Lazy Jacks for Hartley TS 18

[sofala]

Hey guys,

I want to fit some lazy jacks to my Hartley 18 but I'm not sure how work out where to fit them or the best way to work it out. Any ideas?

Cheers, Mark

PS I will be at the Wooden Boat Festival at Goolwa this weekend (I'm also taking a Macgregor sailing canoe) so come and say g'day if you are passing.

[JimJ]

Sofala

Here is a photo showing lazy jacks on TS18 Phil Ann.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9dd23b3127ccec6d19f1bbecd00000040O03McM3DlkD28-EA/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
Hope Goolwa goes well this year. Been to the last few and throughly enjoyed them.

Jim

[Ian McColgin]

For this size boat you can very nicely combine the lazy jacks and topping lift into a unit called locally LazyIans or more properly Lazy Lifts. They are largely self-adjusting and do away with the way normal lazy jacks are always too slack on the weather side, slatting about, and often too taught on the lee side creasing the sail. By getting rid of the topping lift, Lazy Lifts save the leach.

Needs: Suitable length of light line - 1/4" three strand dacron would be nice for this boat; 2 fairleads and screws to attach under the boom; two thimbles for the line, one cleat for the starboard side of the boom.

Lash a small block under each spreader maybe three or four inches from the mast. Divide the boom into quarters and put fairleads at the half way point and the point between the aftmost quarter and the next. Put the cleat on the starboard side of the boom 1/4 boom length abaft the tack. It's convenient to have only one of the two screws per fairlead in when you start as then you can slip the line into place. This is also useful when taking the rig down as you can slide it all along the boom to the mast, tie it down and all's well.

The longer line is middled under the boom going up from the aft fairlead, through the spreader blocks and back down about half way, terminating in an eye splice over a thimble on each side. To set it up, take the line aloft to the spreaders, feed through one, have your crew pass it under the boom and back up to you (use a tag line) and back down. Now you can return to deck.

Put an eye and thimble in the free end, tie on a tag line so you can get it again, and haul away so the thimble is up against the block under the spreader, the bight goes through the aft fairlead, and back to deck. Cut the line at a convenient place, splice in an eyed thimble, and pass another length of the line through that thimble.

Letting the bight in the thimble run, haul down the other thimble and pass the end of the second line through that thimble. Haul down on the higher thimble till the two are about even and organize the second line through the mid-boom fairlead and to the cleat. The port fall goes under the boom and up to the cleat. In practice this is moved so little that once you have the lengths established you can put a soft eye in it and do all adjusting from the starboard line.

You'll see that as you haul on that forward starboard free end the rid is like a pully system pulling the boom up. Ideally you can find a place where the Lazy Lifts are tight when the sail's not up, probably with just a little down angle to the boom. Once the sail is up, leach tension will lift the boom and slack the lifts. As you tack, the sail will push the lee side out, tightening the weather side. Once you have the thing adjusted right, the lee lifts will lie just against the belly of the sail, not slatting about, and the weather lifts will be straight enough that they don't flog the sail.

When reefing, you'll be able to peak up the boom quite easily before you set the tack and clew, and slacking will then give a nice taught foot.

The only trick is that until the sail is about half-way up you need to watch that you don't catch a batten under one lift or another. This is true of all lazy jacks anyway.

G'luck

[sofala]

Many thanks Ian. It sounds very complex but I will print out your comments and have a detailed look at the weekend.....Cheers!

[sofala]

Nice looking boat Jim. Did you take her to Goolwa last time?

[JimJ]

Nice looking boat Jim. Did you take her to Goolwa last time?

I am afraid she belongs to one of the other members of the Hartley Association here in SE Qld. The photo was taken by my First Mate from my boat during a cruise from Boreen Point down the Noosa River to Noosa and back in October 08.

This is my TS18 Sea Lark
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9dd22b3127ccec6d2e739c6b300000040O03McM3DlkD28-EA/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[Ian McColgin]

Sounds worse that just drawing it out, but it helps to break down the steps. With a wee boat like this, the blocks under the spreaders can be attached and the line (or at least a messenger) rove in advance of stepping. On a rig that's struck routinely, I'd use hooks under the boom rather than fairleads to facilitate easing the LazyLifts forward to snug against the mast.