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[ndutton]

I have envied the lazy jacks I see on neighboring boats, so I will be curious to hear about Russ' satisfaction with his chosen configuration.

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=19

[lat 64]

Mine might be a bit different.

It has a fall(halyard) to hoist and tension it. Im not sure if that's standard.
The top lines(red) are small-dia. Dyneema about eighth-inch I think. The lower lines(blue) are thicker soft half-inch double-braid. I guess this is just for nice handling or reduce chafe maybe. The rings are bronze and are nice and slippery. The whole setup was off a Catalina 40 and I got it, blocks and all, for $200.
Im sure I could have built it for less money, but I was flush at the time and it was easy to install.
I did a bit of web searching and learned that hanging the blocks from the spreaders was easy and high enough for me and my rig. I just removed one of the spreader bots on either side and replaced it with an eye bolt. It has the advantage that the block hanging from the eye bolt is a few inches away from the mast and wont bang away in the wind if I forget to snug things up when I leave the boat.

I have not used it sailing. Boat still on the hard.

cheers,

Rus

[Vermonstah]

Shout out to Neil and Russ. And indirectly to Tom for his Lazy Jack's design.

It looks so straight forward. I am definitely tempted.

But then I remember that I always find a way to turn "routine" into "complicated."

Question: can any of these lazy jack installations be completed with the stick up, and might one configuration be easier than another without unstepping the mast?

I just replaced the standing rigging last year, and don't want to unstep the mast already.

Thanks again, very informative!

[BunnyPlanet169]

Question: can any of these lazy jack installations be completed with the stick up, and might one configuration be easier than another without unstepping the mast?

How high are you willing to climb or be hoisted?

All these systems rely on two turning blocks mounted somewhere on the mast. If you're willing /able to go up in a chair and drill and tap four holes (cheek blocks) or attach it somehow as Russ describes, then you're done.

Bunny Planet has cheek blocks above the spreaders, about 20 feet off the bottom, and 10 feet from the top, and only two legs off the boom (both sides of the sail, obviously). You're only trying to tame the main as it comes down, and you really need to belay the whole system out of the way when hoisting or the battens catch. Or don't, and mess with it...

The whole system really lends itself to working at the mast for dowsing. Rig the lazy jacks, come into the wind, loosen the main halyard, and pull the sail down into the nest. Put one sail stop on it and get back to the cockpit. Furl in the harbor.

[lat 64]

VM,
It's like all chores with a boat, what you can't or don't do yourself, you pay others to.
Certainly there must be a rigger (insured) near Lake Champagne that can go up the mast and hang a couple of blocks.

I'm not teasing you either. I have yet to go up the stick to see the view.
Not that I'm scared or anything, I just don't want to right now, that's all.

[tenders]

I built a set of lazyjacks using this plan:

http://www.goodoldboat.com/reader_services/articles/tamers.php

And took them off four years later. Lots of small lines flailing around to be constantly corralled, adjusted, and tucked in. Just not worth the complexity. I often handle all the sails myself and take the main down first about six feet, just past the first batten, flake the aft part of the sail and add a sail tie, then drop another ten feet, add another tie or two, then drop it the rest of the way with the final tie.

My current main is fully-battened, which helps a little, but it worked fine this way when I had the usual partially-battened sail too.

[ndutton]

Yep, it takes a trip halfway up the mast and a good ground man is a definite plus. My lazy jacks have blocks mounted to the underside of the spreaders spaced a little away from the mast and cheek blocks toward the outboard end of the boom. Safety comment: NO BOSN'S CHAIR ATTACHMENT TO SNAP SHACKLES! Also please notice safety strap around mast above spreaders.

[romantic comedy]

were we doing lazy jacks here?

Mine should be pictured here.. I made them so that they can be pulled back and down to the mast, and attached there for sailing.
The picture has the point where they get attached to the line to pull them up. It goes to just below the spreaders and down to the mast.