Hi folks, see attached pic. I'm new to sailing and have small 28 foot yacht and raised the mail sail today for the first time in light breeze but it kept hitting this sail bag rigging and would not get full with the breeze. I'm assuming I need to drop this sail bag rigging each time into the bag itself so the main sail can extend and fill with the breeze. Is this correct? Pardon my ignorance, I'm learning.
Reddog64
Hi Reddog
On the boat i race on which has a loose footed main (there are no slugs along the foot of the sail apart from the one at the rear) we loosen the lazy jacks off and pull then down along the boom and tie them forward so we can have the foot of the sail loose and get lots of shape in it in light winds but on my own where the main is not loose footed i don't bother as the slugs along the foot don't let it bag out like a loose footed sail will
When it is light you normally have the halyard on the main and the head sail and the foot of the main sail loose so you can get some shape in it and don't sheet the main and head sail in too tight either
Also don't have the vang on too tight and put your and your crew weight on the leeward side to get the boat heeling a bit to encourage some shape in the sails
Normally when you hoist the main it will lift the boom a bit and take the tension off the lazy Jacks
Regards Don
Thanks Don, I understand some of that. In the picture do those ropes/sheets connected to the sail bag stay up like that or do I loosen them off both sides and drop them? It seems like they are getting in the way.
Thanks
If you are cruising and you are happy with the performance you are getting, then don't over complicate it and leave them as they are. Just enjoy the sun and sail and have a good time.
If you are racing or really must get that extra half a knot, then the racers of the forum might have some experienced opinions.
BTW, I am squarely in the former catagory.
Select to expand quoteReddog64 said..
Thanks Don, I understand some of that. In the picture do those ropes/sheets connected to the sail bag stay up like that or do I loosen them off both sides and drop them? It seems like they are getting in the way.
Thanks
Hi Reddog
The things you are referring to are called lazy jacks and as i said in my earlier post if you want to loosen them off and tie them forward you can but unless you have a loose footed main i don't know how much use it will be
This is what a loose footed main looks like with the lazy jacks loosened and tied off forward so they let the sail out
Regards Don
This in not loose footed and the slugs that attach the sail to the boom will restrict how much the sail will bag out more than what the lazy jacks will so i don't know that you would gain much by loosening them
The reason they are there is to keep the sail tidy and contained when you drop it but they are not needed when the sail is up
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteReddog64 said..
Hi folks, see attached pic. I'm new to sailing and have small 28 foot yacht and raised the mail sail today for the first time in light breeze but it kept hitting this sail bag rigging and would not get full with the breeze. I'm assuming I need to drop this sail bag rigging each time into the bag itself so the main sail can extend and fill with the breeze. Is this correct? Pardon my ignorance, I'm learning.
Reddog64
Is the sail catching the bag rigging as you try to hoist the sail?
Thanks Don, now I understand. Cheers
Jolene sometimes they catch but I've sorted that after a few goes.
Cheers
Hi Red
Just to clarify a bit. The ladyjacks are there to keep the mainsail tidy when its down but also when you put a reef in, they stop the loose part of the main from flapping around. They also come in handy if you forget to tighten the topping lift before reefing as they take the weight of the boom. Although they are not intended for this task it sort of works.
Like the others said, unless you are racing I'd just leave them as they are while sailing.
Select to expand quotewoko said..
If the lazy jacks are messin with your sail shape let them of a bit , 
Yep let them out so they are loose against the sail.
I have actually brought them back to the end of the boom so I don't have to go forward to the mast to loosen/tighten them.
By the way you seem to be missing a topping lift which will not be helping.
That's a halyard that goes from the mast head to the end of your boom, usually sheeted off at the mast base or brought back to the cockpit.
Ask again if you don't understand
Reddog, it the ropes that hold the sailbag up (lazyjacks), are fixed in length and cant be adjusted, then the other thing you can do is fit some simple spring clips like a caribiner to the ends of the lazyjacks where they are currently tied to the bag.
Then raise the main, and unclip the lazy jacks and tie them forward. You can then just roll each side of the bag down against the boom, out of the way.
That's a bit of an effort though, As others have said, best to make it adjustable. Mine go up through the mast, and back to a pulley at the mast base, and back to the cockpit.
Definitely see if you can rig up a topping lift at some stage, either through a spare sheave up the top of the mast, if you've got one, or by rigging a small block to the top of the mast fitting, . to hold the boom end up when you drop the main, without loading up your sailbag (and spreaders).
Ease off the lazyjacks when sailing. Even when reefing they can be left off. Before dropping the main haul in the topping lift and the lazyjacks and it's better to drop the sail when pointing into the wind.
Check out my video from some time ago on my 30 footer.
G'day Reddog,
the other thing that is worth looking at is if the foot of the sail (bottom edge) is not too loose.
There is a rope called the outhaul that runs from the bottom rearmost eyelet (clew) in your mainsail to the end of your boom. This tightens or loosens the foot of the sail .
You normally ease the tension in light airs so the sail can curve from front to back. You progressively tighten the outhaul, increasing tension as the wind increases, to the point in heavy airs where the foot is tight and flat along the boom.
You may have the outhaul eased too much and the sail is bellying against the lazyjacks.
This only applies with a loose footed mainsail, where the rear eyelet (clew ) is the only connection from the foot of the sail to the boom.
Cheers,
SB
Hi Reddog.
When I installed Lazyjacks on my boat I put the blocks out on the spreaders and not on the mast. This gives a
much wider gap between the lines and allows the sail to fill without interference. So if you get the chance have
them altered......or just slacken them off a bit.
I normally leave mine fairly tight , what conditions were you in when you raised the main ???
Suspect you've worked out you need to be heading into the wind to raise the main ,
If the wind is strong I just motor faster and have little trouble , actually can be easier the faster you go.
With the main slightly flapping the faster you motor it normally unsticks itself from the ropes.
I have the lazy-jack tensioning line led back to the cockpit. This allows me to loosen them for raising/dropping the main without snagging the battens. Of course I still have to make sure the main is pointing straight into the wind and that the whole sail is luffing for raising/dropping.
Also, with some judicious jigglng of the lazy-jack line and the halyard I can often get the whole main to drop straight into the bag. I'm also experimenting with a downhaul led to the cockpit, which can be good but leaves you with a couple of light years of extra line to tuck away somewhere when the main is down! My goal is to reduce trips up to the mast to a minimum to suit my usual solo status, especially when I'm out there where the big kids play.
Cheers, Graeme
Make sure the Mainsheet is fully uncleated, while heading into the wind.
If your boom support is a short length of wire piggybacked off the backstay, the process will be harder with the Lazyjacks. That's where a proper topping lift will make raising sail much easier.
cheers
Red, re your lazy jacks - theres another option, that is take them off permanently. Every boat I had I took them off if it had them. I have a dislike of extra complications on deck and like to keep things as simple as possible to avoid tangles and mess especially as a prep for possible emergency situations. I think doing a lot of racing in the past taught me that. ie. if its an emergency situation and a line can get tangled and knotted on something it will :-)
Taking them off has the disadvantage it then takes two people to fold the main up neatly on top of the boom although it can be done single handed but is more tricky.
Select to expand quotewongaga said..
I have the lazy-jack tensioning line led back to the cockpit. This allows me to loosen them for raising/dropping the main without snagging the battens. Of course I still have to make sure the main is pointing straight into the wind and that the whole sail is luffing for raising/dropping.
Also, with some judicious jigglng of the lazy-jack line and the halyard I can often get the whole main to drop straight into the bag. I'm also experimenting with a downhaul led to the cockpit, which can be good but leaves you with a couple of light years of extra line to tuck away somewhere when the main is down! My goal is to reduce trips up to the mast to a minimum to suit my usual solo status, especially when I'm out there where the big kids play.
Cheers, Graeme
I have my lazy jacks line running back to the cockpit as well. I did have another line to pull them to the mast but it is better to just slacken them off if needed.
I tried the downhaul led back to the cockpit but got rid of it - just too much hassle feeding it out as I raised the main & it would also slow the main dropping freely. Much easier to go to the mast on the odd occasion it doesn't all drop into the bag.
The guy is a newbie for chrissakes, his head must be spinning from the stuff you guys dishing out for him.
Mine does.
Trek is the only sensible one here.
Concentrate on sailing stuff not storage items.
Learn how to handle your main on your own. It's not a 60 footer, only, like mine, a 28.
It's girly stuff anyway, cut the suckers off.
Lazyjacks and full length battens are a life changing moment for the solo sailor with the line for the lazy jacks and topping lift and of course all the reefing lines led back to the cockpit. Returning to the mooring just tension the lazyjacks and topping lift and as you round up into the wind let the halyard fly. The sail drops neatly into the stackpack. If you have an audience ensure the halyard is going to run free!
Small boats need lazyjacks too! Try sailing other peoples boats with out them after your used to them and it's a nightmare!
each to their own, but I probably would not be suggesting to a relative newb to just cut his sailbag off.
Sure maybe take it down, tie the lazy jacks aside, then try dropping the main by yourself a few times.
Enjoy flaking a sail singlehanded when you're probably tiller steering, and then perhaps grab some shock cord sail ties like whitworths think everyone uses. Do this a few times and I'm sure he'll see the value in a sailbag and how it makes life safer and simpler for a single or short hander.
Its a pity the reddogs OP doesn't clearly show how high his sailbag is, re- reading his actual post, I think there might be more of an issue about how much he sees importance in the area possibly being shrouded by the bag. Its more of a setup issue, and possibly not s debate as to its worth.
As I said, each to their own. I have a 12 m mast, and fully battened main.
Life without a sailbag would be much more effort.
We all have different boats, part of the fun of a forum is picking the answer you like.
I actually bring my lazy jacks back to the cockpit along the boom and as I am using 4mm cord just wrap it around a small cleat on the boom that I can reach from the cockpit, quick and easy 
Yeah, crusty's sobering comment is right, however l passionately dislike spiderwebs on my mast or anywhere else, even if it would save some work. Small boat, little work never harmed anyone. Reddog needs that lazyjack like a hump on his back.
If l would want to spend my life in the cockpit l would not be a sailor.
May be an armchair sailor.
I dislike dodgers despite their obvious convenience and l dislike cars as well. I would not have any of them.
Yep, it's personal.
