stack pack / loose foot main

[AIDY]

anyone got a stackpack with a loose foot main that can tell me how it's attached to the boom. Just had one made and i was expecting the stack pack to have some sort of attachment along the boom centre. (maybe a bolt rope to slide down the boom) but their is nothing....

before i make an idiot of myself any query it to the sailmaker in the new year any comment's / ideas most welcome.

 

[Norman_E]

Mine has a boltrope, which is by far the best way to attach one.

The only design I have seen which improved on mine has a boltrope and stainless steel half hoop stiffeners sewn in at each lazyjack attachment point so as to ensure that the bag is held open for the sail to drop into it. I solved the same problem by stretching the tops of the lazyjacks outwards with cords taken out to the shrouds.

 

[paulrae]

Yep, bolt rope in bottom of bag. Just had mine made, but I specified to them when ordering that it was a loose-footed main.

 

[FullCircle]

Mine has sliders every 300mm or so that fir in the boom slot.
Then there is a webbing loop that goes over the end of the boom to secure the aft end.
The slider arrangement means that the reefing loops can be threaded down the sides of stackpack as can be seen from the pic here.
There is the web loop aft,, and then the 2 reefs. (3rd one added since)

 

[robbieg]

Normally you would have a bolt rope to hold the stack pack in place. Looks like you need to have a word with your sailmaker I'm afraid.

 

[Bejasus]

we have sliders on the foot, but just the first one goes into the boom and hauled to the end and then the stack pack bag is fitted to the boom with a boltrope which is sewn in. once the bag is hauled to the end, the last sail slider is fitted in the slot, leaving the bag fitted to the boom and the sail loose footed inside.

 

[Solwaycruiser]

All you need to do if you have a loose footed main is cut a length of rope of the same diameter as the bolt rope would have been and feed it in to the channel in the boom with the stackpack material under it. Job done. The 2 sides of the stackpack are probably joined together with a strip of sailcloth and this is what goes under the length of rope. If you change mainsails you can then still use the same stackpack. At least this is what I had on a previous boat.

 

[AIDY]

Thanks everyone.... I'm guessing it's been made for a fitted main as opposed to a loose foot. Where you would slide the bag along the boom under the bolt rope of the foot of the main sail. I deliberatly left the main in place when the guy measured for a canopy and stackpack. so he would see it's loose foot and know the stack height. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...............

I also requested ties on either side of the stack pack so it could be rolled down against the boom when racing.... but this was missed too.... looks like i will be contacting the sail maker in the new year for some mods.

I like the idea of a seperate piece of rope running down the boom channel.

thanks all... and happy new year.

 

[bobgoode]

Bolt rope on first half of pack and slider on after half.

 

[benlui]

Hum, interesting post. I have the exact same issues having just had mine fitted also. This saves me having to Post the topic, so thanks for that Aidy and happy new year everyone!

 

[AIDY]

benlui - how is your stackpack made with/out a means of sliding it into the boom.

do you have a loose foot main as well.

 

[Zippysigma]

I am just having a loose footed main made to replace the old one with a bolt rope. the sailmaker looked at my stackpack and said I would need a bolt rope sewn in. He suggested 10mm to 12mm dia on my Benny 311.