I created this new thread in order to answer a question, and also in the hope that people might chime in with more and better ideas. A sail catcher is a useful idea on any sail boat, and worthy of thought. Much better than lazyjacks. For a permanently moored boat it can also have a top flap sewn on and thus perform a second useful role as a sail cover, which is ready to hand and can be deployed in just a few seconds.
Graeme wrote: “I copied and simplified the catcher used on Amiina and written up in Slieve's technical notes – just two longitudinal tubes one each side of the mast, no hairpin bend at either end, no lazyjacks and no zips. Supported by two pairs of lifts, one pair at the mast and the other pair as far aft as possible (but not too far.) The so-called "mast lift" which lifts the boom is, of course, not needed either, as the sail catcher fullfils this role. It is simple and works a treat and the lifts do not interfere with the sail - the lifts at the mast coincide with the slot, and those at the aft end see very little camber. Its also a handy repository for an oar, a boathook – and spare battens if I were to carry them. It’s a wonderful accessory, and even somewhat aerodynamic – mine gives me steerage way in a moderate breeze!)
(The sail catcher also plays a special role in the requirements of a trailer boat too, but that’s another story…)
Slieve replied: “It really is an important part of the rig. I never did develop that item fully, and the one on Amiina is rather over-kill, and rather over size for the Mk 2 rig. The battens I used on Poppy's cover/ catcher were just sail battens and not stiff enough. Do you run the starboard batten inside or outside the mast, or bend it in any way? I played with splitting the batten at the mast, and gave myself headaches.”
I used aluminium tube which is a little lighter than the tube I would have used for battens (my battens are actually wood) and stiffness has not yet proved to be a problem, even though there are only two pairs of support points. The battens being wood, the bundle is quite heavy and I have also started throwing extra things into this handy pocket recently – the tubes seem to be holding up OK. I think mine are just stock 1" tubes or thereabouts, from the hardware supplier. I would have thought sail battens would be over-kill.
Its maybe the best accessory for a sail boat I have ever had, and while the SJR especially calls for a sail catcher, I would have something like this next time for any rig, or any junk variant (except perhaps the aerojunk which has the delightful advantage of automatically acting as its own sail catcher). In fact, with my old gaff-rigged scow I mulled over a sail cover something like this idea for years, but didn't have a sewing machine in those days.
To answer Slieve’s question: the tubes along the top run each side of the mast (ie the starboard tube goes to starboard at the mast), and there is a chunk of cloth cut out where the mast (and downhauls) go through, exactly the same as in Slieve’s drawing, but without the flaps
Slieve's article on the sail catcher can be found here.
You don't want to cut too much cloth out to accommodate the mast, because suspending the sail catcher from just the two pairs of lifts, the bundle is slightly out of balance and has a slight tendency to want to swing forward. Its not much. The mast, in that cut-out, is enough to prevent any tendency to move forwards (or aft).
Like Slieve, I played with splitting this starboard tube at the mast, and it continues to give me a headache. My reason was to facilitate quick assembly and disassembly, but the sleeved join where the starboard tube is cut, next to the mast, is a structural weakness and it means the front starboard side of the sail catcher sags a bit and looks untidy. I could put a forward “lazyjack” there just to support it, but I don’t want the bother and just accept that it looks a bit untidy and saggy on one side. Next time I would just run two full length tubes along the top and have them fitting loosely enough in their pockets so that the starboard one can be easily slid back far enough to allow the bundle to be separated from the mast. This will continue to be a slight hassle but unavoidable for a trailer boat. For a boat which lives on a mooring, I certainly would not cut or bend either of these tubes.
(SJR reaching comfortably in 18-20 knots with two reefs. Note the sag at the break in the starboard sail catcher tube. The rest of the sail is tidy and out of the way. Please ignore the sagging luffs - she was honking along at that stage and no need for another tweak of the downhaul.)
I will ramble on a bit more … to begin with I saw the hairpin bend on the front of Amiina’s sail catcher and thought immediately “ah – this holds the two sides apart and gives “stand-off” to the lines which support it.” (I notice Amiina uses the lifts and the lazyjacks to support the catcher). I had no way of bending tube so I mucked around for a long time and gave myself a headache worrying about this, made up an assembly out of plastic plumbing (the one at the aft end was a real headache because it also has to accommodate part of the sheeting). To cut a long story short, it all broke and fell apart the first time I tried it and I was left with just the two tubes which run along the top, held up by the paired lifts – one pair at the mast and one pair near the end of the boom.
It seems to work fine just like that.
For trailer boats: The lifts just clip on and unclip, for easy assembly/disassembly. Same with all the running gear, parrel/downhauls etc and sheeting system – they all unclip and pack neatly inside the sail catcher, with the sail, for quick re-assembly next time at the boat ramp. The lifts themselves stay with the mast, and need to be cleated down to the bottom of the mast somewhere so they don't fall about and tangle up when the mast is lowered. I should say, just prior to that the sail catcher is closed along the top – like the top of a lady’s purse - and slung from the halyard. There are a couple of tabs sewn about halfway along, to which the halyard can be clipped, and then with its 3-part purchase it is an easy one-handed job to lift up the entire package, unclip the lifts and and swing it out then into its position inside the boat, for trailering. And just as easy to sling it out again and re-assemble. For a trailer boat, the junk rig with all its sticks and bits of string is potentially a nightmare at the launching ramp, but thanks partly to the sail catcher and partly to the use of clips wherever possible, I think I have got things down to a quicker time than any of the Bermuda-rigged trailer boats I have had in the past. That is, once I learned to do things in the right order!
One more detail: my two pairs of lifts are standing lifts and they clip on. This means that when re-assembling, the bundle has to be lifted up quite high (with one hand, or dangling from the halyard) while the other hand fumbles to attach the clips. It’s a little bit awkward on my little boat. Also, lifts need adjusting from time to time. Because of these things, I think it might be better to have a little two-part tackle on the end of each lift, so at assembly time the clips can be brought down to the where the sail catcher and bundle are resting on the deck or cabin top. Clip on, then hoist the catcher with the halyard, adjust lifts to the required height, then slack the halyard and attach it to the yard. Then run the sheeting system carefully back to its single clip-on attachment point. Raise the sail in stages, clipping on the paired-spanned parrel downhauls as you go. Lastly. clip these two spans onto the two permanently reeved downhauls which run back to the cockpit. If you are careful, nothing will have tangled (maybe just a little bit). Then drop the sail back into the sail catcher and enjoy watching it flop all the way down in a rush - and you are ready to launch. "Robert's your father's brother", as they say.