Lazy Jack line choices.

[Rightbrainer]

Originally Posted by danstanford

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Dan

Plus 1

[DownEastCruiser]

Just had a lazy jack line break while putting away the mainsail in 25kts of wind. It made for a very difficult situation putting away the main. Many members have mentioned that there will be almost no load on lines and this is simply not true. I would advise double braid vectran ideally with a dacron cover or simply dyneema.

Also something to consider would be how you intend to take and safely stow reefs. Many people will keep their stack pack up and let the excess sail fall into the stack pack. In gale conditions this is going to place a very high load on those lines. My advice would be to consider the kinds of sailing you intend to do and make a consideration. But based on my experience I would pick something that can safely handle hundreds of pounds of force.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, there, DownEastCruiser,

I'm wondering what boat do you have? what size mainsail? and if you were off the wind? Perhaps you could add the boat and its length to your avatar.

We come up to reef, and have not encountered what you describe. We use 6 mm (~1/4") polyester double braid for our jacklines, and none has ever broken. What you recommend for lazy jacks seems a bit like overkill to me, but perhaps you do not come up to reef?

I think that being able to reef off the wind is a very good capacity to have, and the hardware to do it and make it happen safely is [imo] pretty expensive. The reason we come up to do it is because, off the wind, the battens tend to get hung up, and it is easier (although lumpier, for sure) to come up than to fight the hung battens. We have done this in open water, and in 45 kn., but not above, and it would be putting in the 2nd or 3rd reef. 45 kn is usually time for us to be fore-reaching under very reduced sail.

Ann

[DownEastCruiser]

Hi Ann!

Jeanneau sun odyssey 45 with heavy Dacron mainsail.

In my case the top line broke while dropping the main motoring into the wind before entering a harbor. The conditions were shifty enough to make it difficult to remain perfectly into the wind and as the main was about half way down the leach slack enough to allow the sail to put pressure on the lazy jacks leading to failure. The lines were also quite old, they came with the boat. I trim the mainsheet enough so that the boom isn’t flapping around when crew is up on deck. I think 6mm double braid polyester can be quite strong depending on the brand and formula? I’m no expert in lines. Just thought it was worth it to share my particular experience.

With regards to reefing I usually ease the main and come up enough to take pressure off the mainsheet and cars but not enough to lose control. The question I asked was would I be comfortable securing a reef at night in a strong breeze if one of the lazy jacks were to break and for me the answer is a huge no! So I am selecting some 5mm dyneema core lines with 800ish kg breaking load. I think they will provide good piece of mind next time. I sail short handed a lot so this factored into the decision as well.

[JPA Cate]

Yes, I can see that, and the greater strength of the line may also give you peace of mind, too. Imho, everything is more difficult when you singlehand, because you need to be so beforehanded, thinking everything through carefully, and giving extra time in case it all doesn't go as planned.

Ann