Both of mine are loose footed - in BC it is basically the choice between having the rain run off the sail all along the boom (loose) or run to the end of the boom and drip just on one person (closed).

Have had an open foot for about 5 years now never saw any difference in performance, easier to haul it out because less friction. Certainly easier to put on for same reason as above. This year I added a "stack pack" and it uses the channel to secure the pack, now I do not have to have sail ties or a seperate sail cover as it is all on the boom.

[QUOTE=greigwill;9504]Loose foot it will be then,thanks Sailing close hauled yesterday,full main and 125 gen,wheel brake on,no autopilot...the boat perfectly balanced,seemed like it could have gone on forever that way..the sound of silence.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's a sweet feeling.

Hi Gary, I have a loose-footed main with Dutchman furling and I would like to add the stack pack instead. Do you have a name of the manufacturer of yours? Pictures would be even better if it isn't too much trouble.

Thanks and cheers, Bill

[QUOTE=Gary Bain;9499]Have had an open foot for about 5 years now never saw any difference in performance, easier to haul it out because less friction. Certainly easier to put on for same reason as above. This year I added a "stack pack" and it uses the channel to secure the pack, now I do not have to have sail ties or a seperate sail cover as it is all on the boom.[/QUOTE]

Gentlemen,
When you purchased a new main from National or other such companies, did they put the Dutchmen pockets and "holes" in the sail or did you have to take the new sail to a local loft?

Bill,
I purchased the stack pack from Hallett Canvas and Sail in Falmouth, Maine. Along with the stack pack they made "Lazy Jacks" I can not tell you how much easier this has made dropping the sail. I do not have the threads going up through the main as my thought is it would become problamatic. This arrangement works fine.
I found this picture which shows most of the pack with the lazy jacks. The LJ's are adjustable another feature to consider as with a full batten main many times you cannot point directly into the wind. When lowering though with the LJ's taught the sail just drops into the pack and you just zipper the top...no ties, no sail on the deck, & no sail cover to install.
The only negative factor was that unknown to me it has a tendancy to funnel rain into the boom. A small hole in the bottom is planned to allow the rain to drain....no big deal.

We just bought a new main sail that is open footed and I noticed that the foot is longer than the length of the boom.  Is this normal?