Lazy Jacks on a racing mainsail

[yoyo]

maybe the SS eyes referenced are sailmakers thimbles

Ronstan small shock blocks - no moving parts, simple and light.

 

[Strimar]

maybe the SS eyes referenced are sailmakers thimbles

Ronstan small shock blocks - no moving parts, simple and light.

Nice haven't seen them before how high yo is your longest line off the back of the boom, guessing about the length of the boom?

 

[yoyo]

Sorry I don't have measurements or boat anymore. If I remember correctly, we replaced a pre-existing 3-legged system that was probably based on measurements from the harken lazy jack installation manual (can be found online).

This may also be a good reference: https://goodoldboat.com/lazy-jacks-mainsail-tamers/

I guess if I did it from scratch I would sketch it out on paper first. Then do a test fit with mousing lines to see if the angles look appropriate before permanently drilling/mounting to boom/mast and cutting/splicing lines.

 

[Dehydrated]

We're removing the topping lift for next season. It only chafes the sail and on occasion gets wrapped around the backstay. Since it's fixed at the top it's useless as a reserve main halyard or as a safety line for the bosun's chair. The rigid vang works fine to hold the boom up.

There was me thinking the topping lift is a useful sail control line to enable the main to be scandalised.

 

[Dehydrated]

maybe the SS eyes referenced are sailmakers thimbles

Ronstan small shock blocks - no moving parts, simple and light.

Pretty but too expensive for the job. Small thimbles are fine and cheap -that's what I used.

 

[shaggybaxter]

Just let them hang out. 3 mm dyneema lazyjacks will make your competitors think you aren't serious, allowing you to sneak by them, while not compromising performance an amount you can measure except perhaps at the Olympic class boat level.

^^ This. The boom rises when you tension the halyard which slackens the lazy jacks. Or loosen them a poofteenth.
A few times now I’ve been caught out with really bad winds , it’s mere seconds to dump the halyard and watch the whole thing drop nicely onto the boom.
Awesome for confidence and control and misjudging that cloud line.

 

[bushsailor]

get the sail bag built with zips so you can remove the top half

 

[Slowboat]

Building (rebuilding) a set of lazy jacks now. Using 1/8" dyneema. Want to confirm that SS Thimbles spliced into the lines are what folks are using. Would prefer not to go to rings to keep down chafe, noise, etc.

I believe I will have a 3 leg system with a full batten main.

For clarity:
Thimble:

Ring:

 

[Dehydrated]

Building (rebuilding) a set of lazy jacks now. Using 1/8" dyneema. Want to confirm that SS Thimbles spliced into the lines are what folks are using. Would prefer not to go to rings to keep down chafe, noise, etc.

I believe I will have a 3 leg system with a full batten main.

For clarity:
Thimble:
View attachment 582916

Ring:

Yes, that's what I used but I always took the lazy jacks down and tightened them against a hook at the front of the boom so they ran along the room when not being used. Since the cleat for the lazy jacks was on the mast it was simple to raise them again when reefing or taking the main down. My jacks were made in polypropylene dynena is a bit overkill IMHO. This was for a system without a boom bag.

 

[BoL_Sailing]

These guys don't seem to care. Why should you?

 

[Dehydrated]

These guys don't seem to care. Why should you?

View attachment 583051

They have a boom bag so can't take the lazy jacks down. I'm cheap and don't like unnecessary chafe (my sails are not supplied by a sponsor and have to last more than one season). HTH

 

[Tylo]

Building (rebuilding) a set of lazy jacks now. Using 1/8" dyneema. Want to confirm that SS Thimbles spliced into the lines are what folks are using. Would prefer not to go to rings to keep down chafe, noise, etc.

I believe I will have a 3 leg system with a full batten main.

For clarity:
Thimble:
View attachment 582916

Ring:

I made a set of lazy jacks last summer.

I considered using this line from Liros (no afiliation, I'm sure the competitors offer similar products): https://www.liros.com/catalog/en/lazy-jack-6mm-p3525/
I went with dyneema at the end of the day because to me it seemed better to have less stretch in lazy jacks as, in my mind, less stretch=more control. I don't know if that's sound thinking for this application though so if someone disagrees it'd be a good conversation to have.

For the termination I used low-friction rings rather than thimbles as I wanted to get away from any sharp corners which thimbles invariably seem to have. I just bought the cheapest ones possible, around my neck of the woods it was Seldén but YMMV on that. I think maybe the Antal rings are a bit more rounded but I can't confirm that (since they were almost twice the price).

An improvement I made over the last set is that I made the tail long enough where I can let out sufficient amount of line that I can collect and bundle up the lazy jacks at the gooseneck so they follow the "L" shape of the mast and boom if I want to. That way I can get them out of the way very easily, and get them back just as easily. This also makes them a lot easier to rig than my last set which were just long enough to make it down to the cleat on the mast when they were taught.

Good luck!