Lazy Jacks ......

[J. Dillon]

for a club loose footed jib . Any ideas on how they are rigged ?

JD

[ 01-30-2006, 11:16 PM: Message edited by: J. Dillon ]

[Ian McColgin]

I thought I'd invented the idea, but no - LFH shows some nice lift jacks coming from the pullies on the mast at hallyard height down to each side of the boom a bit ahead of the clew, secure there. The other part comes down from the pully and about 1/3 from the boom is divided into two (through a thimble) such that the remaining bunt of the sail is evenly divided.

This geometry, appropriate in general to sails abaft the mast as well, will allow the jacks to actually function as lifts as well.

I make these lazy-lifts (called here LazyIan's on the mistaken notion that I was the inventer but gaining some legitimace to my own added winkle) with the aft-most line being just one that passes under the boom and up to a pully on each side of the mast. The falls come about half-way down and terminated in a thimbled eye. The other "two" lines are also one, passing under the boom at the middle of the three (in this example) passes, up each side to the appropriate thimble and down to a cleat on each side of the boom suitably abaft the tack. The whole thing can be tensioned or eased as a topping lift with nearly 4:1 advantage from either cleat. The two parts that loop under need to be held in place by little fairleads either one under the boom or two, one on each side. On wooden booms, have the fairlead(s) land snugly on a bit of clear plastic hose just large enough that the lift lines can slide within. That's protect your varnish or paint. For a touch of class, stitch a leather sheath over the hose. Remember to put a drain hole bottom dead center.

These lazy lifts will adjust to the sail's curve, tack to tack, with the weather side essentially tightening and the lee side laying snug but not creasing the sail.

The correct geometry - opposite what one sees on tupperware boats that buy over-engineered ball bearing expensive systems out of the Waste catalogue - I thought I'd invented but I probably had subconsciously retained it from childhood reading or observation on an old time schooner and old time catboat in our area. That winkle of free passing under the boom is my own, so far's I know, and is a huge improvement on all other jacks.

I put lazy lifts (LazyIans) on gaff and marconi abaft the mast sails and love of this is spreading beyond Nantucket Sound. It's more rare to have a reason to put it on a foresail or jib.

I tried it on on Goblin's forestaysail, which was really too small for it to be useful. It worked great on Goblin's mainstaysail but that sail was furled from such a safe position between the masts that it was not worth the clutter.

Malabar II has carried lift-jacks that are perfect. There you have a pretty big clubbed jib to the end of a 6'+ bowsprit, no staysail, and the lift-jacks along with a downhaul take the curse out.

Turn to LFH's Commonsense book and look in the portfolio section. I think boats like Santee have a diagram.

G'luck

[J. Dillon]

Thanks Ian, I'll have to sit down and study in my mind's eye just what you described. I'm building a model of a gaffer and would like to fill in the fore triangle with some interesting looking rigging.

I tried to figure just what is happening in the skipjack image below. I think they had some kind of lazy jack foward but the image is not close enough to see the details.

JD

[Ian McColgin]

I could not get the image up but a traditional skipjack would for sure have lift-jacks and reefs on the jib as well as the main.

"Orster drudging" under sail requires great skill matching power with load to get the correct speed and those skipjack boys could reef seven days from Sunday to get it right.

Sometimes, by the way, they would not pull in the tack for a given reef at the clew, thus creating a sort of lifting reef that helped keep the boom out of the water on a broad reach or run.

You could have fun posing the model heeled over maybe 5 degrees, 2-1/2 reefs in the main and one reef in the jib . . .

[J. Dillon]

Maybe the next model reefed in a good breeze but this one will not have sails but bare poles. She will be hauled out exposing her lovely underbody. Never did see a model with furled sails that looked good. Although.......... I'm tempted to give it a try, not using a full real sail but cut down to effect a neat furl.

JD