Little Plastic Bugger That Closes Sail-Slide Slot

[Glenn Newcomb]

The little plastic part that fits over the slot for inserting/removing the sail slides just above the boom has broken on my boat.It seems like it would be easy to fix, but the old one was riveted on and was shaped as one continuous piece so that it opened and closed without romoving it.How do I replace this? The only thought I have is to drill out the rivets, tap the holes and use machine type screws to hold the new piece in place.Can I even get the new part or do I have to fashion something myself? The complication here is that the old one actually bows inward at the slot so that the sail slides don't get caught on the top of the slot on the way up.This seems like such a dumb problem to have, but I can't be the first! So far, I have solved the problem by duct taping the old one in place but I feel a more elegant solution must exist.Any help?

 

[Merrill Mant]

Gate Closure

Our 33.5 has a metal gate closure......screw heads often open up Knuckles!! Perhaps the mast builder would be a place to start the hunt for a replacement.

 

[Bob Rutland]

Mast track slot closure thing-a-ma-jig

When I bought my 84 H31 this piece was missing. I bought a piece of flat aluminum, cut it just shorter than the mast slot, screwed it to the mast(used stainless screws and 3m 5200 to prevent dislike metal electrolisis)then uesd a hammer to carefully tap the piece into the mast track.This is kind of crude, but it dosn't look bad and works well. Goog Luck, Bob S/V Lady Di II

 

[red coles]

Sail stop

Hello Glen: This what I do. Throw away the gate, and place a sailstop slug in the track, just above the opening. Works for me. In fact I tapped a small screw into the bottom of the sailstop and tied a small nylon cord to it, and other end to mast,so I don't lose it while removing sail. Good luck red