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i am considering the sailrite sail cradle MK IV. just put in an order with JudyB for brand new main and i am concerned that with new main it might get hung up on the lazy jack system. Does anyone have experience with MK IV system ? Should i expect difficulties with new main being stiff. they also advertize a dutchman system and wondering if this would be better than MK IV in the case of brand new main.

any info would be helpful -- thanks in advance.

FYI -- 2001 and ordered main with 2 full and remaining partial battens.

I have the lazyjacks from Sailrite. Sometimes the battens can get caught when raising the sail. Easily addressed by moving the setup to the mast.
The Dutchman setup requires the sails to be modified to work with it.

thanks -- that's what i wanted to know. do you ever have problems with main hanging up when lowering or reefing ?

Lowering - not that I recall.

Reefing - really do not do that too much. If it is rough, I motor. I am working to make reefing easier but this is difficult where easy boom removal is important since most reefing systems attach to the mast.

No, just occasionally when I'm raising the main - gotta pay attention to what I'm doing.

rszobel wrote:thanks -- that's what i wanted to know. do you ever have problems with main hanging up when lowering or reefing ?

This is how the lazy jacks on my last boat were set up. The different colors represent different lines. The red was wire rope, probably 1/8" or 5/32", attached to the spreaders. The green was something like yacht braid, around 5/16" (if memory serves), run through a ring at the end of the wire rope, terminated on the boom at one end, and through a cheek block at the other end, where it could be adjusted and cleated on the boom. The yellow was a third line, also run through a ring, but terminated on the boom at both ends.

The green line was long enough that it could be removed from the horn cleat and just let loose, with a stopper knot at the end, and the whole thing could be pulled flat against the mast and bungied neatly at the mast. Took seconds to secure, and with a black mark on each of the two sides (green lines), all I had to do to reset them before dousing the main was pull out the slack and cleat them at the line (still some slack in the whole system, though).

It was a bear raising the main with the lower battens getting caught until I had that 'doh!' moment and realized why they went to the trouble to use cheek blocks and a cleat, with enough line left over that it had to be coiled when the LJ's were in use (not much, but too much to just leave laying on the deck). Usually, I'd put up the lazy jacks, douse the sail and tie it with just a few sail ties, then when at the dock, pull them back to the mast, neaten it up and add more sail ties, then cover - made it way easier to put the sail cover on without them in the way, even though the sail cover had slots for them, and it was ready to go for the next sail. Leave one or two sail ties on when prepping to hoist so it's not in your face, then just reach up and grab the end of the sail tie and pull it off while hoisting the main. Easy peasy.

thanks for the detailed information -- this really helps me to understand how to set the lazy jacks up once i get them. very much appreciated to all. rz

I have the Sailcare Mark IV sail cradle. I love it! This video shows you exactly how it works, all the components and placement. I raised the sail and lowered it too. This link should start it at the 3:00 minute mark. We had rain all weekend and I was being silly on the first few minutes showing life aboard when we cannot sail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... Cl0s#t=180

I don't know if that link starting at a specific time works. If not, this link will go to the full video:

http://youtu.be/HT6NpkHCl0s

Doug

Hey Doug - great vid, thanks for posting. Nice to see first hand that the LJ's work well - it's the first I've seen working on a Mac.
- Brian.
ps - good job of docking by Angie too.

Thanks for link to video Doug. I actually found it via google before you posted. Very helpful.

Bought main sail cradle/lazy jacks combo from BWY; can't wait to try it. Looks real nice! Surprised you don't see it on BWY website.

As Doug, I also had the sailcare kit with a regular mainsail cover. From his video you can see that the only drawback is having to detach the lazy jacks in order to add the mainsail cover. I thougth about attaching some snaps with velcro to the cover that would go under the boom, but I ended up making my own stack pack from sailrite while keeping the same LJs

Hello dxg4848:

I will be curious to see any pictures you may take of the BWY main sail cradle/lazy jacks combo. BWY can't seem to provide pictures of their product. Go figure!

Dennis

Dennis wrote:Hello dxg4848:

I will be curious to see any pictures you may take of the BWY main sail cradle/lazy jacks combo. BWY can't seem to provide pictures of their product. Go figure!

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

It will be a while. Lake Erie is still frozen solid to the horizon
But concept/product/quality look great! Will post pictures as soon as I can.

In spring 2012 on my morining walks, I spotted two pieces of 1 3/4 painted white aluminum pipe. I think they were for the top of a pool swim ladder. They were u shaped and I made them more v shaped. I bolted them to the bottom of my boom ( not so easy) and topped them off with whiffle balls. I have my main halyard and downhaul on a loop. So now I can lower the main from the helm. I havent been on the cabin top to lower the sail since. They go on and off with a wing nut, but I leave them on all season. jim