Mainsail track

[phdoc]

The track on the mast for the mainsail has the expanded opening at the bottom to feed the sail lugs into when raising the sail.

My problem is how do you keep the sail lugs in the track when you lower the sail or reef the sail? I've been having to get up on deck and re-feed the lugs back into the track when I am ready to raise the sail again.

Any quick fix for this problem?
Bill

 

[thisoldspouse]

Stop

You need a "sail track stop", either the round and flat for aound $9.
I just added slugs and a stop to my main.
Eric

 

[phdoc]

Thanks

I will get two of them since "overboard" has a bad connotation for me lately. My cell phone is, to quote a line from the Godfather, "[now] swimming with the fishes."

 

[Bob Gump]

Temp Fix

When I don't find my stop... I just wrap a line to the Mast ring and tie it around the mast below the first slug.... I have also seen/used a pin to go through a hole drilled across the slot; the quick disconnect pin is attached to the mast with a small/short wire rope.... A bolt will also do the job.... The only pressure is holding up the slugs in the slot on the mast...

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

I found..

I found that the slug stop would keep slipping unless I used a pliers to tighten the thumbscrew which, on mine, is pretty small. This required carrying around the stopper AND pliers or visegrip. I currently use a bungee that loops conveniently to the padeyes that the baby stays attach to for mast raising/lowering - sheer chance that I installed them there. I am in the process of building a permanent gate(with just enough opening at the bottom to allow careful insertion/removal of slugs)out of medium weight aluminum that will close up that big flare and allow the slides free movement. It's currently pretty annoying to undo the bungee when attempting to reef even if not under way.

 

[Paul Brinkley]

PO drilled a hole across the slot just above the widened feed area...

but there was no stop on the boat when I bought it. I've been using the twist tie from a loaf of bread to hold my slugs up! Will try to find something a little more appropriate next year... but for the time being, it works...;D -Paul

 

[caguy]

The slug stop is the conventional way to go.

but I have read where most of the channel openning has been hammered closed, just for the purpose of reefing.
I have also seen and I believe you can buy screw on plates that reduce the size of the opening all of the way down. They look simple enough to manufacture.
The other solution is to mark your halyard at the point where you need to reef so that when you remove the stop only the 2 slugs that need to be removed fall out.
Thanks for reminding me I need to drill a small hole in the knurled knob and lanyard it. That use to be on my to do list and fell off.
Frank

 

[#1auctioneer]

How Do I add slugs and run halyards along cabin top?

My wife is tired of running forward.

You need a "sail track stop", either the round and flat for aound $9.
I just added slugs and a stop to my main.
Eric

 

[JDK]

Try this. Simple, cheap, and effective.

JDK

 

[David F]

As one of the other repliers mentioned.... bungee cord! Being new to sailing, I wondered what to do with all those bungees after rigging, and I found that one good place was to double a cord just above the slot to keep the lugs from slipping down. It works well on my 26D.

 

[CaptTripps]

I used a short SS hex head bolt, two washers and a wing nut. Just slip the hex head into the slot and tighten the wing nut down on the two washers. Got two of them (gots dat overboard-itis also) at Lowes for ~ $2. >><Tripps

 

[timebandit]

I've taken a different approach.

After having slugs attached to my sail, I closed up the sail loading slot above the boom and opened another below the boom.

Now, with the main sail attached to the boom, I lay the boom on the deck and feed the slugs in the slot while hoisting with the halyard and attach the gooseneck.

Now with the slot below the gooseneck the sail can never escape, it actually allows the sail to stack shorter because the slugs are allowed to go all the way to the gooseneck.

No worries about losing a sale stop or pin.

Once the sail is stacked and tied on the boom it is a simple matter of just disconnecting the halyard and the gooseneck and sliding the sail off the mast altogether and if it's in the sail cover I just store it that way, no need to disconnect the sail from the boom.