| UK-Halsey Northwest > Article |
THE UK-HALSEY SAILMAKERS LAZY CRADLE VS THE PACK. |
photo: Neil Rabinowitz By Tim Knight, owner of UK-Halsey Northwest, explains why UK-Halsey’s Lazy Cradle mainsail covering and capturing system has surpassed other sail containment systems. The covering system that is attached to the main and made popular by a sailmaker in Marblehead was the first and the best till now! nstead of bashing the competition, I’ll discuss why the UK-Halsey Lazy Cradle is the finest main/cover stowage system around. 1) The UKLC (UK-Halsey Lazy Cradle) is built to have a low profile. A lot of the competition have what is called the envelope profile which has been nicknamed the “Storm Trysail” because the cover is so tall or poorly fitting that it has the area of a Storm Trysail. These covers have so much windage that they affect docking and make boats "sail" at anchor. One of the ways we keep the profile low is to make the top of the cover flat. After years of building and developing the UKLC system we realized that if we spaced the battens that support the upper edge of the cover by about 4"-12" we would lower the profile of the cover considerably. The flat-top has two other advantages: it is easier to zip up as there is less tension on the Zipper as it is not trying to pull the Lazy Jacks together and it is easier to reach the Zipper. 2) The negative to the Flat Top is in areas like the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot, water gathers in the folds of the sail. Therefore we developed a removable (Zips Out) vinyl storm gusset that wraps around the sail and directs the rain that enters to the bottom of the cover and out the drains built into the cover. 3) We use Spectra Lazy Jacks with no blocks. To save on weight and to reduce chafe, we use sailmaker’s closed thimbles. The Jacks attach to the sail cover via eye splices that the pultruded battens pass through inside the cover. 4) Attaching the Lazy Jacks to the battens takes the load off the cover and transfers it to the battens to reduce stress and chafe on the cover. 5) The battens are 5/8" or appropriate size to resist sagging and come in convenient lengths with custom aluminum splice joints. 6) The UKLC is not attached to the sail so it can be rolled an stowed on top of the boom in a few minutes. From a hundred feet away, the rolled up cover it is almost invisible. 7) The Lazy Jacks are adjusted at the mast on a horn cleat, which also acts as a spot to loop the Lazy Jacks out of the way when the cover is rolled. 8) As the sail is loose footed and not attached to the cover you can adjust the sail for optimum sail shape. 9) The UKLC is a custom fitted cover so it is a much better fitting cover than most of the generic covers built, which are usually build big so that fewer sizes can fit all. This leads to more of the Storm Trysail effect. 10) The Zipper on the UKLC is a #15, which is HUGE. This zipper was developed for the Drift Fishing Industry and is basically bullet proof; it has excellent UV properties and the teeth look like their form a great white shark. 11) The UKLC system works great for reefing. When the cover is deployed, it eliminates the need for reef ties. 12) The UKLC is custom built from Glen Raven Mills’ Sunbrella fabrics. A lot of offshore covers are built with lesser quality fabrics that look the same at first but can fade within two years to a totally different color, which will then not match your dodger, weather curtains, genoa UV cover, etc. Sunbrella is guaranteed for 10 years. I am sure there are more reasons but my fingers are hurting so if you want more give me a call. Tim Knight (250)656-8843 northwest@ukhalsey.com |