Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

We have a Dutchman on our very large main, Gene. On our Sabre 42 before, we had a simple Harken lazy-jacks system

The Harken lazy jacks system on the Sabre's ample maine worked fine, was inexpensive and efficient. We had full battens with a Sail Batt fittings on a normal track. It worked for 10 or the eleven years we had them.

Currently, our J/160 (which has a very large main) has a Dutchman system which has worked well. We have full battens, an Antal track with batt glide fittings on the mast. It works well.

The Dutchman makes furling the sail much easier for such a large main.

I'm not sure what I'd do if we had the Sabre 42 again to fit-out.

I always thought anything beyond the Harken's simple block systems and lines was a waste. We'd just ease off the lazy jacks a little when we eased off the outhaul or needed to really flatten the sail if we'd tightened it a bit more than would comfortable for the vang to really flatten the main.

The Dutchman is pretty foolproof -- but you also need to pay attention.

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