About a year ago I was lucky enough to win a Sail Pack Kit from Sailrite thanks to the many votes I received from followers. Since I can't even sew a button on a shirt, the kit had been put aside for a while. However, we finally found a great seamstress (Robin) that lives nearby and agreed to sew our sail pack.
Robin has been working on our sail pack, and she came by Wednesday evening with the almost finished product. She wanted to make sure that Ken's measurements were right and that the sail pack would fit properly, which it did. I'm glad Ken took the measurements because if I had taken them ... surely a disaster!
Robin took a few more measurements for the piece of fabric that would go around the front of the mast (see where open in above picture). We needed two pieces of 3/4" 40 PVC pipe, cut to 12 feet, for the top of the sail pack ... one on each side. The pipe was inserted into the pockets to make sure they would fit, and again they did. So far, so good!
We discussed where the loops on the top of the sail pack would be located for the lazy jack system. We decided on six loops (3 on each side), starting 18 inches from the mast ... then another loop 4 ft. down and then one last loop another 4 ft. down.
Since we have a loose footed main sail (sail not attached to the boom ... a new term for me) we also discussed options for attaching the sail pack to the boom. The kit seems to address a main sail that IS attached to the boom, so we had to come up with a solution. We decided to attach a few slugs (slides) to the bottom of the sail pack, which will then fit into the boom track and keep the sail pack attached.
Our loose footed main sail is only attached at the front and back of the boom.
The sail pack is looking great, and we were excited to see it on Nirvana! Once we receive the finished product, Ken is going to create and install the lazy jack system. Lazy jack kits are really expensive, and there's not much to them. Creating our own system should save us quite a bit of money.
Since winter is around the corner, we'll probably just continue to use our old sail cover until next Spring. We figure there's no need to put on the "good stuff" while Nirvana sits most of the Winter.
Of course, I'll write a post with pics of the finished sail pack and a post about our lazy jack system.
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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11 comments:
I was wondering when you were going to install that great win. Now we know. Good for you.
Have a terrific day and weekend. :)
The photos of pre-fitting the sail pack look great. With all we've heard from other people who have a sail pack system, we're certain you're going to love yours!
That's got to be so satisfying!
Great! It's awesome that it's almost done. I'm about to call on the basic bag to help me with my sail covers as well, but like you don't really want to put them on for a while.
We don't leave for 2 years so there is no sense in putting them unnecessarily in the sun.
You're going to love it. Time saver at the end of a long day sailing. We love ours, though I am always swearing I'll cut the lazy jack lines when they're in my way. A full batten sail works best. In ten years when I need a sail, I'll check it out.
You are going to love it out here. Even though this is a delivery of sorts, we are having fun, and meeting some fun people as well. Always enjoy reading your posts. See you in Florida!
P&D
Latitude 43 ... glad to hear you're enjoying your sail pack! I do wonder about the lazy jacks. As you mentioned, it seems a lot of people complain about the lazy jacks getting in the way. We don't have a full batten sail either. We've been following your delivery ... looks like fun!
Wow, I just read your entire blog from the first day until today over the last 2 days and I really am enjoying it. I found you becuase my wife and I are looking to buy a sailboat in the next year or two and we want to purchase a Catalina 30 as well ( plan on sailing in the Chesapeake), so in turn I am friend with Catalina Yacht news on facebook...you posted about your blog there and now here I am. Im glad that it seems like you are getting more boat time...looking forward to continue the journey through your blog.
Welcome Justin! Thanks for commenting and following along!
You'll love a Catalina 30 ... we love ours and can't wait to sail her further South.
Hi there, just wondering how the sail pack performs with a loose-footed sail. My husband is getting new sail for his boat (loose-footed by the way) and I was thinking to make a sail pack. Your input will be greatly appreciated!
Actually we haven't used the new sail pack yet. We worked on the boat last summer and kept it off during that time and this past winter. We've been diligently working on things to start cruising, so unfortunately we haven't been sailing in a while .. kind of ironic isn't it? But, make preps now and sail indefinitely. We added slugs to the bottom of the sail pack, which slide right into the boom. We think it will work great!
It is like your site! Lots of good information!
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