Help adding lazy jacks

[Fearless Friend]

I have a Feeling 1090. Basically the same as your 1040. Under no circumstances would I secure the lazy jacks to the underside of the spreader as my spreaders are hinged at the mast and not solid joints. If the shrouds aren't tightened properly in the ends of the spreaders, for whatever reason, the downward pull of the jacks could cause the spreader to drop, releasing the shrouds, and bringing the mast down.
For any queries about Feeling yachts there is an excellent owners website at Club feeling 1090 / 1040

The site is run by a very knowledgeable Frenchman called Gerard. Although the primary language is French there are translations (of sorts) into other languages including English.

[JTHAW]

This is all wonderful stuff, I need to do it on my boat...Pictures are worth a 1000 words...I'm visual, can't see the sail slide downhaul...Pictures please...

[GrahamHO]

Originally Posted by JTHAW

This is all wonderful stuff, I need to do it on my boat...Pictures are worth a 1000 words...I'm visual, can't see the sail slide downhaul...Pictures please...

I'm not sure what I would take a picture of as its about 45 / 50 feet long. It'll be a couple of days before I can take a photo.

I'll start from the cockpit and try to describe it better. Most of my lines run back to cleats or jammers on the cabin top. The main downhaul line is one of those.
It is 4 mm? or 5 mm? spectra. It runs from its cleat along the cabin top to a turning block at the base of the mast. Then up and along side the mast track it is tied to the uppermost sail slide. Using thin line allows this. Additionally with a slightly slack loop I clip it with a small sail hank onto the halyard eye. That is optional and simply a safety to retain the halyard if the halyard shackle undoes. Don't tie it to the headboard as it will pull it over and stick.

My mast is 40' above the deck so I have a coil of that length on a cockpit seat as I raise the sail from the cockpit. The downhaul coil runs out as the halyard pulls the sail up. Then I cleat it off so it sits close alongside the mast. It doesn't rattle or bang. It simply sits there as long as it's cleated.

Dropping the sail I free the halyard and pull on the downhaul and the sail slides down nicely into the stack pack and is retained there.

In "Sailing around the world singlehanded" (1896 / 7) Joshua Slockum writes that he has downhauls on all his sails. So I thought I'd do the same on my main. He didn't include a photo so I just "did it my way". It works well.

[GrahamHO]

Apologies to Joshua for spelling Slocum incorrectly. I'll blame spellcheck.

[JTHAW]

Thanks for your reply Graham...I appreciate it.
J. Slocums great granddaughter has a scruffy looking 25 ft'er across the st. from my slip at the beach.

[GrahamHO]

Originally Posted by JTHAW

Thanks for your reply Graham...I appreciate it.
J. Slocums great granddaughter has a scruffy looking 25 ft'er across the st. from my slip at the beach.

Not a problem. Sailing must be in their blood. As I recall Capt Slocum sailed out of and returned to Boston. When he was returning via Cape Of Good Hope he was introduced to President Kruger at I think Durban (possibly Cape Town).
He was introduced as Capt Slocum who is sailing around the world. Kruger said "that's impossible, he must be sailing across the world."
The book is on Kindle.

[Kokanee]

This is the setup I installed. Simple and cheap to install, and they easily fold away when not in use.

Tips - Lazy Jacks

[Fearless Friend]

Hope you can make out the location of the cheek blocks on the mast about 3 feet below the top spreader. The other pictures show the way my lazy jacks are rigged.

It can be a bit tricky hoisting the main but my wife and I sail short-handed and have found its all a matter of timing.

Once the sail is up we lower the jacks and hook them round the rams horns at the gooseneck to reduce chafe on the sail and improve sail shape. Just make sure there's enough length to do that.

..................
Drive into a community and you're a visitor. Sail in and you're part of it.

[Stu Jackson]

Lazy Jack Trick
Many folks complain about full battens getting caught up when raising the mainsail. They then spend a lot of time moving BOTH sides of the lazy jacks to the mast.

We developed an easier way with our lazy jacks.

We have a small cleat on the forward starboard side of the boom. When we put the halyard on the headboard, we move ONLY the starboard side of the lazy jacks forward and snug them under the forward side of the horn of this cleat.

Then, when we raise the mainsail, instead of going exactly head to wind, we bear off a tad to starboard so the wind is coming from the port side of the bow.

We then raise the mainsail and it doesn't get hooked on the lazy jacks even though the port side jacks are still there.

Been working for 17 years.

Yes, we have to go forward again to unhook the starboard lazy jack for dousing the sail if I forget to do it right when the main is raised, but there's never any hurry. The drill is: after the main is raised, I unhook that starboard lazy jack, so they're both ready to go when we drop the sails at the end of the day.

So, for those of you with lazy jacks, consider doing only one side.

Your boat, your choice.

[barnakiel]

When they go to the spreader they are NOT attached there, they rather fly pass by a fitting and end up on the mast above the spreader. This is so to avoid the spreader getting dislodged should the lazy jack get tangled or otherwise apply excessive pull on the spreader.

Except for catamaran diamonds, many lee spreaders can be less than bar tight and you have a drama in the pipeline when such a spreader supports continuous shrouds (as some skippers do not care to lock the tip).

Cheers,
b.

[GrahamHO]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

When they go to the spreader they are NOT attached there, they rather fly pass by a fitting and end up on the mast above the spreader. This is so to avoid the spreader getting dislodged should the lazy jack get tangled or otherwise apply excessive pull on the spreader.

Except for catamaran diamonds, many lee spreaders can be less than bar tight and you have a drama in the pipeline when such a spreader supports continuous shrouds (as some skippers do not care to lock the tip).

Cheers,
b.

Hasn't ever happened to me. My shrouds are correctly fitted to the spreader ends. I've never had a lazy jack tangle and I'm not sure how it would. Also you don't need tension in the lazy jacks.
All sorts of things can go wrong if you try hard enough.

[ggray]

Originally Posted by Fearless Friend

I have a Feeling 1090. Basically the same as your 1040. Under no circumstances would I secure the lazy jacks to the underside of the spreader as my spreaders are hinged at the mast and not solid joints. If the shrouds aren't tightened properly in the ends of the spreaders, for whatever reason, the downward pull of the jacks could cause the spreader to drop, releasing the shrouds, and bringing the mast down.
For any queries about Feeling yachts there is an excellent owners website at Club feeling 1090 / 1040

The site is run by a very knowledgeable Frenchman called Gerard. Although the primary language is French there are translations (of sorts) into other languages including English.

Agreed, it could be a problem.

My lazy jacks pass through a grommet in the spreaders maybe about 20% of the way out on the spreader. But I was warned by a rigger that if the 'jacks are not set loose enough, as the boom swings out, there is a risk of the spreader being loaded where it is not designed for loads. The farther out on the spreader and the more vertical the mast is, the greater that load could be. He said he knew of a rig lost because of this, and I think he was talking about fixed spreaders. Attachment to rather than passing through the spreader would be worse.

[GrahamHO]

Originally Posted by ggray

Agreed, it could be a problem.

My lazy jacks pass through a grommet in the spreaders maybe about 20% of the way out on the spreader. But I was warned by a rigger that if the 'jacks are not set loose enough, as the boom swings out, there is a risk of the spreader being loaded where it is not designed for loads. The farther out on the spreader and the more vertical the mast is, the greater that load could be. He said he knew of a rig lost because of this, and I think he was talking about fixed spreaders. Attachment to rather than passing through the spreader would be worse.

Yes take them around an eye on the spreader and down to cleats on the mast near the gooseneck. Adjust them suitably slack. When the boom is out on a reach that side goes even slacker and doesn't interfere with the sail. The other side does tighten so that has to be allowed for.

If you are worried you simply go to the mast and free the lazy jacks at their cleats and haul them both back around the reefing horns and tighten them out of the way. You don't need them for hoisting the sail and you can release them at a suitable time before you drop sail.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by GrahamHO

Hasn't ever happened to me. My shrouds are correctly fitted to the spreader ends. I've never had a lazy jack tangle and I'm not sure how it would. Also you don't need tension in the lazy jacks.
All sorts of things can go wrong if you try hard enough.

Yep. Normally, not.

Then again, imagine the lazyjack catching onto anything (say a shroud holder for a boat hook or one of those nippy shroud cleats people will use for guest flag halyards ...) and imagine the boat does the Chinese. Sure I have wild imagination but even more unlikely things did happen on boats before and will continue to happen.

Better safe than sorry.

b.

[barnakiel]

At times you can see that people will have the lazy jack solo line continuous from side to side and trimmed by pulling on a small block free floating along this line. I think this may be a good choice when the base of the line is very broad on the mast (like with e.g. spreader fitted ones)

b.