Flaking a sail without Lazy jacks or any type of system?

[Northface25]

Id like to flake a sail without having to buy Lazy Jacks or any type of system.  I just dont have the money for those systems.  Anyway to do it?  How do you all flake your sail?

[kickingbug1]

    i made my own lazy jacks. cost i think was about 6 bucks. works like a charm. ill send you pics if you want.

[Northface25]

I would love that, thank you so much! My email is Reinhart.Jason@Gmail.Com

[Billy]

I'm thinking about rigging mine with some homemade lazy jacks too. Just got to figure a way around the sail cover. Photos would be nice.

As for flanking,

It works best if you start with the leach of the sail. Start in the back.
As you flank it keep pulling back. This helps the sail stay flat on the boom. Go about 8 to 12 inches each side of the boom, then fold it back the same amount on the other side. Remember to keep pulling the leach tight on each flank.

Then take about 2 to 3 feet of line for a sail tie, straps work too. About every 3 feet or so tie around the sail to keep it from falling off the boom. I just use square knots.

[skip1930]

Very easily. First I support the end of the boom from my Q/D hung on a short cable from the stern standing rigging. No lazy jacks needed. If you have a CP-16 without a stern standing rigging, then I don't know what you do.

Simply allow the main sail slugs fall down on to the sail stop that you placed just slightly above of the wide entrance of the mast's slot for the slugs.

First slug down gets folded like the letter 'U',  [ flaked ] over say on the port side of the boom. Next one down gets folded [ flaked ] over the starboard side of the boom, 'U' shaped.

Continue flip~flopping the main as the slugs stack up upon each other. Smooth the mess out with the batons running horizontal. Roll the main sail up from the flakes back to the end of the boom. Sail tie the whole assembly down to the boom and cover the flaked and rolled sail up with the sail cover.

skip.

[Joseph]

This is the fastest way I found for taming a mainsail when single handed. It works with or without lazy jacks: with the boat head to wind and after dousing the sail down all the way and securing the boom, bring the entire sail to one side of the boom (I prefer the port side). Pull the sail aft from the leach to straighten the folds. Get closer to the mast about mid-boom and grab the bottom (and largest) fold of the sail. You will see that this last fold makes an angular "pocket" against the boom where the entire sail can be rolled into (much as a paper sheet can be rolled into a tight cone). Have a few sail-ties at hand (actually, better between the teeth...) and start rolling the sail against the boom inside this pocket while making occasional pulls from the leech to keep the rolls (and any battens) straight. I usually place one sail tie around mid-boom followed by another aft and another forward. Once at anchor or in harbour you can always flake the sail more properly. However, I usually leave the sail rolled in this way as I am of the impression that rolling a sail against the boom is in the long run kinder on the fabric than flaking it on top of the boom.

Hope this helps,

J.