Stackpack - or not?

[ash2020]

My little Hunter Medina came with a mainsail stackpack. Its the first one I've ever had and I'm wondering if its really worth the bother. Loads of extra string everywhere and I'm sure it must be affecting the flow of air over the sail. I've never found it much of an issue to drop the mainsail and lash it, then tidy up back in port and put a cover on. So now the main has halyard, topping lift, reefing lines, outhaul and lazyjacks. Oh and also, the top batten doesn't fit in properly so ends up bent.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Stack packs offer convenience whether reefing and not having to tie up the bunt or dropping and not having to flake beyond tidy up. They save time. How much value you put on that convenience only you can decide. Over 15 years ago, I removed mine as I didn’t like the set up, or the look, and preferred the clean lines, I also found flaking easy to do. Now I am older, more invested in convenience and will refit the stack pack and learn to live with the ugliness of them. First though, I need to stitch in a bolt rope as it was originally fitted with foot of the sail in the boom.

 

[dunedin]

With a small boat like that it is purely a matter of choice - no big deal either way.
But I wouldn’t worry about the windage of the lazyjacks and stack pack slowing you down - the fastest record breaking Ultim foiling trimaran, that set the record sailing round the world in a staggering 40 days had a stack pack fitted, if you look at the photos of the crew at the finish. See third photo down - Around the world record broken: Sodebo takes Jules Verne Trophy in 40d 10h 45m - Yachting World

 

[Egret]

Similar sized boat, no stack pack, once the sail is dropped we let the topping lift off until the boom ls laying from gooseneck to top of cabin just to one side of the hatch, so it's out of the way, sail tied under the boom, and not flapping around at head height.

Stack pack probably comes in to its own once you would have to stand on deck to tie up the sails, but does depend on everything sliding freely.
Nuisance in the smaller boat is that a stack pack cover would be flapping around at head level

We do have lazyjacks on the bigger one

 

[scozzy]

I always look at any boat bigger than a dinghy without LJs and a SP and think,why make life harder than you have to? The occasional snag when hoisting is a v small price to pay for me at least Vs convenience

 

[paris]

always stack pack imo, my last yacht came without and it was a pain when dropping the main when breezy, so made one for it. My current boat has one and its a little bigger so it swallows up the main and we just zip it shut, perfect.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I think when you’re dealing with a main the size of the OP’s the gain is marginal. I doubt it slows you down by spoiling the airflow, but if the sail is easily managed without, then it’s added complexity. Our 24 footer didn’t have one, but every bigger boat I have owned has. Our current boat would be difficult without.

 

[Iliade]

If you can be bothered to ease the lazyjacks such that the stack pack hangs below the boom, it just might reduce the air escaping beneath the boom. Whether that outweighs the airflow penalty of having lazyjacks would be a matter of months of extensive sea trials

 

[Stemar]

I'm a fan. There are times I really wouldn't want to have to go out of the cockpit to reef or drop the main, and more times when Madame wouldn't let me, and those times would be more frequent on a smaller boat.

A stackpak allows you to drop the main safely in almost any conditions (top tip - a light downhaul led back to the cockpit helps, and prevents the wind trying to lift the sail again.)

If you bring the lazyjack lines aft, you can ease them so they are level with the boom under sail, so any interference with airflow will be minimal. Just tighten them when you want to drop the sail.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

On a rising wind. and you need to reef , I love the effectiveness of the bunt taking care of itself without having to leave the cockpit. Agree that a downhall is worth adding.

 

[PeterV]

I took all the gubbins off my Hunter Duette because I thought it wasn’t necessary. When I bought my GK 29 I debated for quite a while if it was worth having a stack pack, eventually deciding that because I did most of my sailing single handed it was. I don’t regret it, but if going back to a smaller mainsail I’d prefer to use an ordinary cover and ties.

 

[doug748]

My little Hunter Medina came with a mainsail stackpack. Its the first one I've ever had and I'm wondering if its really worth the bother. Loads of extra string everywhere and I'm sure it must be affecting the flow of air over the sail. I've never found it much of an issue to drop the mainsail and lash it, then tidy up back in port and put a cover on. So now the main has halyard, topping lift, reefing lines, outhaul and lazyjacks. Oh and also, the top batten doesn't fit in properly so ends up bent.

Yes. Unless it has an exceptionally large main I would not bother on anything under 10metres. Lazy Jack's are always handy.

.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We have the top batten issue, badly, as our main has a square top. The batten is diagonal. I take it out each time. It’s just velcro’d in, not a big deal.

 

[Babylon]

For me (27ft, narrow beam and tender, and usually single handed) its a safety issue first, a convenience second. Still need to go to mast to reef lines and to pull down the last third into the pack when dousing sail, but risk of being batted overboard by swinging boom when trying to tie up bare sail - which I did for first 8 yrs of ownership - is removed.

 

[Stemar]

With lazyjacks (stackpack optional), it's well worth the effort to lead the lines back to the cockpit, so hoisting, reefing and dropping can be done without going forward onto a deck that's leaping around - especially for the second reef.

I did it on our Snapdragon and not long after, I went out solo. I'd put one reef in, but quickly decided I wanted the second one. Head into the wind, topping lift on, halyard off, reefing line in, halyard up and topping lift off, all before the bow had a chance to blow off. I was seriously impressed - so much easier than the old way if I was on my own. Start the engine, set the autopilot, because there was no way she was going to sit nose to the wind long enough, clip on, clamber onto the deck, and try to sort everything out with one hand, while clinging on for dear life with the other, back to the cockpit and, finally getting back on course under sail.

 

[flaming]

With lazyjacks (stackpack optional), it's well worth the effort to lead the lines back to the cockpit, so hoisting, reefing and dropping can be done without going forward onto a deck that's leaping around - especially for the second reef.

if you put some strong bungee in the lines they become self adjusting and after a little fine tuning on first install you don't need to touch them.

 

[Stemar]

if you put some strong bungee in the lines they become self adjusting and after a little fine tuning on first install you don't need to touch them.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant all lines - main halyard, reefing lines, topping lift and, on the Snappie, the lazyjacks, thought your idea of bungee might have worked.