One of my goals, as part of leading the halyards aft project, was setting up a new lazy jack system on the Pretty Gee. The original system only had two legs and really didn’t do a very good job of controlling and containing the main sail. This past week, I finished setting up the new lazy jacks and a new main sail furling system that does away with the need for sail ties.
The furling system consists of two pieces of shock cord run along the boom through four padeyes on each side of the boom. The padeyes are pop riveted to the boom. On one side, the shock cord has a hook setup on each segment between padeyes. To furl the sail all you have to do is reach over the boom, grab the shock cord on one side and attach it to the hook that is on the shock cord on the other side. This should keep the sail on top of the boom since the shock cords are attached along the boom, and removes the need for separate sail ties.
The padeyes are also attachment points for the new four-leg lazy jack setup. I added a block to the padeyes on the mast and ran some 5 mm line to them. I tied a section of line to the first two padeyes on each side, and a second piece of line to the second pair of padeyes on each side. Then I tied a bowline in each end of a shorter line, around the two fixed lines on each side. The long line running up the mast to the block was then tied around the top-most, short line, and the setup looks much like this drawing.
Both of these changes should help a lot when singlehanding the boat. Trying to furl the sail quickly was previously an issue for me, since I’m not tall enough to reach around the sail that easily.
Daniel,
I am amazed at all the work and love you have put into Pretty Gee. Preparing her for single handing is a craft in itself. My husband single handed his 32′ Beneteau from Seattle to Hawaii, Palmyra Atoll and Fanning Is. Eventually he brought her back to Seattle where lived aboard between the Ballard and Fremont bridges. I read through your blog and saw your connection to Seattle, too. Your love story is very moving and yes, I believe you can know your soul mate by the sound of his/her voice.
I have been doing some online research because our little family is dreaming of the day when we can cast off and head to the deep blue waters of the South Pacific. I have combed through blogs, websites and books for ideas and planning lists. As I was reading through your list of improvements, your love story came startling out of the background. My heart is touched by your memories of your wife and her courageous life. It reminded me of a similar experience that the author, Lawrence Pane went through, losing his wife to breast cancer. He completed a 6 1/2 year circumnavigation with his then 6 year old son. Mr. pane has written for many of the sailing magazines as well as cancer related articles for Coping.
I hope your Pretty Gee comes into her own soon. She will be a brave vessel just like Gee herself.
Nameste,
Molly
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