MacGregorSailors.com

Here you go:

I like it

The Mutt wrote:

pokerrick1 wrote:How would one "pivot" the 9" posts up?? They are bolted to the boom? Mike will have to answer your questions. I have no mechanical knowledge nor ability.
Rick

There are hinged bases that will do the job .. .no problem.

Glenn

I see - - - check with Mike Inmon - - -might be an improvement???

Rick

Looks good Patrick, I like the simplicity of the cradle, anything to shorten setup time at the ramp is good.

Glenn

Interesting thread.

First of all, Doyle makes two products: the Stackpack and the Cradle Cover.

If you purchased the product from us, then you bought the cradle cover. We have sold dozens of the for small boats including MacGregors, Catalina's and Hunters and this is the first time I have heard of any problems. If there were any questions or problems installing the product, simple phone call to KHM or Doyle would have probably helped.

Mike Inmon: Are you saying that both the Doyle Stackpack and Cradle Cover products do not work on a Mac? I find it absolutely amazing that products that you make and sell work on a Mac and nothing else does.

I do like the look of the doyle stackpack at KHM,almost as pretty as the spinnaker you cant beat sitting behind that spinny .How ever i do like the sound of delvi,s dutchman

AWKIII wrote:Doyle makes two products: the Stackpack and the Cradle Cover.

If you purchased the product from us, then you bought the cradle cover. We have sold dozens of the for small boats including MacGregors, Catalina's and Hunters and this is the first time I have heard of any problems. If there were any questions or problems installing the product, simple phone call to KHM or Doyle would have probably helped.

Yes it was purchased from KHM, so it is a Cradle Cover. They look very similar. Do you have any photos of this setup on a Mac?

PatrickS wrote:I made my own sail caddy based on the commercial product http://www.sailcaddy.com/ and love it....

After checking that URL, seeing their info, then seeing Patrick's photos of his homebuilt "sail caddy", I am quite impressed with Patrick's work! (Meaning, I know I couldn't do near as well as Patrick did, so I had better order one from SailCaddy.)

I haven't been satisfied with the Harken lazy-jack setup that was installed for Bossa Nova's previous owner, and (sorry, Art!) the idea of installing Doyle's idea of lazyjacks put me off on the Cradle Cover. I was figure-figuring on how I might design and make my own "cradle-cover" this morning, with a simplified lazy-jack notion of my own. But this looks quicker, simpler, safer and all-around better, and I can see it won't interfere with my present cover.

Thanks, Patrick!

I've asked Todd at BWY a number of times about lazy jacks, and he feels that the Mac boom and mast are just too narrow making the slot between the jacks too difficult to get the sail into easily without hang ups. They have tried many designs over the years but have never found one that worked reliably from the cockpit.

This led BWY to design a Dutchman system for the M sail. They had it installed on both boats at the recent boatshow and were raising and lowering the sail over and over from the cockpit. They have a video of the system I've seen but so far it hasn't been posted to their website. Before you buy or install another system you might want to call BWY and ask about the price and availability of their M sail modified for the Dutchman.

heinzir wrote: I can drop my sail and have it furled ready for the sail cover in less than 10 seconds.

Hey Henry!

I have sailed on the same lake as Henry and saw his systems. We were at the dock putting my mast down and he wanted to get a closer look at my . The landing was busy but he sailed right up to the other side of the pier and dropped all 3 sails like a walk in the park. It was pretty amazing.

He has a very nice Venture, the yellow hull, red sails and wood trim are striking. Beautiful to see on the water.

Wally

Rick Westlake wrote:

PatrickS wrote:I made my own sail caddy based on the commercial product http://www.sailcaddy.com/ and love it....

After checking that URL, seeing their info, then seeing Patrick's photos of his homebuilt "sail caddy", I am quite impressed with Patrick's work! (Meaning, I know I couldn't do near as well as Patrick did, so I had better order one from SailCaddy.)

The construction overall is pretty simple, and the parts easily available from your local hardware store of choice, but it's a case where the old adage "measure twice, cut once" applies (or in fact, "measure 10 times..."

Because you have so many hinge points that must be aligned near perfectly, being off by a few mm on any given hole (or worse, a couple holes) really screws things up quickly (I actually made two caddys

But so long as you realize the importance of how precise the measurements have to be, and take the time to measure carefully, it's actually very easy to build (I know that might sound like a contradiction, but I don't think it really is).

That said, I can fully appreciate ordering the commercial product. For me, it was as much about having the time and being keen on the project as it was wanting to save some scratch.

Cheers,

Patrick

A related idea that I found on another forum and which I plan to try this season, is to insert a piece of hard bar soap in the mainsail track between the top and second to top sail slugs, which is purported to last the season and keep the track well lubricated (SailKote and similar sprays wear off after a couple weeks). As you raise and lower the mainsail, the soap is pulled up and down the track, between the sail slugs, and continually lubricates the track. We'll see...

http://www.sealfast.com/d_teflon_spray.html i wonder if this might work. i dont see why not. although im pretty sure its pretty close to sailkote.

After I bought my I spent about 5 hours with Cheryl @ Blue Water Yachts going over my boat. We had the main on the shop floor to repack(flake?) in bag. It took both of us,although I suppose it was more of her demonstrating how to - so,is this a big issue to be able to flake on the mast , remember I haven't even been out on mine yet so I am not sure what to expect. Is this an expense I should spring for to upgrade or should I manhandle the main I will be 2-3 daying it in San Juans & Strait of Juan de fu@. That should be a Capital F and a uca LOL

PatrickS wrote: The construction overall is pretty simple ... That said, I can fully appreciate ordering the commercial product. For me, it was as much about having the time and being keen on the project as it was wanting to save some scratch.

Well, I went ahead and got the "SailCaddy 8", and installed it on Bossa Nova. I didn't manage a perfect installation, but it worked quite decently when I put the mainsail back on the boom.

You are absolutely right about "measure twice ... actually ten times." I did that, but even so I had some slightly-out-of-line mounts, which I attribute to not having bothered to center-punch before I drilled the boom. Another problem was that SailCaddy recommended a drill too large for mounting the blocks - so I had to drill another set of holes, and mount the SailCaddy about 3/8 inch farther aft of my original installation.

Went sailing with it Saturday, into some "interesting" Chesapeake Bay winds ... it doesn't hamper either deploying or dowsing the main, at all. It gives me a nice "tray" to get the sail flaked down decently, and then it fits right under the sail cover.

Anyone want an old Harken "Lazy Jacks" kit, cheap?

Thanks, Patrick, for pointing out the SailCaddy!