We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our Freedom35 but as the years go on, the task of removing then putting sail covers back on has become quite tedious. Has anyone had any experience with a stack pack? Any recommendations on dealers and sail lofts in the Newport, RI area would be appreciated.
Mjwalek- I use the Mack Sails Mack-Pack. I’ve had their system on three boats now and do love it. This pack has battens to hold shape for the large main (similar battens are on larger catamaran mainsails) and the battens keep the pack open for the sail to drop into. The Mack pack is easy to install, measurements are straight forward and the people at Mack sails are very helpful. Cost is right also. Usually I can head upwind and drop the main entirely into the pack. For the times when the leech hangs out a bit, I have a collaspable ladder stowed in the aft lazarett that I place against my dodger to give me some height to stuff the sail overflow into the bag or I stand on the coaming with the boom over to do the same. Good luck.
I also have a Mack-Pack, and unlike Camino, mine doesn’t have battons. I hate it, and completely wish that I had a Stack-Pack, which does have battons. The fabrication of the Mack-Pack is nowhere near as good as the Stack-Pack, and we had the sailmaker who suggested it, resew parts of it to bring it up to our standards (they didn’t use a hot knife nor did they use UV thread). Our next one will be a Stack-Pack.
– Geoff
Lol - Geoff - talk to Travis at Mack Sails and he’ll fix you up perfectly IF you detail specifically the configuration
Also the Stack Pack (Doyle) is a great product, with a higher build quality as seen with the built in Dacron liner, etc., but also with a higher cost……
Since you are in or near Newport, talk to Steve Thurston at Thurston’s Quantum Sail loft in Bristol. They have a ton of experience with Freedoms, and are highly recommended by Paul Dennis at Warren River Boat Works, the guru for all things Freedom. At least get his insight. Call 401-254-0970.
Disclaimer: I personally know nothing about Mack Pack or Stack Pack systems.
We made our own “stack-pack” based on the Sailrite drawings and materials. It was much cheaper, if you exclude the cost of a Sailrite sewing machine, and possible cheaper even if you have to buy one. It has worked reasonably well, certainly a lot easier than putting a cover on, and with some care, the main drops quite neatly into the sailpack. However, we used electric conduit to hold up the sides of the pack, which has proved to be too flexible, causing the canvas to bunch up and difficulties in closing the zipper in certain spots. Using aluminum pipe seems to have helped. Though SS pipe might be better still, though heavier. In retrospect, I would use Velcro instead of a zipper. This setup (SS pipe and Velcro) on a friend’s (homemade) sail-pack seems to work much better.