New Main Sail Slides

S

Skippie10

.
Mar 11, 2013
57
S2 9.2 Port Washington, WI
Hi,

I blew out my main on my 30' S2 sailboat (30 years old!) and have requested a quote from North Sails for a cruising Dacron type replacement. The price seems reasonable but the loft recommended an "adder" for Sailman 3500 full batten system (about an extra $375 for these) and it looks like these are big black and ugly slides at each batten. I did not have such slides for my previous sail and am reluctant to purchase them for this new sail. I don't raise my sails but 20 times per year and that seems like overkill.

Should I request a different car system or just go with the standard (not Sailman 3500)?

Confused,

Don
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
It depends.

Full battens put a lot of extra pressure on the slugs/cars where they meet the luff. They load up and press in HARD. This can cause them to bind and make the sail VERY hard to raise and lower.

Can you manage without them. Yes. Is it better with them? Yes.

Our First 260 has a full-batten main about the same size as your 9.2. We love the car system on the main (Strongtrack).
 
Sprega

Sprega

.
Sep 12, 2012
115
O,day 27 Brownsville Marina
Look into using "Alslip" slides. You would only need them at the battens. You could even add them yourself, probably for less than $40.
 
Gunni

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Can you release your halyard and have your full-batten mainsail tumble into a neat pile in your lazy jacks? With a bat car system you can. The low-friction polymer bearing systems are a good low-cost option. No experience with this one, it uses your existing spar groove. I use the Tide Marine Strong Track and consider it an essential piece of sail gear.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sprega said:
Look into using "Alslip" slides. You would only need them at the battens. You could even add them yourself, probably for less than $40.
Click to expand

It's not quite the same thing. The trick is to keep the battens from binding. To do that you need a way couple the batten to the car. The track systems do this.

 
Sprega

Sprega

.
Sep 12, 2012
115
O,day 27 Brownsville Marina
Jackdaw said:
It's not quite the same thing. The trick is to keep the battens from binding. To do that you need a way couple the batten to the car. The track systems do this.

Click to expand
Might want to check out the sailrite vid using allslips on ful battens.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sprega said:
Might want to check out the sailrite vid using allslips on ful battens.
Click to expand
Thanks for the tip, I've watched the video. It is probably better than regular slugs, but probably not a lot. They don't really address the real problem.. The trick is two-fold, getting the thrust of the full batten pushed straight into the slug (not twisting on webbing, and having a very well designed interface between the slug and the groove so it can slide under the pressure. The thing to remember about full battens is that they press IN hard under load... unlike a regularly batten sail. That is why most have concluded that the best way to do that is to engineer a track along with the new slide, and forgo the mast groove.

Harken Battcar, Tides Strongtrack are great examples. We have the Harken system on our 367, and Strongtrack on the 260.

Its interesting to note that both the Alslip and the Sailman system that the OP was recommended are Bainbridge products. Bainbrige recommends the Sailman for full batten sails, and not Alslip.

But it would be interesting to know how these actually work. Have you used them on a fullbatten main, or just watched the video?

Re Sailrite - I'm a customer and have watched many of their their videos. I value their expertise in canvas and sewing, but find their advice on actual sailing and sailboat mechanics rather simplistic.
 
Sprega

Sprega

.
Sep 12, 2012
115
O,day 27 Brownsville Marina
Jackdaw, the 2 top battens on my main are full. It came from the loft with allslips on the full battens. Seems to work pretty well. I will say that if I was buying the sail again, I would only get a full batten on the top. Other wise, if I wasn't on a very tight budget, I might go for all full battens with a strongtrack.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sprega said:
Jackdaw, the 2 top battens on my main are full. It came from the loft with allslips on the full battens. Seems to work pretty well. I will say that if I was buying the sail again, I would only get a full batten on the top. Other wise, if I wasn't on a very tight budget, I might go for all full battens with a strongtrack.
Click to expand
Gotcha. The 2+2 configuration is getting more popular. I'm a big fan of full batten sails.. Best if you have both a light and heavy air set of battens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom