Does anyone have a stack pack or equivalent for the mainsail vs a standard sailcover? Would like your thoughts if you have one. I sail solo and think it would nice to have that setup. I do have a full batten main lazy jacks.
Years back "stack packs" or whatever the marketing name depending on brand were a hot item. Today not so much. I suspect price has a lot to do with it as correctly done they are around $2k. They are indeed nice as they create a "catcher" for the sail as it is lowered. You simple drop the main and zip it shut. You have full battens so the sail will remain relatively neat as it is dropped. Where we see issues is when someone wants a Dutchman system and the StackPak. Too much stuff going on and the zip up mechanism becomes an issue.
You mentioned that you have lazy jacks. Those provide a similar "catching" system and doesn't detract visually as a StakPak, if it isn't white, typically does not look that good. There are plenty of positives but I will mention one last negative. Up north at the end of the season, we take everything off for the winter season. Removing a StakPak is a two person at best requirement for a 365. They have full length battens sewn into them and the whole lot (sail and canvas) has to be removed all at once. They are both heavy and awkward to move and store.
Best of luck...
Dale
Thanks Dale, That all makes perfect sense. Now I'll move on to more important things. Carl
My partner and I purchased Sailrite's kit for making a Sunbrella stackpack/lazy jack system. It's the cheapest price you'll find, their instructions really are good, and it was a fun project to work on together. Happy to provide pics or answer questions if you're interested.
https://www.sailrite.com/Sail-Pack-Stack-Pack-Kit-for-13-Boom
Quote from: SV Azimuth on June 08, 2021, 10:44:30 AM
My partner and I purchased Sailrite's kit for making a Sunbrella stackpack/lazy jack system. It's the cheapest price you'll find, their instructions really are good, and it was a fun project to work on together. Happy to provide pics or answer questions if you're interested.
https://www.sailrite.com/Sail-Pack-Stack-Pack-Kit-for-13-Boom
I'd like to see some pics. It's not a high priority, but it is on my list down a ways.
Keep in mind, that "stackpac" shown will work only with a loose foot main. Very few cruising boats have such a thing.
Dale
I respectfully disagree -- there are "pass-unders" that snap together under the sail and over the boom, between the sail slides. If you actively use your out-haul, it could make it more complicated, but that is rare for cruising boats indeed.
A loose footed mainsail attaches to the boom at the gooseneck at the tack point and often with a slide in the boom below the tack point, and again at the clew onto the boom with an outhaul slide. There is no foot bolt rope that slides into the track along the boom, thus the term "loose foot". This design allows the "bagging" of the foot when sailing downwind much easier as the position of the outhaul slide is easier to adjust in light air as often you have to "push" the bolt rope.
The design of Sailrites "stack pack" capitalizes on the loose footed design in order to pass the webbing with snaps under the foot of the sail to contain the Sunbrella sides. If you do not have a loose footed main this Sailrite design will not work out well at all.
If one does not adjust your mainsail outhaul (upwind/downwind) it will affect the performance of your boat. Most people will say they do not have the time to get where they would like to get. Better performance equals more time.
Dale
Dale,
I just built the Sailrite sail packs for both my main and mizzen. They offer ways to connect the sail packs for sails with a bolt rope, slugs, or loose footed. Their video only shows the method for slugs, which uses webbing and twist lock fasteners under the foot. For loose footed, they show in the instructions how to make webbing straps that hold the sail pack to the boom using slugs. For a bolt rope, the webbing uses thin Dacron sail material that feeds in with the bolt rope. They are pretty easy to make since I had never seen anything in my life previously.
Eric