Doyle Sailmakers StackPack User manual

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StackPack
Installation Manual

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FORWARD TO STACKPACK MANUAL
by DON STREET
As boats become larger and larger with the aid of modern winches, either hand, electrically
or hydraulically powered, most sail handling problems can be solved. But the one difficult
problem that continually faces all crews is the furling and covering of the mainsail,
especially on boats with a main or mizzen of 400 square feet or over.
There are various methods for stowing large mainsails and mizzens - internal roller reefing
(too expensive), behind the mast roller reefing (too inefficient), zip-furl (you have to rely on
a zipper and my son-in-law, Scott Vogel, bowman on STARS AND STRIPES, says that one
thing he learned while racing on 12 meters is "Don't trust zippers!"), the Dutchman, and
now the StackPack.
We installed the Dutchman system and sailed with it for over 1,000 miles. We have now
sailed roughly 4,000 miles with the StackPack. If you are buying a new mainsail, the
StackPack is the way to go! With the Stack- Pack, one person, or at the most two people,
can stow and cover their main and mizzen, regardless of the size of the sail.
Further, the full length battens in the StackPack are a definite plus. Being an original
doubting Thomas and believing nothing until I have tested it in all weather conditions, I
had serious reservations about the efficiency of full length battens. Now after 4,000 miles
using a fully battened main, I am firmly convinced that fully battened sails are the way to
go - so much so , that we now have a fully battened mizzen!
One of the greatest things about the StackPack is the fact that whenever the sail is down,
the sail cover is on it. It is not a case of having to urge a tired crew to cover the sail to
prevent sunburn. The StackPack is really easy and is done automatically once the sail is
dropped.

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S T A C K P A C K I N S T A L LA T I O N I N T R O D U C T I O N
The following StackPack instructions have been written with the expectation that the initial
installation will be done under ideal conditions: calm weather and seas, five knots of wind
or less, boat head to wind on a mooring or at the dock. Under these conditions the initial
StackPack installation can be made in less than three hours. If it is not possible to wait for
all of these ideal conditions in your particular case, please remember IT IS VITAL TO HAVE
THE BOAT HEAD TO WIND DURING THE INSTALLATION PROCEDURE.
Once the StackPack unit has been installed correctly, the unit should give efficient service
and long life in any reasonable sailing weather, as long as the "StackPack Tips" and
prudent seamanship rules are observed.
NOTE: The StackPack has been adapted to fit a wide range of boats however, for your
StackPack to function correctly, the slide gate on the mast must allow slides to start
stacking up directly above the tack fitting, i.e., the slide gate must be no more than 3"
above the tack fitting. This insures that the stacked height of the slides will be low enough
to allow the acrylic cover to be zipped closed after the sail has been lowered.
Doyle StackPack is a full battened mainsail, with lazy jacks and an integral sail cover
attached to the sail by a membrane and supported at the cover top by two battens. The
sailmakers at Doyle take great pride in constructing this sail and providing all of the
components necessary to easily and properly install it. When you receive your Doyle
StackPack, please check the package for the following components:
A) Dacron mainsail with attached sail cover of correct color and attached, coiled lazy
jacks.
B) Bundle of six full length battens (labeled): top, uppermid, lower mid, bottom, port
cover, starboard cover.
C) StackPack Installation Kit in small gray bag contains the following:
RCopy of manual
RFour Stainless steel pad eyes
REight stainless 1/2" self-tapping screws
ROne 11/64" drill bit
ROne bottle of lubricant for use on luff slides. This has been supplied to lubricate the mast
track so the hardware runs up and down with minimum friction. The easiest way to
apply to the track is from the bosun's chair. Better yet, apply the lubricant prior to
stepping mast at the beginning of the season.
In addition to the components supplied by Doyle Sailmakers, you will also need the

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following:
RSharp knife
ROne roll of vinyl rigging tape
RBosun's chair
RScrewdriver with 5/16" slot head
RAn electric drill, cordless power drill preferred
RFelt tip marker
The steps for installing the StackPack should be taken in proper sequence to insure correct
and, hopefully, carefree installation. Please read through the whole procedure first to
familiarize yourself with the overall picture:
(Fig. 1 & lb).
RInstall upper pad eyes on mast. (Fig. 2a)
RInstall lower pad eyes on mast. (Fig. 2b)
RInstall mainsail battens and cover battens. (Fig. 3a,b,c)
RInstall (bend) mainsail on to mast and boom. (Fig. 4a)
RRig lazy jacks. (Fig. 5)
RLead forward cover lines to lower pad eyes. (Fig. 2b)
After completing the above steps, be sure to make a dry run, at the dock or on the
mooring. Lower and stack the sail, and close and zip the StackPack to insure everything is
in proper working order. During this practice session, make any final adjustments and
familiarize yourself with the forward cover.

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INSTALLING UPPER PAD EYES
Pad eyes are most easily installed at the mast head before the mast is stepped. If this
cannot be done, it is necessary to send someone aloft in a bosun's chair. Upper pad eyes
should be located 45% down from the mast head, on opposite sides of the mast, just
behind the shroud tangs. (See Figure 2a) DO NOT INSTALL PAD EYES ON THE AFT PORTION
OF THE MAST, NEAR THE MAST TRACK. If located on this aft section, the pad eyes will
position the lazy jacks in such a way that they will snag the sail when it is hoisted. Do not
locate pad eyes in any position where the lazy jacks will cross a shroud, a piece of
hardware, or any other equipment.
NOTE: It is always more important to keep pad eyes, lazy jacks, and other StackPack
rigging clear of other gear than to install them in any specifically defined location. Once you
have determined the best location of your pad eyes, hold them against the mast and mark
the holes with a felt tip marker. Drill one hole, tap it, insert screw, and secure pad eye
before drilling second hole. Drill the holes with an 11/64" bit and an electric drill (a portable
drill is really handy here if you are at the top of the mast!) Carefully, tap the holes with the
10 x 24 thread tap and wrench.
HINT: To produce clean threading, do not use complete turns in threading the hole. Turn
the tap clockwise one half turn to cut the thread, then back it very slightly (less than 1/8th
of a turn) counterclockwise to break and to release the cut metal. Approximately six
complete clockwise turns should thread each hole.
Align pad eyes over the threaded hole. Screw the bolts into the mast. Turn the bolts as
hard as possible by hand.
INSTALLING LOWER PAD EYES
To determine the position of lower pad eyes on the mast, (See Figure 2b), measure up from
the gooseneck approximately 15% of the mainsail luff length, i.e., 15% of the distance
between the black bands. The same rules for lateral placement of pad eyes apply to lower
and upper eyes.
Install lower pad eyes using same tapping and threading technique as used for upper pad
eyes.

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INSTALLING MAINSAIL BATTENS
After installing the pad eyes on the mast, proceed to the mainsail installation. To set the
stage for installing the mainsail, remove the sail from the StackPack bag and lay the sail
along the deck of the boat, inside the shrouds, with the luff of the sail at the mast and the
clew, aft near the companionway.
Now you are ready to insert the battens from luff to leech in their respective pockets. There
are four sail battens and two cover battens. Each batten is custom cut to fit exactly and
snugly into its pocket. Each batten is identified with markings to indicate which pocket it
goes into and how it should be inserted. Please note the leech end of the battens are angle
cut to match the leech angle of the sail. After insertion, each batten must be tied into the
pocket, as shown in Figure 3a and 3b, and the Velcro closure should be secured. When
inserting the cover battens, note that each cover batten has a line passed through it, as
shown in Figure 3c at the forward end. This line, when the batten is in place, must pass
through a hole in the batten pocket in the acrylic StackPack cover. There is no need for any
other Velcro closure on cover pockets.

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BENDING MAINSAIL ON MAST AND BOOM
With the battens installed in the sail and cover, you are ready to thread foot hardware or
bolt rope onto the boom track. Put the clew end of the sail onto the forward end of the
boom and pull the sail aft as the slides enter the track- this definitely is easier with an extra
set of hands helping you. As you pull the sail aft, be sure the acrylic cover and sail do not
snag and tear on cleats or other hardware which may be on the boom. Fasten the clew and
tack rings into their respective cars or pins. See Figure 4b and 4c
NOTE: Any Doyle mainsail requires that the boom must be equipped with a clew outhaul
car, or the sail must have a slide attached directly to the clew ring. If your sail does not
have such a slide, contact you sailmaker before proceeding with the installation.
With tack and clew secured, put moderate tension on the outhaul and make it fast. At this
point, you are ready to install mainsail luff slides.
Ideally, the mast track has already been lubricated using the bottle of lubricant before the
mast was stepped as suggested in the introduction. If this has not already been done, the
designated person to ascend in the bosun's chair should be sent aloft to spray the entire
track.
The easiest method for threading the slides is to attach the main halyard to the head of the
sail and to hoist the sail slowly while feeding the slides into the gate. When the sail is fully
hoisted, you are ready to proceed with rigging the lazy jacks.
NOTE: For your StackPack to function correctly, the slide gate on the mast must allow slides
to stack up directly above the tack fitting. This insures that the stacked height of the slides
will be low enough to allow the acrylic cover to be zipped closed after the sail has been
lowered. See Figure 4a.
IF YOUR GATE DOES NOT PERMIT THIS COMPACT STACKING OF THE SLIDES, HAVE IT
MODIFIED SO THAT IT WILL!

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RIGGING LAZY JACKS
To rig lazy jacks, it is necessary to send a person aloft in a bosun's chair. However, before
you start hauling them up, carry out the following steps, so all will be ready when the
person goes up the mast.
RLocate the lazy jack, neatly coiled and hanging from the acrylic cover on each side of the
sail.
RLocate the lazy jack adjustment cleats fastened to the sail in the tack area just inside
the acrylic cover.
RLocate tail of line hanging from each cleat. Adjust the tails so that four feet of line
extends through the cleat. The tails should both hang at equal lengths and must have a
stopper knot in the end (figure 8 knot is just fine here.) Jam the tails in securely. (See
Figure 5b.)
RUncoil the lazy jacks on each side of the sail. Bring the end to the mast. Tie both ends
together, so the person in the bosun's chair can carry them aloft.
Having completed the above steps, you are ready for your bosun's chair and person who
likes heights!
Equipped with a sharp knife and a roll of vinyl rigging tape, a person should be hoisted aloft.
The person in the bosuns chair should be careful to thread the lines aft of the lower
shrouds, the spreaders, the intermediate shrouds, and the preventor stays.
When they reach 55% of the distance up the mast, the lazy jacks must be tied off to the
correct pad eye on each side of the mast, i.e., the port lazy jack to the pad eye on the port
side of the mast, etc. Lazy jacks must not cross one another, and they must run clear from
small blocks above the cover to the padeyes without interfering with any other rigging. To
secure each lazy jack properly, pass "its" end through the pad eye twice and pull it snug,
then tie, at least four half-hitches around the standing part of the line (see Figure 5a).
Note: It is not necessary to make the lazy jacks excessively tight, since they can
be adjusted at the lower forward end later.
With the four half hitches secure, carefully tape the entire knot with rigging tape, right up to
the pad eyes. This should be about 4".
Now lower your mast person in the bosun's chair to the lower pad eye position on the mast.
They should take the forward cover lines and tie them to the lower eyes, leaving about 6" of
slack in these lines. DO NOT CUT AND TAPE THESE LINES UNTIL YOU HAVE
DETERMINED THAT THEY WILL SUPPORT THE COVER CORRECTLY WHEN THE SAIL
IS LOWERED AND PACKED.

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LOWERING AND STACKING THE SAIL
Figure 6a, 6b, 6c
Before proceeding with this next step, go over the following list and be sure you have
checked these things out:
RRead the enclosed sheet: STACKPACK TIPS.
RTighten topping lift to relieve load on lazy jacks. Lazy jacks are not designed to
withstand the dynamic loading of a dropping boom. ALWAYS USE THE TOPPING LIFT TO
SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE BOOM AND SAIL.
RSecure the boat so it is head to wind and the sail is luffing. Full length battens can put
twisting strains on sail slides. This causes them to bind in the track. Only when the sail
is luffing in the wind can the slides be made to move freely.
RLazy jacks must be cleated securely in their cleats at the tack. If they come loose while
the sail is being lowered, the sail will start to fall outside the cover portions. The lazy
jacks may also be hard to tighten when the sail is down. Adjustment of the lazy jacks is
always easier with the sail hoisted.
When you have checked the above points, you may lower the sail by easing the main
halyard. The halyard must be completely eased, and the sail must be lying in the cover
before the main zipper is zipped. See Figures 6a,6b,6c.
The StackPack is a simple efficient sail furling system, but it is not automatic! A few
moments spent tweaking the sail into the cover will insure smooth operation of the zipper
and a neat appearance of the cover.

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INTERNAL REEF LINES WITH END BOOM SHEAVES
Starting from the sheave at the outboard end of the boom, thread the reef line up between
the two halves of the cover zipper and through the reef grommet itself. Then, pass the line
down through the top of the cover, inside the acrylic portion, and out the slit provided in the
foot of the cover. Go around the boom and back through the slits in the cover and foot of
the sail, and tie off to itself. (A rolling hitch works well.)
EXTERNAL REEF LINES
Make sure the reef block is positioned well aft of the clew itself. When reefed, the clew reef
line should pull down and back. Follow same path as for internal lines.
REEFING
Reef normally, securing the new tack first, then the new clew. Once the new tack and clew
are secure the sail is reefed. The two sides of the cover can be zipped at the luff, just as it
is when the sail is at full hoist.

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ZIPPING AND CLOSING THE STACKPACK
Figure 7a and 7b
Grasp the zipper tail at the aft (clew) end of the cover, (see Figure 7b) work the zipper car
forward to the acrylic cover. Pinch the two sides of the cover together while zipping the car
onto the acrylic for the first 12".
After that, the car should run freely with an occasional push or tuck to the leech and batten
ends, if they poke out.
When the cover is zipped almost all the way to the mast, remove the halyard from the head
of the sail and fasten it to the ring on the starboard side of the cover. If your cover has a
bronze hook, run the halyard through
the hook and you will not have to disconnect at the head. Either way will prevent the
halyard from slapping against the mast.