When dropping the main, our sail does not freely fall. When we open the main halyard's cleat, the main will lower and slack slightly, but then I (or a sailing mate) would have to go on deck and pull the rest of the sail down. It's not that big of a deal since it allows us to actually 'fold' the sail as we lower it. But in a M.O.B or other emergency situation, I'd imagine we would want the entire sail to fall freely (into the lazyjack). Anybody else have similar problems? Any advice for a fix? Cheers, -james
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Slick Drops
There is a lot of friction induced by the slugs. If your halyard is led back to the cockpit, the extra blocks add to the friction as well. Many people swear by cleaning and waxing the luff track to reduce this friction to a minimum. You could even install Harken BattSlides or BattCars for a friction-free drop. I have BattSlides myself, and they do eliminate the friction caused by the battens twisting the slugs. But you could also achieve that by coming perfectly head-to-wind when you drop. BattCars are very expensive, over $1000 for a mid-sized boat. I've thought about this situation many times myself. I believe that enough of the sail drops into the lazy jacks to deal with most any emergency situation. For MOB, I wouldn't care if there was sail lying all over the place, as long as enough was controlled to keep it out of the prop.
There is a lot of friction induced by the slugs. If your halyard is led back to the cockpit, the extra blocks add to the friction as well. Many people swear by cleaning and waxing the luff track to reduce this friction to a minimum. You could even install Harken BattSlides or BattCars for a friction-free drop. I have BattSlides myself, and they do eliminate the friction caused by the battens twisting the slugs. But you could also achieve that by coming perfectly head-to-wind when you drop. BattCars are very expensive, over $1000 for a mid-sized boat. I've thought about this situation many times myself. I believe that enough of the sail drops into the lazy jacks to deal with most any emergency situation. For MOB, I wouldn't care if there was sail lying all over the place, as long as enough was controlled to keep it out of the prop.
It's not like a window shade, but not bad...
Hi James- My '90 V32 has a UK main (probably original) with fairly large black plastic sail slugs. They usually slide fairly well, but I have recently sprayed them with Harken MacLube. Since I also recently had my mast out, I also cleaned the groove and sprayed MacLube the entire length. I have found that I really need to head to wind if there is any real breeze blowing in order to get the main down in short order. At that, I still need to have the main sheet and the halyard free to run. I also make sure the stoppers are open and back all the way as well. When I usually drop the main, I'm back in the marina behind a jetty. The wind is off a few points to starboard, and so as I putt up the inside of the jetty with Otto steering, I drop the main and usually do go forward (on the right) to pull down the last 6 feet or so. I don't really *have* to do this, but it's easier because I have a cross-wind slip.... One question- How easy is it to raise your main?
Hi James- My '90 V32 has a UK main (probably original) with fairly large black plastic sail slugs. They usually slide fairly well, but I have recently sprayed them with Harken MacLube. Since I also recently had my mast out, I also cleaned the groove and sprayed MacLube the entire length. I have found that I really need to head to wind if there is any real breeze blowing in order to get the main down in short order. At that, I still need to have the main sheet and the halyard free to run. I also make sure the stoppers are open and back all the way as well. When I usually drop the main, I'm back in the marina behind a jetty. The wind is off a few points to starboard, and so as I putt up the inside of the jetty with Otto steering, I drop the main and usually do go forward (on the right) to pull down the last 6 feet or so. I don't really *have* to do this, but it's easier because I have a cross-wind slip.... One question- How easy is it to raise your main?
Silicone spray!
If you have slugs and not a luff tape, (I don't know about luff tapes?) silicone spray works great. I've used it on my Pearson 26 and Hunter 30. Don't use alot. Try some and see if it does the trick. Spray a little on all the slugs and run them up. I just did it on my H30 and the sail comes down as nice as can be. Z
If you have slugs and not a luff tape, (I don't know about luff tapes?) silicone spray works great. I've used it on my Pearson 26 and Hunter 30. Don't use alot. Try some and see if it does the trick. Spray a little on all the slugs and run them up. I just did it on my H30 and the sail comes down as nice as can be. Z
Main dropping
My h26 had the same problem. It can get a bit sloppy here on the Bay of Banderas in the afternoon and I didn´t want anyone to have to go forward to pull the main down at the end of the day. I tried lubing the sail slides. Not good enough. Happiness came with the addition of downhauls. I have downhauls on both mail and jib. I head up, pull in the downhaul, the main drops into lazyjacks, and I can stand in the companionway hatch and put a sail tie on the aft part of the sail. The downhaul keeps the head down. I can neaten things up later. David King Puerto Valarta, Mexico
My h26 had the same problem. It can get a bit sloppy here on the Bay of Banderas in the afternoon and I didn´t want anyone to have to go forward to pull the main down at the end of the day. I tried lubing the sail slides. Not good enough. Happiness came with the addition of downhauls. I have downhauls on both mail and jib. I head up, pull in the downhaul, the main drops into lazyjacks, and I can stand in the companionway hatch and put a sail tie on the aft part of the sail. The downhaul keeps the head down. I can neaten things up later. David King Puerto Valarta, Mexico
Batten twists and raising the main
Thanks for all of your wonderful input! As Paul mentioned, I think the "batten twisting the slugs" is the primary problem, but it's probably not the only thing that keeps the main from a free fall. If there is a simple way for me to clean the inside of the railings, I'm sure that would help... $1000 is definately out of our budget... I'm also a bit weary about spraying lubricant into the railings. Do they gunk up? Or is that really not a concern? Raising the main is, well, alot of work. It's a 32' sail boat, but the main is huge on the vision (50' mast, or there abouts). Two years ago we had power winches installed for the main halyard, so I honestly don't have an idea as to how hard it is to raise the sail... But then I've never raised sails on other boats so I wouldn't be able to speak comparatively. I'm rambling.
I'll look into the lubrications as a near-term, cost effective solution. See how it goes. Not sure what's involved in installing a down-haul, but I could ask around my local yard. Cheers, -j-
Thanks for all of your wonderful input! As Paul mentioned, I think the "batten twisting the slugs" is the primary problem, but it's probably not the only thing that keeps the main from a free fall. If there is a simple way for me to clean the inside of the railings, I'm sure that would help... $1000 is definately out of our budget... I'm also a bit weary about spraying lubricant into the railings. Do they gunk up? Or is that really not a concern? Raising the main is, well, alot of work. It's a 32' sail boat, but the main is huge on the vision (50' mast, or there abouts). Two years ago we had power winches installed for the main halyard, so I honestly don't have an idea as to how hard it is to raise the sail... But then I've never raised sails on other boats so I wouldn't be able to speak comparatively. I'm rambling.
I'll look into the lubrications as a near-term, cost effective solution. See how it goes. Not sure what's involved in installing a down-haul, but I could ask around my local yard. Cheers, -j-Only use McLube
James: I would suggest that you clean out the track first. Use a piece of scotch brite pad or some synthetic wool (3M brand, also Home Depot has it in the paint dept). Use some good cleaner to remove any previous crap that may have accumulated. Then spray the entire track (top to bottom) with Mclube. This goes on wet but dries and bonds to the surface. Then you should also clean and spray your slugs. You may find that this needs to be done more often depending on your environment. I know that we have bugs and spiders that like to think of the mast track as home. Also inspect the lines (wash the halyard) and turning blocks. If these are not bearing blocks, you can also eliminate some fricton by changing these too. Good luck. I cannot promise that this is going to take care of the problem but it should help.
James: I would suggest that you clean out the track first. Use a piece of scotch brite pad or some synthetic wool (3M brand, also Home Depot has it in the paint dept). Use some good cleaner to remove any previous crap that may have accumulated. Then spray the entire track (top to bottom) with Mclube. This goes on wet but dries and bonds to the surface. Then you should also clean and spray your slugs. You may find that this needs to be done more often depending on your environment. I know that we have bugs and spiders that like to think of the mast track as home. Also inspect the lines (wash the halyard) and turning blocks. If these are not bearing blocks, you can also eliminate some fricton by changing these too. Good luck. I cannot promise that this is going to take care of the problem but it should help.
Cheap and easy
way to lubracate the track is to cut a piece out of an old candle that is ruoghly the shape of one of your sail lugs. Put it on top of your top sail lug and everytime you raise the main you will lube the track. Don't worry if it gets stuck at the top. The next hot day it will be back at the bottom.
way to lubracate the track is to cut a piece out of an old candle that is ruoghly the shape of one of your sail lugs. Put it on top of your top sail lug and everytime you raise the main you will lube the track. Don't worry if it gets stuck at the top. The next hot day it will be back at the bottom.
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