Hi Skip,
Thanks for the comments.
I assume it is the "lazy jacks-thru-the-grommets" that dictate that the
system is sold only with its own lazy jacks rather than trying to fit to
existing lazy jacks. Since I already have lazy jacks I've wondered how the
systemwould work w/o threading the 'jacks thru grommets, but it
sounds like you wouldn't think it'd work.
Keeping the sail from flopping over is a concern of mine also. It was
suggested to me to thread small blocks or even shackles or rings on the
topping lift, one for each batten. A light line is tied between each ring
and the end of each battenso that when the sail is dropped, the line is
tight. This would keep the battens closer to the boom.
I have done this only with the bottom batten, and I guess it helped, so I
should continue with the others.

"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
oups.com...
This thread has had several responses which I'll not repeat here, but I
wanted to ask about some issues I have with mine.

First, in the case of the grommets, I've put knots in the inner
section, the better to hold up the sides, or otherwise, it's not over
the sail when it's dropped. So, for mine, it's not held up by
friction. Something akin to a slab is needed, at least in my
application, to make it happen.

Second, if I don't have the jacks pretty well tensioned, the sail will
fall off to one side or the other when it's in the bag, so to speak -
so, I keep it tensioned, having an already-somewhat-abraded bimini over
the bows, just from the time it's spent in the yard/on the hard.

However, third, I'm about to build our awning/sunshade setup, which
will, of course, require the slacking/run-forward of the jacks for
installation. Aside from cinching down (recommended against by another
poster) of the total bag, how do you keep your sail from falling off?

Other than those items, we like ours very much. Ours is currently
attached to the mast, so when I'm up there doing other stuff related to
the electrical bits, I'll move them to the spreaders, a huge
improvement, I'm sure, in dropping. FWIW, when we bought the boat, it
had sail-tie tape on the main, just as you'd do with a
put-over-the-sail covering system - perhaps because the mackpack itself
was pretty well shot, it appeared. However, off it came, and some
mending later, it's fine. I see no reason to believe that, if one had
the concept, building your own couldn't be an easy project for someone
with the appropriate sewing machine (which we've just bought from
Sailrite, in our case, so ours will be a replacement at some point, but
the awnings are current project material!). I highly recommend it.

L8R

Skip and Lydia


Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig - Callsign Pending!
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her

"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely
nothing-half so
much worth doing as simply messing, messing-about-in-boats; messing
about in
boats-or *with* boats.
In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter,
that's
the charm of it.
Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never
get
anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to
do, and
you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."