Replacing sail slugs

[dreadpiratk]

I have a 1989 Catalina 34. One of my winter projects this year was to replace a couple of broken sail slugs. Looking at it today, I have a mix of slugs. Sewn on brass at the reefing points, larger slides with bearings at the battens and the rest nylon slides. Only the nylon ones are breaking and I understand that they are a wear part that needs replacement regularly.

I'm curious why the mix of types, is this original or a product of partial upgrades over the years?

More practically: is there any kind of upgraded sail slug that would have less friction and allow the sail to be raised more easily? As it is it takes quite a bit of force to get it all the way up. This spring we will be dropping the mast and will clean and lube the track, so that should help, but if I'm buying new slugs I'd go for better ones if that would help.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I assume you are familiar with the various options to slugs which are often problematic. One example is:


Even better, cars with bearings make raising/lowering any sail a ‘breeze’. Pun intended.

 

[Ward H]

I never heard that they are a wear part. They do degrade because of UV, become brittle and break more easily.
It is common for a different system at the battens when a sail has full battens. Helps to reduce the friction that full battens can cause when they push against the mast.
I plan on using these slugs as they are designed differently for less friction, when I buy my next sail. Allslip

 

[Stu Jackson]

You could also ask on our C34 Forum: Main Message Board

There are many folks there who have boat specific answers to your request.

I have a Harken Batt Car system on my boat and haven't seen a sail slug since I sold my Catalina 25 in 1998!

Good luck, all the best.

 

[Tally Ho]

I imagine you have an amalgamation of “stuff” on your sail.

As noted, if you have full battens, those usually use a batt car or some other way to take some friction out of the system. I had them on my Hunter 280 with full battens.

My current bolt has a traditional main, partial battens, and nylon slugs. Those were old and broke frequently.

i ordered a new sail, with full battens, and added a Tides Marine Strong track. The slugs are large and metal (polished SS I think). Really nice and they slide in the HDPE track smoothly.

Greg.