It’s a cloudless mid-summer afternoon. You’ve had a great day of sailing but you’re ready to drop anchor, start dinner, and relax for another stunning sunset. You’ve been in the sun all day so some shade would be great but you don’t have a bimini on your sailboat. You don’t really want to go down into the cramped cabin yet. The first mate will be making dinner and you’d just be in the way.
Lazy jacks can be one of the most complicated rigging systems on a trailerable sailboat but they have a simple function. That is, to cradle the mainsail when it’s lowered so that it doesn’t spill onto the cabin and cockpit. If you usually have another experienced crew member aboard, that person can gather and tie down the mainsail and you don’t need lazy jacks as much. But if you often sail short-handed or are just plain lazy, lazy jacks can make coming to a dock or anchorage a smoother, more pleasant event for everyone and it helps protect your mainsail.
Continue reading “Lazy Jacks for the Trailer Sailor”
A boom downhaul is one of the three possible control lines for the three sides of the mainsail. The other two are the boom vang (controls leech tension) and the mainsail outhaul (controls foot tension). Catalina 22 and similar sailboats have a short length of line attached to the bottom of the gooseneck car on the boom that ties off to a cleat at the base of the mast as shown below. It simply keeps the boom from sliding up past a certain point on the mast after you hoist the mainsail. It gets the job done but it isn’t easy to adjust, especially while under sail.
Continue reading “Control Mainsail Draft with a Boom Downhaul”
The standard equipment C-22 backstay pendant is simple and handy for holding up the boom when the mainsail is lowered. It also works fine to keep the boom more or less centered over the boat when docked or anchored. But it’s not very convenient for shorter crew members to reach and it won’t help you when reefing the mainsail. In fact, it can be downright dangerous for that. A better solution is an adjustable topping lift mounted on the boom within easier reach. It will also let the boom swing free of the backstay when you need to slack the main during reefing.
Continue reading “Let Your Boom Off Its Leash With a Topping Lift”
You’re familiar with basic mainsail running rigging, right? The halyard hoists it up the mast and the main sheet adjusts the angle of the sail to the hull. Both lines are important but they don’t adjust the aerodynamic shape of the mainsail, which can make a big difference if you want to get the best performance out of your mainsail.
Continue reading “Flatten Your Mainsail Foot With an Outhaul”
A boom vang is a useful control for your mainsail, especially if the mainsail is older and acting its age. That is, if it’s getting baggy and is difficult to flatten, particularly when you’re pointed off the wind. For better performance and safety, you need to be able to pull excess twist out of the mainsail and flatten the leech. The best way to do that is with a boom vang. It has the added benefit of preventing the end of the boom from raising so high during gybes that it can snag the backstay, a potentially dangerous situation if the wind is strong enough.
Continue reading “Control Your Mainsail Shape Better With a Boom Vang”
The $tingy Sailor 