Lazy jack/bag

Another issue is the poor resistance of the thread to UV. The stitching on my 400 stack pack started to fail after 3 years. I would strongly advise anybody with a stack pack over 4 years old to take it to their local sailmaker who will very easily run over all the stitching in less than 2 hours ( Cost me £80 / 100 Euros ) The same is the case with the spray hood , mine started to fall apart after 5 years but I just caught it in time and again the sailmaker fixed it with 3 hours of labour and it should be good for another 5 years by which time the material itself may well be finished.

Is it better for the bag to be in one piece, or is it best to have a separate piece for the section near the mast?

Charles

Is the picture of your fastenings ok Sam? I think I would have had a bungee loop on one side and a bungee ball on the other. You seem to have threaded one length of bungee.

Charles

I have attached a piece of elastic 10mm between lazy jack and suspension. It protects against overload, and keeps lazy jack up so it does not flapprer when the sail is up.

 

Juno wrote: Swanji I have to take issue with the zip starting at the mast end. The thought of standing on the mast steps holding on to the mast with one hand and trying to start the zip one handed in a bit of a sea sounds absolutely impossible. Maybe on smaller boats where you can stand on the deck and comfortably reach the top of the boom it may be possible but on my 370 I certainly can't do that, for the same reason a would recommend having the zip on the side rather than the top. David Juno 370 e

Some years ago we were off Bafleur in a big
swell with zero wind
I went forward to drop the main
My wife forgot to tighten the mainsheet
She stood on the cockpit seat to reach the zip
The boat rolled & she had a job keeping balance so took her eye off the boom
It hit her in the midriff & bent her double over it as it carried her over the side
The back of her knees caught the guardrail whilst the rest of her was suspended over the side
As the boat rolled back the boom swung in & threw her onto the cockpit floor badly hurting her wrist
Even if she had tightened the mainsheet she would have had to stand on the seats to engage the zip whilst the boat rolls
On another occasion a crew nearly lost his balance & as he was holding the zipper tag he managed to rip it off
With the zip at the front ( esp when SH) i can zip up when dropping the main & have the mast to hold on to
I tend to lay over the boom to keep balance
When zip is at front i only need to zip a short length to hold the sail in
The loops & eyes are because my stiff main does not go in the bag easily
I did not want an oversize bag
So i lean on the sail & hook the eyes
In the dark i can do this whereas i could not see the zip
I can do the loops one handed without even looking at them
I have changed my loops so the ball is one side & the loop the other side so i no longer have to threadle the loop first

Edited by samuel - 23 March 2013 at 13:30