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Call
me lazy or whatever, but lazy jacks sure come in handy when you're
ghosting along in hot sticky weather and all I want to do is get out of
the hot sun, NOW! OK they also work in a nasty blow but you get the
idea that they simplify packing the mainsail by becoming the extra pair of
"hands" you need. Without them, the cloth is dumped all over the
deck, creating a slipping and tripping hazard. I prefer a clean
"sticky" deck to keep me from taking a dive into the murky depths, thank
you very much. Prior to my lazy jack system I've come too close in
fulfilling this disaster. The solution is pretty simple as shown at
right. I've used it for many years and the only complaint
I have is snagging a batten when hoisting the main sail. It's
usually a matter of a quick pull on the halyard to bypass the jack lines
when the sail is feathered between them. Sometimes easier said than
done!
 CONSTRUCTION - Panache's
new lazy jacks (2019) are made from slippery Amsteel
Blue Dyneema. 1/8" for the jack lines
and
3/16"
for the halyard portion as shown in the
diagram. Three jack lines will
provide more support than my previous two shown in black.
Dyneema line is too
slippery to hold a knot so a loop must be spliced in the end that slips under
each eye
strap on the boom. The eye straps are pop riveted
on the side of the boom above the reef
lines and between the existing sail straps. The high position of the eye straps ensures the bunched up sail
cloth can't push the jack lines down against the reef lines, causing extra
friction on the reefing system. Remember to add a glob of sealant
under each eye strap before it is riveted to the boom.
If you screw them, it is best to tap thread in the
boom for machine screws. This way you can easily service the system
should you have to replace a line.
A low friction SS eye
is also spliced at the junction point of each line so
the lower jack line can easily slide through it. For maximum
strength the angle formed at the throat of an eye splice should be 300
or less which results in loosing only 10% of the line strength. To splice a loop in single braided Dyneema use a
locking splice with two loose ends or a locking
splice with one side attached. While not actually required I added a whipping
over each
splice to secure the SS eye from breaking free and damaging
the sail cloth. Umm, I don't need that, especially where I can't
reach it!
New lazy jacks in place and ooooh does the sail drop & stay nicely on the boom.
At right the jack halyards through the blocks at mid spreader.
CONSIDERATIONS
- 2021 - To prevent snagging a batten (leech) as the mainsail is hoisted I spread the
tops of the lazy jack halyards by running each through a small block secured to
the mid point of the spreaders. This is a departure from running the
halyards
over the spreaders close to the mast, as I previously did. I just have to remember to slip a messenger line through
each block
before I stand the "stick" up, otherwise they are out of reach.
This will also minimizes chafe on sail cloth and will not affect sail shape.
Tape the end of the messenger to the end of the
jack halyard and hoist the halyard through the block. Works very
well. This will also minimizes chafe on the sail cloth and
affect sail shape less.
"I like the wider gap a lot better than the
narrow gap. Lees chance of the leech snagging the halyard and the
sail is still captured as it is doused."
- Alternatively, install two
lines (not shown) to pull the middle of the lazy jacks ahead of and
below the mainsail leech while hoisting the mainsail. Once
hoisted, the lazy jacks can be released to contain the mainsail when it
is lowered.
-
If you like night sailing,
consider using day glow lime green jack lines or
parachute cord with day glow inserts to improve visibility.
Forget about
slipping unseen into an anchorage at night then!
JACK LINES - 32' of 1/8" Dyneema with 2 matching SS thimbles, 8 eye straps.
HALYARDS -
~44' of
3/16" Dyneema with 2 matching SS thimbles to reach the cleats on
the bottom of the mast.
NOTE: Add 6" for each eye splice in the line.
LAUNCH - Install the boom on the mast. Throw each halyard over
its respective spreader or tape each to a messenger line and hoist
them through its spreader block. I loosely tie both halyards to the
spinnaker ring on the front of the mast.
HAUL OUT - Fan fold the mainsail on the boom and secure with the straps around the sail.
Remove the halyard reef knot and tape the end to the messenger line.
Hoist the messenger line through the spreader block and detach from the
lazy jack halyard. Secure the messenger to the mast and tuck the lazy jack line under the sail
straps. The messenger stays with the mast and the lazy jack
stays with the boom. Slip the sail cover over the boom and spiral wrap a line
around it. Remove from
the mast and tuck into cabin.
 OPERATION - Once the mainsail is
dropped between the lazy jacks, I
pull the leech
toward the clew to
straighten the fan folds. Then I snap the four straps
around the mainsail to secure it to the boom. The straps are
permanently sewn around
the foot of the sail so I never have to look for them. The length
of each strap is cut to fit loosely around the sail. Sometimes I
clip them to each other under the boom. The
black plastic clips can be found in a camping supply store.
See
Tech Tip F05 for Reefing Line Systems.
____________________________ PREVIOUS SYSTEM
________________________________
 My previous lazy jacks
consisted of two lower 3/16" soft nylon lines looped under the boom as shown
here. There was a symmetrical set of lines on the opposite side of
the boom. Between them they contained the loose mainsail on top of
the boom, sort of. The lower lines were
pulled up tight by the 3/16" halyards that go over the spreaders and
down the forward side of the mast where they were fastened to the
spinnaker ring on the track. These halyards never snagged
laying over the spreaders and always stayed next to the mast. I used
soft nylon line to protect the sail cloth. Anything bigger than
3/16" is overkill and is extra windage. 
Each
jack line went through an eye strap
under the boom
to keep it in place and was pulled up on either side to be
divided into two equal loops (port/starboard). It is important
to run these lines against the boom, inside the reefing
lines, so as not to affect the reefing lines along the
boom. The eye straps were positioned
at the 1/3 points along the boom. Your mainsail may have different requirements
so be your own judge.
I tied the
end of the halyard to the junction point of the jack
lines where it bisected the angle of them. While this supported the mainsail
for many years, when
relaxed they hung just low enough to slip the sail cover over the boom.
This was more luck than by design because I forgot to considered the
sail cover. Anyway,
if you have this problem it can
be alleviated by using a tiny block at the junction point so the halyard can center itself along the
jack lines and hang lower. Alternatively, tie a loop at the end of the halyard and
slip the jack line through it.
The free end of the halyard
was tied to the spinnaker pole ring on the mast as shown above.
Just before I put my mainsail cover on, I slid the ring to the top of the
track, which creates just enough slack to fit the sail cover on.
If you don't have a spinnaker ring on a track, devise an alternate
method to secure and loosen the halyard. When sailing, the ring was
positioned with just a slight amount of slack in
the lazy jacks. This way the mainsail shape is not distorted and
can generate the most pull. In this position it contained the mainsail
and the whisker pole was quite
happy with it.
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