Lazy Jacks

[tmorgan]

Lazy Jacks are of interest to me since I think dropping the sail with the gaff is certainly not an easy task when one is alone and there is a little wind.  I have looked at the installations shown on this site.  Any one else have some ideas for the Suncat?  I was intrigued by one of the pictures on this site with only one line and a hook on the bottom of the boom to catch the line.  I think it was for a CP-16 with a shorter boom.

How do the lazy jack line  work when you are under sail?  Do they just hang loose?  Do they get tangled with anything? 

Anyone have more pictures of an installation they really like?

Thanks,
Tom

[ontarioSuncat]

Not sure how to post pictures. I have posted some on the trailersailor forum.
I use mine as a toping lift also so the line is lead back to the port side of the cabin top with another cleat.
I arranged the fittings on the boom so that they will align with the gaff lines when the sail cover is on.
The Lazy jack is complsed of 4 lines. The first is a 1/4 line that begins and ends 2/3 down the boom from the goose neck. Here I mounted a folded strap eye on each side with a pop rivet. You could use thinner line but I wanted to braid eye splices into the ends. The line goes up adn forms large loops on each side and through a saddle strap on the bottom of the boom 1/3 down this allows the line to adjust from side to side. Before I spliced the line I added two Harken Carbo blocks for the 1/4 inch line. To each block I splices another 1/4 inch line. So you can picture the loops being held up by a line on each side of the sail. This is what catches the sail. I think I remember the bottom line is 16 feet long.
The supporting lines go up to a turning block on each side of the mast just above the halyard blocks. They them go down the mast at the front and end about 3 feet of the deck with an eye splice on each. These two line are the same length. I use a shackle to join the lines to one line that goes down through another spring mounted turning block on the bottom of the mast and to the deck organiser that I added like the other side to the cleat.
The advantages I was looking for were.
Funciton like a Lazy Jack
Funciton Like a topping lift when hardened up.
Allow all the lines to be drawn to the mast so I can add my boom tent. This is why they lines come so far down the mast.
Allow the sail cover to be installed when the lines are hardened.

Hope that helps
John

[tmorgan]

John, I would love to see the pictures.  I could not find them when I searched the trailorSailor forum.  Could you tell me where they are on the forum?  Your description sounds really great but a picture is worth a thousand words! :-)
thanks,
Tom

[ontarioSuncat]

I created an Album with pics of the lazy jack process. They are in an album called OntarioSuncat.
Let me know if you can see it.

[tmorgan]

I can see the album so you were successful.  Thanks for information.  After looking at the pictures, the setup makes sense.  I like the simple design.

[patch]

 i sail my suncat alone every day.at 1st i considered lazy jacks,i have no problem dropping the sail and gaff.i just gather up the rig and use quick ties to wrap it up.i bought the suncat because its so simple,why add extra stuff.