Sail grease!

[jackhartjr]

Hi folks, I just bought a used mainsail in GREAT condition.
It is the kind that has a line going up the luft as opposed to slugs.
Would you use anything to help it slide up the mast?
Or should I make it to where I can use slugs...and if so how would you do that.
Thanks a ton in advance!
Jack
PS...I saw it on craigslist, the seller was kind enough to box it and ship it.
(He lost his boat in the hurricane that hit the Galveston area last year...however had taken a lot of the 'stuff 'off of it just in case.

 

[Ross]

Any dry lubricant will serve or you can buy couple of dozen slugs of the right size and sew them to the luff.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

The slugs get my vote. While dri-kote(spelling?) sprayed in the slot will help, I tried that and much more to get my V21 main to raise and lower smoothly with the bolt rope arrangement. I opted for the slugs after the first couple of trips on the water. You may want to look into a slug gate to prevent them from all falling out when the sail is lowered. The Oday may have a mast that can comform to ready made ones, but I'm in the process of fabricating one for my vintage Venture/Mac.

 

[Ted]

Sail grease

Never use grease. You can spray the bolt rope on the luff with Sail Kote or similar dry lubricant product. While a bolt rope will yield a better sail shape than slugs, it is a bit of a PITA when stowing the main at the end of the day if you keep in covered on the boom rather than removing it completely. The main luff has to be completely removed from the mast. Keeping it on the boat on a windy day can be challenging. It is easy for your sailmaker to add slugs to your new main. It's also a DIY project if you have the time. Slugs can be fastened to your luff by installing grommets and attaching the slugs with nylon shackles which go through the grommets. If you are good with a needle and thread, Then can be fastened directly to the sail without grommets and shackles.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

The September issue of Small Craft Adviser has an exellent article about installing slugs on the mainsail.Check it out!

 

[Joe]

Leave as it is... go sailing first.

No need to modify it. It's much easier to take on and off with the bolt rope anyway because you don't have to feed the slugs in. Just keep the track slippery with a little dry lubricant. You can still store it on the boom if you have a cover. Just fold it over as you normally would after you drop it and secure it with 4 or 5 sail ties (Please, I know they are often called "gaskets" but if you go to the chandlery to buy gaskets they will look at you funny and then end up directing you to the "sail tie" section of the store. So lighten up all you terminology police! heh, heh)

 

[Douglast]

Re: Leave as it is... go sailing first.

my boom can rotate so i just roll the sail on the boom as the sail rope exits the wider mast notch as i lower the sail ...seems to work well..had been just layering the sail and using sail ties untill i discouvered this other method..but i enjoy this thread for sail rope lube...