[Public-list] Dutchman Mainsails

[Janet Kirk]

Jonathon... A Dutchman  is a patent  system of two monofilament lines 
threaded vertically thru a couple of grommets in the main from the topping 
lift to the boom which allows the sail to fall neatly folded onto the boom 
like a venetian blind when you release the halyard.  See:

    http://www.mvbinfo.com/dp_02_SF.html

A singlehander can hoist or drop the main on any point of sail without a 
cockpit full of dacron and no jungle of chafing lines like lazyjacks. It 
was installed on Isobar's fairly new main when I bought her, and  I was a 
little suspicious of the rig at first, but it has behaved beautifully since 
'92 and some unknown number of years before that. With full battens, it 
eliminates flogging and points well, too. (I just use regular sail slides 
with the full battens and not the specialized mast cars that are usually 
recommended, and have had no problem.) The disadvantage is you need a 
multi-zippered sail cover, and perhaps there is a problem if you rig a 
storm trysail.

Bob Kirk
Isobar #181




At 10:07 PM 1/7/06 -0800, Jonathan Whittingham wrote:
>>Jonathon... You might consider a Dutchman system. It was on my boat when 
>>I bought it and has been effective & trouble-free.  Great for 
>>singlehanding and superior, I think, to lazyjacks.
>>
>>Bob Kirk
>>Isobar #181
>I don't know what a Dutchman is. Perhaps you could expand please. Thanks. 
>Jonathan.


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