Stack Pack or not?

HenryEDM

HenryEDM

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I need to get a new sail cover as the one I have requires me to take the slides out of the mast which is a pita at the best of times and nigh on impossible for me to stow the sail on my own. Either a sail cover cut to allow the sail to stay bent on to the mast or a stack pack bag will improve the situation immeasurably but I can't decide whether it is worth going for the stack pack since the boat is only 26ft and the sail is not huge.

Anybody got any opinions either way that can help me make my mind up?
 
Once you have one you will wonder how you managed without. although the basics are common, there are variations in design so get a few quotes before buying. Just to start you on your search, I have had two made by Kemp Sails who have refined their design over the last 20 years. Worth talking to the sailmakers to get ideas.
 
Go for a stack pack, though as said above have a good look at the designs.
I wanted a cover to fit my boom, sail config so it was a choice between a bespoke or make it myself.
Be careful of the off the shelf ones as they tend to be a bit generic unless you specify some of the distinguishing features of your rig.
For example I wanted the stack pack to include the front section round the mast rather than having it as a separate section.
I looked up stack pack on google images and scanned through them getting ideas and finding one that will work for you.
This is the one I made which ticked my boxes, you just need to work out exactly what you want.
cover_02.jpg
 
We fitted one last year after very many years without one. I was always of the opinion that the lazy jacks we have always used would be much the same as a stack pack. Now that we have one I know how wrong I was. The stack pack has made a huge difference to our sailing, we now sail short trips that we would previously have motored. When the wind drops part way through a trip, not uncommon in this part of the world, it usually leaves a nasty chop. Packing the sail away previously was quite risky but now it almost happens automatically.
I am full of admiration for Javelin's DIY job but have to say that no domestic sewing machine could have coped with the stack pack that Kemp made for us. A top quality product, made to our specification.
 
image.jpg
This is the stack pack we made this winter. It replaced a commercial one which served for 15 years before failing of old age.... It is made of acrylic canvas plus some off cuts of sailcloth for things like the bolt rope. We used a standard domestic sewing machine of 1960s vintage to do the work: it coped with up to six thicknesses of canvas with no trouble. The design of the pack is aimed at covering the whole sail (the old pack didn't cover the whole sail), it has four attachment points for lazy jacks and the front of the pack uses bungee cord to fold round the sail without either a separate apron or wrapping round the mast.
Sorry about the photos, having trouble getting them sorted.....
 

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For me the real win are lazyjacks - allow you to drop the sail in virtually no time and it stays there until you have time to sort it out. I can't imagine singlehanding without one. Slight downside is that hoisting can be a bit harder as there is a tendency for battens to get caught if you are not head to wind.

Once you have lazyjacks then combining it with a stackpack makes a lot of sense.
 
bedouin said:
For me the real win are lazyjacks - allow you to drop the sail in virtually no time and it stays there until you have time to sort it out. I can't imagine singlehanding without one. Slight downside is that hoisting can be a bit harder as there is a tendency for battens to get caught if you are not head to wind.

Once you have lazyjacks then combining it with a stackpack makes a lot of sense.
Click to expand...
Couldn't have put it better myself.
 
Looks like an overwhelming win for the stack pack. I have spoken to a couple of sailmakers and discussed features such as the ability to roll up the sides and tie them down to reduce windage which is something i was concerned about. As I'm sailing solo a lot at the moment the ability to quickly and safely hoist and drop the mainsail is important. Like Vyv says, using the mainsail on short trips is something I don't generally do because of the faff and i hate sailing slowly and motoring when there's wind. Thanks for the replies.
 
I am not sure that the windage of a stackpack is really much of an issue - although mine has ties I never bother to use them - there is never much force on the lines so it can't be providing much windage (after all the stackpack is aligned to the boom, which tends to be aligned to the wind :) )
 
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