Stackpack and Lazyjacks

Ruffles

Ruffles

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26 Feb 2004
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Boat: Portsmouth, Us: Stewkley
www.soulbury.demon.co.uk
Just finished making my sprayhood. Next step is to replace the sailcover.

Is it worth having a go at a stackpack and lazyjacks? The main is NOT fully battened. Is this a problem? Nor is it loose footed - it has a bolt rope in the foot for about 2/3 of its length. It does however have sliders that drop to boom level. It has three slab reefs with reefing pennants that will need to be catered for.

One disadvantage I can see over a loose cover is that the sail will not be as well ventilated when zipped up.

The ones that I've seen have two lines at the front led a couple of feet above the boom to hold the thing open. Same thing at the back but attached to the topping lift.

I'm really looking for one I can copy!
 
Definitely worth having a stackpack and lazyjacks, just had mine replaced.

My main isn't fully battened and it's no problem. The main has a bolt rope in the foot; that's what holds the stackpack on the boom. The fabric of the stackpack is thinner where it folds round the bolt rope and they are both slid into the boom groove together.

The sides are stiffened with long battens.

As far as ventilation goes the stackpack cover is generous in fit and is open at the aft end of the boom. This with a loose fitting seperate boot cover that goes round the mast and the fore end of the boom gives through ventilation.

The lines, I have 3, are linked through small blocks and secured to the mast about 2/3rds of the way up the mast.
 
Malcb,

Thanks for the description. I was thinking along the same lines with a seperate cover to go round the mast. I might even extend it with a strip to cover the zip over the full length secured with straps. Otherwise water must penetrate the zip?

Do yours have an open ended zip? Otherwise I assume you need a long tail dangling off the end of the boom so that the back of the cover can open up.

I have slab reefing so will have to have slots in the fabric to take the pennants.

Thanks
 
The zip along the top is open ended, so when it is unzipped the two sides separate.

I also have slab reefing, single line as it happens, anmd that is catered for by zipped openings in the underside of the cover near the boom. It's a bit difficult to explain but they are adjustable zipped fore and aft openings to take the reefing lines to their tying-off points on the boom.
 
One owner. a renowned racing man a few years ago, used to remove his stackpack when racing his family cruiser/racer. He reckons that he forgot one day, and found the boat actually going better - he put it down to an endplate effect, similar to winglets on a modern jet. I only repeat this for what it's worth, I haven't got a stackpack.
 
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have also thought about stack pack system but have had some bad reports about the excess canvas flopping around when actually sailing? views please.

[/ QUOTE ] Our Kemp one has straps that can be tightened to tidy it up once the sail's hoisted.
I've yet to see how it works yet - roll on launch date!

http://www.kempsails.com/sitedata/PDF_Fo...l-Stacking-.pdf

Tony S
 
Agree with other positive reports on lazyjacks/canvas zip-up bags.... ours (from Quay Sails) has been wonderfull.

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have had some bad reports about the excess canvas flopping around when actually sailing

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When I got ours made I was concerned about this, and insisted that the sailmaker include straps on the side of the canvas bag, into which the entire canvas sides can be rolled rightly and secured alongside the boom with the straps. This only takes a minute, and keeps everything nice & neat while sailing.

Also,- make sure that the lazyjack lines are long enough to allow you to catch the bits that hold the sail in in one hand, and pull them forward to the mast, hooking them onto the cleat used to secure the whole thing (at boom level), while still leaving enough line free to secure around the cleat, this ensures that the lazyjack lines are not flapping around while sailing - we secure away the lines *before* hoisting the main to avoid snagging etc., and roll away the bag after the main is hoisted. When dropping, we unroll the canvas and hoist the lines ready to catch the main.

One other point to be aware of is that the more successfull lazyjack systems seem to have three lines from the boom (forming two triangles, the apex of which is hoisted high on the mast), rather than just two (making just one triangle). It seems like the Sail can spill out more easily with less lines.

Another thing... theres been post in the past about sails getting Mildew stains from rain seeping through the zip. I would make sure to put a good flap secured by velcro on the sail bag covering the zip - ideally placed off to one side with the open end of the flap pointing down, rather than in the middle where it is exposed to water flow.

BTW, I've also seen a comment (similar to another poster) about the speed-enhancing possibilities of Stackpack canvas - I think written by someone at Dehler yachts (which I believe supply their own system on boats) who used it to good effect in their club racing. Cant comment first hand though.

Best of luck, best bit of kit on the boat...
 
We've been using them for over 12 years on our last 3 boats, and consider them to be the K9 testes. They make sail handling a doddle if they are well-designed and set up.

FWIW, here's my ten penn'orth ....

They work best with a fully-battenned main (which also at least doubles the life of the sail). Full battens work best with batten cars - plastic sliders can jam under pressure. Batten cars work best when the aft side of the mast is flat.

The first boat (early Dehler 34) had a one-piece bag which slid into the boom groove with the the main foot bolt-rope. This, and the zipped side slits for reefing pendants, significantly increased the bu**erage factor, both when first bending on the main, and when reefing.

Our current (and previous) boat have the Dehler 'Main-drop System' - which makes it sound as if lazyjacks were all their own idea. That aside, Dehler have made some clever refinements which make it work really well.

The bag is a two-piece item, and each side slides into slit alloy tubes attached to the side of the boom. This has lots of benefits. It makes them simple to put on and take off, the base of the bag is widened which stops it flopping sidways, and reef line slits are unnecessary.

This design also allows areas of netting to be built into the bottom of each side, which allows ventilation, but not rainwater ingress.

Stiffennig the sides along thr top edge with a sail batten improves rigidity (and appearance) and also reduces sideways flopping.

Using a 'cascading' line system, so you get 3 lines attaching to the top of the sail bag, works better than just 2. Also leading the hoisting lines up through small blocks attached about one-third way out on each spreader widens the 'mouth' of the bag when dropping, and the 'slot' when hoisting.

The top zip should be very big-toothed, with a full-length flap that covers the zip and which is held closed by velcro along its full length.

Add single-line reefing and a rigid boom vang to the system, and you've got it cracked!

All IMHO and based on personal experience, of course. Others may disagree.
 
I have recently had to overhaul my Kemp system.

I found that sail battens were ineffective in controlling the top edges - replacing with 1" plastic conduit was a cheap and worthwhile improvement. Try to get it all to close up like a Gladstone bag!

Ensure that the aft end extends well beyoond the clew - boom length permitting. Otherwise the clew will get "sunburn"! I actually use a little velcro te keep the sun out.

Arrange stiffened flaps that overlap over zip to stop the zip rotting. Pointnorth sell a good variety of zips and give good advice. I left a short tail at aft end that I sowed together to make single ended. This saves trying to get Zip started while hanging on boom end!

Lazyjacks can just use plastic thimbles instead of blocks on modest boats.

Lazyjack attachments on bag should have webbing run downwards to spread the pull. Otherwise, the eyelets may tear out.

I reckon it may be possible to do away with the mast bonnet and make it a one-piece bag - perhaps an extra zip forward face of mast. It takes twice as long to fit the bonnet as zip up the bag!

Allow extra volume at forward end - its never enough.

Provide a couble of girth ties to ensure a gale can't force the zip undone. Belt and braces.

I thing an upside down pocket is better than zipped slits through cover for reefing pennants at the leech end. Slits open up and let sunlight in.

To combat green algae, experiment with laxyjack tension to ensure water runs off cover OK. I easily cleaned away with hand soap and gentle use of nail scrubber in shower. then treated all with good old traditional Mezowax tent proofer. Water runs off much better.
 
Just fitted a new stackpack, also from Quay Sails. I went round all the sailmakers at SIBS and decided on Quay because of the offset zip configuration. Minutes after we fitted the new stackpack it started to rain and, although it did exactly what it was supposed to in not letting water seep through the zip and on to the sail, puddles started to form on top. We then found that slackening the lazyjacks on the zip side meant that water just ran off. Next step is to give it a sea trial!
 
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