Measuring · CS-SPA-01

How to measure for a stack pack with cockpit awnings

Measure the packed sail, the boom detail and the awning reference as separate facts.

The stack pack with cockpit awnings is a mainsail cover and a shade extension built from the same boat, not a generic cockpit roof. It has to be cut to the packed shape of your mainsail, the mast, the boom body, the boom groove and the actual awning geometry on this boat. The form measurements are in centimetres; groove details, passage notes and attachment evidence are marked separately on the form.

Before you put a tape on anything

Before measuring, flake and pack the mainsail exactly as it will sit in service, then treat the awning extension as its own reference. The easy mistake is giving the diagram a forward or aft name it does not prove: the form keeps those spans neutral unless fitter evidence ties them to the boat. Photograph the packed-sail tape paths, the mast, the boom, the groove, the passage and the hard points. If the extension depends on existing canvas or a full-size reference, send that evidence rather than turning the cockpit into a tidy assumption.

The coded measurements

CodeWhat to measure
AFront packed-sail and headboard circumference; no boom
BPacked-sail circumference at fixed 50 cm station; no boom
CPacked-sail circumference at fixed 30 cm station; no boom
LAft mast face to mainsail clew bearing on boom
MComplete mast circumference
PComplete boom circumference, not groove perimeter
YBoom-groove mouth width
XBoom-groove cavity width / diameter
FSloping span between the two upper arrowheads
RLeft vertical span shown on page 1
SRight vertical span shown on page 1
OHorizontal topping-lift passage span

Why the awning geometry stays neutral

This is not a longer stack pack with shade stitched on the back. The form separates the packed-sail cover from the awning extension because one is driven by sail bulk and boom detail, while the other is driven by the shown source geometry and the hard points on the boat. It also says not to infer orientation from the drawing, so we review tape photographs, attachment evidence and any full-size reference before cutting. Rename a span to suit the cockpit and the error becomes a pattern, not a note.

The rule that runs through every form we print

If you aren’t sure of a bearing, leave it blank and tell us. A blank is a question we answer with one phone call. A guess is indistinguishable from a measurement, so it survives all the way to the cutting floor and comes back as a cover that doesn’t fit. Four honest numbers and a note beat five where one is fiction.

The words on this page, explained

Not sure? Send a photo.

A few phone photos of your boom, frame or stowed sail answer half our questions. Send them with your enquiry and we’ll guide you through the rest — then confirm every dimension before we cut.