Help adding lazy jacks

[nosssailor]

HI

I have a Feeling 1040 at present and looking at adding lazy jacks to assist with hosits and drops.
I have tried to get some detail on how best to do this but nothing jumps out, there is some interesting data in Dashews books but thats about it

Any one got advice on how to get the height of the lines correct so it holds the main but doesnt catch too much ?

Also how far along the boom should they attach (probably going to add a bag for ease as well, I know its not the done thing, but for coastal crusing with family I think it adds more than it detracts.)

Any advice greatly recieved.

[newhaul]

Give the thread a read How to set up lazy jacks - Page 2 - SailNet Community has some great info

[MarkSF]

I think the best way to prevent the main snagging on the lazy jacks, is to have a way to stow them at the mast. Some people bring the lines back to the cockpit.

[barnakiel]

Feed yours thru a common block with bungee. When you ease the control, they will pull towards the mast which help heaps.

Some fly the lazyjacks to fittings wide on the spreaders which limits batten catching too.

b.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Feed yours thru a common block with bungee. When you ease the control, they will pull towards the mast which help heaps.

b.

Now that's clever. Could you describe the arrangement in a bit more detail or is there a pic anywhere?

[Cap Erict3]

One afternoon I connected a loop from my aft lower shrouds around the boom. When pulled snug, it went 3/4s to the end of the boom. Spliced 3 more equidistant vertical loops around boom to first loop back toward mast. Tensioned first loop via line to boom end, to boom cleat at mast and back to first loop.

It worked well for a couple of years.

I mounted a couple of small cheek blocks below my spreaders last week with the intent of designing an upgraded system.


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Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[jeepbluetj]

I made retractables out of (gasp!) paracord. Works fantastic. Doesn't snag on the way down. Since they're retracted they definitely don't snag on the way up. I used a couple of cheek blocks under the spreaders, paracord, a few SS rings, and some eye loops under the boom.

A commercial version: Lazy Jack System - How does it work - EZ-JAX

[roverhi]

If you put the mast cheek block low down, the angle of the lazy jack will have a hard time containing the outboard end of the sail. Put those cheek blocks 1/2 way between spreaders and mast head on my single spreader rig and it works fine. Did not use any other blocks on the system but substituted brass rings. Stow the lazy jack at the mast except when lowering sail. Just hook them under the cleat for securing the hoist at the mast. Lazy Jacks can be a PITA on hoisting and don't really do anything in that operation which is why I stow them at the mast. Used the graph paper plan on this site for the design.
Lazy Jacks

[barnakiel]

Well.

The lazies are (often multiple) vees at the boom but then come as one towards the top. One leg port, leg one stb side. These single lines are fed via small blocks or loops one each side of the mast next thing you see they come down to somewhere close to the mast winch area where they sleep on a small cleat.

Take the falling sides of the single lazy lines and tie them together then onto another string that runs down to a block (say close to the foot) then on to a cleating point anywhere close at hand to where you hoist your main from. So at this point you can just ease the solo lazy line just before you hoist (and the lazy jacks will go slack).

Now take some bungee cord and run loops from the mast/boom area junction, round the lazies, back to the same junction. One bungee cord loop each side of the mast, each round one half of the lazies.

Now tighten the solo lazy line. Now tighten the bungees. You are set.

Next time you ease the solo lazy line the bungee loops will pull the lazy jacks forward and downward. You hoist, then you pull on the solo lazy line and adjust the lazy jacks to the tension you like.

This is probably the simplest solution as it only requires two pieces of bungee cord added to whatever the most standard lazy jacks trimming system is (likely) already in place.

Cheers,
b.

[Horus]

Selden Masts on their site:
http://www.seldenmast.com/files/1380.../595-219-E.pdf


Cheers

[Capt.Pete]

Hi. I installed a lazy jack on my 1973 Pearson 36. It has a short 12' boom so I didn't need much to keep the sail from spilling all over the deck. I employed a 2 leg system. A three leg system is not much more complicated. A nice DIY system is available in Good old boat magazine, probably google it. I placed my upper jack lines through blocks @ 10 inches from the mast on the lower surface of the spreaders a attached the boom loops with ss rings.

The same system would do fine w a bag also.

Capt. Pete

[mikequig]

I agree with the posts that recommend attaching the line to a point on the underside of the spreader instead of to the mast. (Mine are about a foot outboard on each side.) it makes raising the main so much easier.

[Chuck Hawley]

I have lazy jacks on my Alerion 38 which are in two parts (they attach to the boom in two locations). I think three parts would be the correct number. I think you need to go far enough aft that the battens don't fall to one side and create a visual barrier for the helmsman. I would recommend using Spectra/Dyneema for the part that contacts the sail for its UV resistance and soft hand. Or 1/4" single braid like Regatta.

Chuck

[GrahamHO]

As others suggest attach to turning blocks out on the spreader underside rather than on the mast. I do that. That makes the opening wider. It puts no strain on the spreader.
I also use a Stack Pack which I think you call a bag. I wouldn't be without it. The lazy jacks attach to the Stack Pack sides which have long boom length fibreglass battens inside a slot in the fabric. There are about 4 holes through the batten and fabric with small SS shackles for the lines to tie onto. The lines can be very light. Mine are 4 mm.


Additionally I use a downhaul on the main sail. It's 4 mm spectra and ties through the uppermost sail slide. Then a slightly slack loop and a sail hank clips onto the halyard eye above it just to retain the halyard in the unlikely event of the shackle undoing. ( yes it did happen prior to that and was my fault) . Don't tie onto the headboard as then it falls over and jams when pulling down. The downhaul needs to be coiled so it will run out when you raise the sail. Then it's secured by a small cleat so it doesn't blow back when sailing.


My downhaul runs back to the cockpit as does the main halyard. Now I can pull my main up and down without leaving the cockpit. If it is breezy I'll sometimes slacken off one side of the jacks before raising the sail. Then I let the wind blow the sail slightly over that side so the sail doesn't flap around and catch a batten.



It all makes sail handling easy.

[John_Trusty]

Nosssailor, lazy jacks do not help at all on hoists, in fact, they usually are in the way or cause an extra step in loosening them. Most of the previous posts talk about modifications to keep them out of the way the majority of the time -- during hoists and sailing. That said, they're wonderful for that two minutes where you're dropping the main shorthanded. I agree that the spreader method is a better attachment point for the tops as it creates a funnel arrangement that stays out of the way most of the time if you're not off the wind.