slot. When you lower the sail the slugs should run straight down into the groove in the plastic pipe. You may need to chamfer the slot in the pipe at the top so the slugs don't catch. The pipe may need some method of fixing in place. I cut a bevel on the top and had the pipe a bit too long so that the top end would slightly enter the luff groove. You may have to tape the bottom in position with a loop of tape around the mast.
You just have to mess about a bit.
Mine worked perfectly for 3 years and may still be working with the new owner.
 
Hi Giles
I have a Trapper as yours
Single handed, I usually sail into a space and go forward and haul up the sails. She usually rotates slowly and I do the last part of the main as she points up.
However if very windy I keep two reefs in. I find this is all I need to keep up with my friends 22 footers.
Also, it means I do not have to bother with the runners.
You might look up Paul in Delquay (Sorry spelling)
who also has a Trapper TS 240
Regards Briani
 
Just to follow up on the slug gate - I have a small section of the track cut out about a foot above the gooseneck. It's about the size of a slug. Normally it's covered with a stainless steel plate so the slugs pass on down to boom level. This is held in place with a wingnut. The hole for the screw is elongated to get the slugs in and out if I need to reef, I just slacken off the screw & move the plate sideways half an inch. Seems to work OK and has never come loose.
 
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