I have the same arrangement (wire halyard, trip the winch to drop the
sail). This year I have new sails with full battens. I noticed that I
have to give them a few tugs to het them down because the battens tend
to tilt down and sometimes jam the slides on the track. It doesn't
help that the sail cloth is still very stiff. I hope it improves over
time. My old sails would drop completely in 3 seconds. No lazy jacks
but this in not too important to me because of the height of the boom
(low) and my flush deck (plenty of room to handle the dropped sail).

The only thing that I don;t like is that as the sail drops it spins
the winch drum and the halyard end up in twisted loops at the end. Any
cure for this?

HV

"Jeff Morris" jeffmo@NoSpam-sv-lokiDOTcom wrote in message ...
Why do you go back to the winch? Is it one of the old ones with a wire drum and clutch?

I have a rope clutch that leads to a jib winch - when its time to drop the main we head up
and pop the clutch. The main drops about 2/3's of the way without help. The main is
full battened, which helps some, and the lazy jacks guide it into an imitation stack pack.
It takes a few good tugs to do a fair job; a more proper flaking takes a few minutes.

I've considered adding "batt-cars" or a Strong track - that would allow the main to fall
completely into the stack pack. But since I don't singlehand much it isn't that big an
issue. Also, the Dutchman System would be nice, but the last time I was in Norwalk I had
the Dutchman look at it, and he said he couldn't keep the stack-pack with his system.

--
-jeff www.sv-loki.com
"The sea was angry that day, my friend. Like an old man trying to send back soup at the
deli."


"me" wrote in message
news

I'm running into that problem now, I had a 27' that I always went out alone
in, but the cabin was too small and I needed to bend down a little inside,
that got to be a real pain when I got stuck out in a storm and tried to stay
below (for times other than sleeping)
Now I've moved up to 35' and it's more work, such is life, but flaking the
main is a pain in the #$#@ by my self. I've got lazy jacks but they don't do
all the work, does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to put away the
main with jumping back and forth to the main winch and them in back of the
boom to fold the sail, it seems to be many trips back and forth. (please
don't say get a furling main)
thanks all.

Bobsprit is a good example of the old saying about the
bigger the boat the less it sails.

He sailed his Catalina more than he sailed his Pearson.

Now, it's plain he sailed his Pearson more than he sails
or is going to sail his C&C.

He is on the downhill slide because while his boats get
larger his skills remain just as small.