Dutchman on new sail

[John Langford]

Has anyone modified a new main sail to accommodate an existing OEM Dutchman system? I am awaiting delivery of a new FX mainsail and instead of buying a new Stackpack type lazy jack system I was wondering whether adapting the new sail for the existing Dutchman system (which has always worked well) wouldn't be a better option. The new sail will be loose-footed so the Dutchman tabs will have to be fastened to the foot of the sail (but without the connection to the boom). The fairleads for the monofilament will also have to be added after the sail arrives. Am I forgetting anything?

Any advice welcome.

[Jim Hardesty]

John,
Is it too late to call the sailmaker and have them install the Dutchman parts? 
Jim

[John Langford]

I haven't inquired but my guess is that one of the conditions of getting the great prices that FX offers is that they don't do that kind of custom work. I don't mind doing it myself anyway. If I am going to make holes in the sail I would like them to be in the right place.

[Roc]

John,
If you have your old sail, would it work to put it over your new sail and duplicate where the holes are for the filament?  I would think the Dutchman company could guide you through doing it yourself. I have the system on my boat and like it very much, so I understand why you would want it with your new sail. 

[John Langford]

That was going to be my starting point Roc. Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to order the parts from the manufacturer. The Dutchman web site isn't much help. They post instructions for setting up the Dutchman system on your boat after the sail has been modified to accommodate the lines etc. But they don't provide the instructions which they give to sailmakers to adapt the sail for the system. If the new FX sail is shaped exactly like the OEM sail then locating the spots where the disks should be located should not be difficult. But I have never seen one of these disk assemblies taken apart so I have no idea how they snap together or what you have to do to the sail before they are attached to it.

The new sail is going to be loose footed so I am not sure how best to attach the monofilament pockets. One option is to sew them to the sail the way the OEM system is setup. This would mean that you would have to make sure your outhaul is very tight before lowering the sail. The other way would be to put a couple of slugs on the bottom of each pocket and allow them to slide along the boom to the spot they want to be.

Any ideas or information welcome. For instance, has anyone ever had to replace a disk because it broke? How do they attach and what kinds of holes are required in the dacron to accommodate them?

[John Langford]

Followup on Dutchman installation. I was talking to FX about the delivery date and, taking my lead from Jim's question, asked whether they would install the Dutchman fittings. No problem. They do it all the time... Doh! Anyway, the new main is coming all ready to accept my exisiting monofilament lines. The price for the install is $510 of which a significant amount is the fittings themselves provided by Dutchman.

Thanks Jim!

[Stu Jackson]

Good move, John.  You and Jim ought to find somewhere to get your boats together (let's see, British Columbia and Lake Erie...hmmm) and go single handed sailing together!  Enjoy your new sail, sounds great.  How's your outhaul working?

[John Langford]

Hi Stu
Outhaul is fine. Led back to the cockpit and running smoothly. It is going to be a treat using it with a loose footed main.

Hope you are back in the boat and getting ready for spring.