Sail slide stop

[Joe11688]

Here's a sail slide stop that I've been using for many years that is fast and easy to use. It involves a small diameter braid line tied around the mast with a reef knot. As most of you know, a reef knot is nothing more than a quick release square knot. Fortunately, I have a mast winch that is situated in the right place, that supports the line above the sail slide feed track, that keeps the line from sliding down the mast. I recently decided to tie the braid line to the winch bracket with a small twine. If you don't have a mast winch you could still use this idea on your boat by installing a plastic wire clip with a stainless steel machine screw to hold it in place.
I've tried those "knob thingies" that they sell at "Worst Marine" and I don't like them. If you're not keen on drilling and tapping a small hole in your mast, maybe you could just use Velcro for now and try it out. I've found that the Velcro which is sold in Automotive stores is more heavy duty with larger hooks than the fabric store variety. I recently purchased some at Auto Tech and I've been using it in the interior of my boat and it holds up pretty well. Give it a try and let me know if you like it. The winch on my mast is on the Port side, so I make the reef knot on the Starboard side. You may prefer the reef knot on the Port side. It's entirely up to you.

 

[Warren Milberg]

On one of my previous boats, I just used a piece of 1/4" bungee with a plastic hook on each end wrapped around the mast as a sail stop. I've also used a SS bolt, that fit into the sail track, with washer and a wing nut as a sail stop. I'm curious to hear what others have invented and used. Whatever works, works...

 

[Joe]

Just a small screw tapped into the track... works well with flat track slides, might be a little harder with bolt rope slugs.

 

[Joe11688]

On one of my previous boats, I just used a piece of 1/4" bungee with a plastic hook on each end wrapped around the mast as a sail stop. I've also used a SS bolt, that fit into the sail track, with washer and a wing nut as a sail stop. I'm curious to hear what others have invented and used. Whatever works, works...

I really don't know enough about how other boats are set up for reefing and by that I mean, do sail slides need to be removed from the track before shortening sail? I need to remove two sail slugs from the mast on my O'Day 222 and my friend Wayne needs to do the same on his Seaward 22. So having a sail stop that is fast and easy to remove and put back means a lot to me. Wayne still uses that sail stop with the knob and I told him that if he ever loses it I'll gladly give him the one I used to use in my mast slot. The bungee cord sounds like a good idea. I use a 3/16" bungee cord to hold the three cam cleats against the control lines that run through my boom at the goose neck.

Joe,
When you reef your mainsail , do you need to remove sail slides out of your mast track?

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

I currently use a bungee with plastic ends as well. Since my padeyes for my mast raising baby stays are luckily right at that point it works out well. I am, though, currently tweaking the closing of the flare at the mast to allow for slugs to be installed 'shotgun shell' style at the bottom but wont fall out when raising or lowering the sail under normal curcumstances or when reefing. Every time I go to the boat, I bend it a little bit more(and of course check that a slug can still be removed when done). I want to avoid having to climb onto the top of the deck to control the slugs when lowering the main for a reef. I also figured out that my rigger was incorrect in insisting that I put a spacer/extension at the tack of the main when I switched to slugs from bolt ropes as this was causing a large wrinkle in the main under normal sail and a larger one when reefed resulting in extremely poor performance when reefed.

 

[Richard Bryer]

I don't like sail stops. I find they leave the sail too high up for reefing and to reach the top to attach the halyard. I made a cover for the slot-

 

[Joe11688]

I guess it all depends on where the feeder is located on the mast in relation to the height of the boom and the location of the sail slides in the groove. Consequently, you need to go with what works for your present situation. I can understand that.
I noticed that the O'Day 272 that I once delivered had a special lacing on the luff of the Mainsail just above the goose neck fitting that led to the cockpit. I'm assuming that this is used to relieve tension on the luff of the sail when it is reefed. All the halyards and control lines on this boat lead into the cockpit. So my question is, do you need to relieve the tension on your Mainsail when you reef by dropping one or two sail slides out of the track, or is there some other means of accomplishing this? I used to drop one slug out and I did this for years. Then I talked to Wayne about this and he said that he needs to drop two out of his mast. On further examination I found that I also needed to drop two slugs in order to reef my Mainsail.
So as far as the sail stop goes, we need to use whatever the set up of the spars dictate, which means that my set up won't work for every sailboat. Sometimes I wonder if the boat designers ever took this into consideration when they contracted the spar manufacturer, or did the spar designer decide where to put the mast track feeder? One of the guys in my club who owns a Bayliner Buccaneer claims that the mast track feeder slot was set too high. He may be right.

 

[watercolors II]

Mast Gates.

Do a search for mast gates, they close off the extra wide slot in the mast for feeding the slugs in. Once the mast gates are closed to fit the slot all of the slugs will slide down past it. No ropes, stops or bungies.

 

[Joe11688]

Do a search for mast gates, they close off the extra wide slot in the mast for feeding the slugs in. Once the mast gates are closed to fit the slot all of the slugs will slide down past it. No ropes, stops or bungies.

That Mast Snap Gate is something that I would be interested in. I like the idea of the mast gate but I would want to be able to remove my sail slides without having to use a screwdriver. There have been occasions when an impending bad storm warrants removing my boom and stowing it in the cabin along with removing my Gennie from the furler luff. I think that it's something worth looking into.

 

[RichBone]

Main Sail Gate
http://rigrite.com/Spars/Kenyon_Spars/3550-Mast.html
I use one of these and I can slide my slides all the way down to the gooseneck and I don't need to take any out of the track.

Rich

 

[Joe11688]

Main Sail Gate
http://rigrite.com/Spars/Kenyon_Spars/3550-Mast.html
I use one of these and I can slide my slides all the way down to the gooseneck and I don't need to take any out of the track.

Rich

Your mast track feeder is different than mine Rich. I don't think that I have any other alternative than the rope stop, for two important reasons. I have a sail slug feeder that won't allow the slugs to collect in the track below it. Also, I have a fixed goose neck fitting on my mast with no tack downhaul. If I were to remove my slug feeder and install a mast gate, I wouldn't have enough room between the feeding slot and the bottom of the track above the gooseneck. Looking at the picture, I would probably have just enough room for only two sail slugs. I don't think that there is any more than 5" of track under that goose neck. I don't know if it would be worth screwing with. In the picture just to the right of the mast winch, that black thing is the feeder slot. There isn't much room under that feeder on my mast. I may still look into it though. I'm planning on going down to the club this morning to check it out. If there's an easier and better way, I'm open to it. I'll get some close up pics of it too.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

That one wouldn't work on mine either, rich. My Mac has pretty wide flares on both sides for more than 3 " long and also with a fixed boom attachment. Was considering building one, but after a bit of experimenting, found that I could close off the flare slightly where needed but still get slugs out at the end of the season. Still tweaking it, though.

 

[Joe11688]

Rich,
I just checked my mast to see if a gate would work on it and it just isn't doable. I guess I'll have to stick with the rope.
Joe

 

[timebandit]

Have a look here to see the cure---
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-13.html

 

[Joe11688]

Have a look here to see the cure---
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-13.html

I'm afraid not. The slugs have to be removed from my mast. The only way to get a gate to work on my mast is to loosen the clew outhaul. It's easier to remove the slugs than to mess with the outhaul each time.

 

[kenn]

I don't like sail stops. I find they leave the sail too high up for reefing and to reach the top to attach the halyard. I made a cover for the slot-

One of the fellow owners of our type of small cruiser (sandpiper 565) is a machinist and he fabricated a custom slotted gate insert that very nicely captures the sail slugs.

Same idea would probably work on most boats, using the right dimensions.

 

[kirbyc1goo]

I'm confused about what yall are talking about. Are all these sail stop ideas only for reefing or everyday sailing? Could someone explain why a sail stop is necessary. (just trying to learn more)

Thanks

Would I also need one of these sail stops?

 

[Joe11688]

I'm confused about what yall are talking about. Are all these sail stop ideas only for reefing or everyday sailing? Could someone explain why a sail stop is necessary. (just trying to learn more)

Thanks

Would I also need one of these sail stops?

Looking at your mast; You have a slot where you feed your sail slugs into the groove. When your sail is up your sail slugs are still in the groove but when you let your sail down, your slugs will fall out of your mast unless you have something to stop them above that slot in your mast. Some guys use a sail stop that resembles a sail slug with a screw type knob on it. After they get all the sail slugs into the groove, they install this sail stop and tighten the knob to keep the slugs from falling out of the mast. An old sail maker told me one day that he used a cotter pin for a sail stop. He drilled a hole through the mast groove just above the sail feeding slot just wide enough to insert the cotter pin. I wouldn't do that to my mast, but he seemed to favor it. My mast has internal halyards and I have a different type of feeder on my mast than the one you have pictured. If you reef your sail with the sail down and go to raise the sail up and find that the last two sail slides or slugs are binding in the track because of the tension created in the new foot of the sail, you are better off removing those sail slugs out of the track. All the tension should be on the reefing grommet and the reefing horn of the goose neck fitting.
The other day I went on a small cruise with my dog Penny down toward Newport RI., and I remembered reading about someone who used ordinary dish washing detergent on his sail slides in place of a Teflon sail track lubricant, so I tried it and got excellent results. My sail goes up easy and comes down fast when I let the main halyard off. When it rains, the water will wash that sail track and get it nice and clean. I'm going to find a small squeeze type bottle and try to stick a straw into it so that I can direct the soap into the sail track a little easier. Right now I'm using a small 2 oz. sample squeeze bottle filled from a large bottle of Dawn Liquid Detergent, for my dishes. Even a small squeeze type oil can filled with dish washing detergent would do the trick. Give it a try.
Joe