As part of my ongoing quest to make my Pearson easier to single hand I am looking at putting together the parts I need for a Main Sail Lazy Jack system.
I am thinking that 1/4" halyard would be sufficient it with 29 series blocks. Or should I go with 3/8" halyard and blocks. Also I probably need to unclip and stow the system to the main will under sail and also to accommodate the sail cover. Or can still get the sail covers on with the Lazyjack system in place?
I have a full batten main with a loose foot that's made of high mass warp yarn Dacron. So its stiff. I think I might be able to get away with less ribs in the lazy jack system because of the full battens.
Thanks, Pete s/v Tartanic, Pearson 365 Ketch
Pete,
There are a whole bunch of kits out there or you can make your own. Check out Defender for ideas and sizes. My sail cover was made for lazy jacks with cut out slots. My lazy jack system has lines with plastic eyes, not blocks, and it works fine.
Mike
Thanks Mike,
I've seen those kits and they seem like a lot of money for $50 worth of halyard and a few bits of hardware. Solo sailor Andrew Evans writes in his book "Lazyjacks should be designed to be detached from the boom and secured on the mast when the boat is underway. They are known to get tangled with the main sail battens when hoisting the sail". I already have enough trouble with my reef lines getting tangled. And chafing against the main seems to be the biggest concern.
But it seems to me that the whole mess that is the lazyjacks could be loosen and run through a reef hook or unclipped. I've recently became aware of a piece of hardware know as sister clips that could facilitate that latter approach. This would also allow me to leave my sail coverers alone.
First step will seem be to mount some check blocks up on the mast and start messing around with a pair of halyards. This is a different approach from the kits which all seem to have a fix attachment to the upper part of the mast.
Pete
Pete,
I built my Lazy Jack system for less than $100 using 1/4 line. But in hind sight, I wish I had used a different line size or type due to the stretch.
http://www.sailingseadragon.com/LazyJack.htm
Garner
Mine is a variation of that. I have a piece of line I'm guessing about 3-4 ft long with a plastic thimble at one end and attached to eyes on the mast. There is a second line that has a thimble at one end that goes through the thimble on the first line and attaches to a cleat under the boom. The second thimble has line line that loops through it to eyes on the boom. Essentially I have 3 legs on each side. Still a pretty cheap setup. If you had blocks anywhere but on the mast, you would need covers on them to protect your sail, Plastic thimbles are the way to go.
Mike
Alfresco
1981 367 cutter
I've used all the suggestions for a lazy jack system and settled on this design.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l505/banjoband/lazyjack%201.jpg) (http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/banjoband/media/lazyjack%201.jpg.html)
I'm using 5/16" Nova Tech XLE double braid halyard with which I formed an eye splice around a Ronstan 29mm Block. The sunbrella cover then slides over that and gets stitched into place to prevent chaffing.