On Feb 22, 3:37 am, wrote:
I am not sure which is better the Dutchman or Lazy jack Sail Flaking
Systems.
Other prefer to have in the mast main fuller for cruising.
I am looking at this new boat and cannot make up my mind which system to
get.
I wonder if someone can offer some comments based on their own experience.
TIA

I had the Dutchman system on my recently sold boat and have sailed on
boats with Lazy Jacks. My next boat will have Lazy Jacks without
question. I would not use an in mast or in boom furling system.
Although I have never used one, I have heard enough complaints about
the difficulty of reefing in nasty conditions that safety would
override conveniece. In mast reefing also means a big fat mast which
means more windage, less effective main sail (due to greater
disruption of air flow around the fat mast) and more weight aloft. All
bad things in my opinion.

I found the Dutchman and LJ systems were about the same in ease of use
and had about the same level of sensitivety to wind direction when
lowering (you need to head straight into the wind for both). The thing
I didn't like about the Dutchman, besdes the need for widgets in the
sail and additional seams/zippers in the sail cover, is that the lines
are constantly rubbing against the sail. I got some chafing of the
sail and also ended up with stains on the sails where the lines touch
the sail. Not sure of the cause (rain water running down the lines
concentrating the dirt??). This was after 2 years of moderate use.

The biggest reason I prefer lazy jacks is because I am lazy and I love
the lazy bags (there are various names for them but I am talking about
the sail cover that is attached to the lower ends of he lazy jack
lines and the boom). You simply drop the sail into the cover and then
zip it up. No more removing, stowing and then replacing the sail cover
on a regular basis. I imagine one of these boom mounted sail covers
could be added to a dutchman rigged sail but you would then need
additional lines to hold up the sides of the sail cover.

-Greg