I'm tired of having the plastic sail slides on my Hunter 26 break. I've looked at the ball-bearing Harken Battslides and their Schaeffer counterpart, but both require an extra track on the mast, and thus more weight aloft. Does anyone know of a stronger sail slide that uses the existing groove?
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Me too
Finally got some really good wind on the lake this Labor Day weekend , only to have my top two Aquabatten sail slugs break minutes after leaving the dock. The only sail oriented marina in the area doesn't stock any sail slugs, adding insult to injury. Sorry I can't offer a solution. Just empathy. Ron Mehringer h26 Hydro-Therapy
Finally got some really good wind on the lake this Labor Day weekend , only to have my top two Aquabatten sail slugs break minutes after leaving the dock. The only sail oriented marina in the area doesn't stock any sail slugs, adding insult to injury. Sorry I can't offer a solution. Just empathy. Ron Mehringer h26 Hydro-Therapy
Sturdy Sail Slug
When I bought my used 1994 H26, it had the plastic sail slugs except for a single stainless steel and plastic-coated slug.I don't have any info on the slug but have attached a photo of it. Maybe someone can provide the specifics. BrianW
When I bought my used 1994 H26, it had the plastic sail slugs except for a single stainless steel and plastic-coated slug.I don't have any info on the slug but have attached a photo of it. Maybe someone can provide the specifics. BrianW
The picture of that slide appears to fit a circular mast groove. I just this season bought a teflon coated SS flat slug for the tack of my main. I bought it from the Sail Rite folks. It was a special order and not cheap($12), but it works great. Great folks to talk with, very helpful. phone: (800) 348-2769
Aquabatten
The slide pictured in Brian's post looks like it would need to be attached to the sail with a sewn on strap. How do you find slides like the Aquabatten pictured below which has a link that snaps onto the grommet in the sail? Ron Mehringer h26 Hydro-Therapy
The slide pictured in Brian's post looks like it would need to be attached to the sail with a sewn on strap. How do you find slides like the Aquabatten pictured below which has a link that snaps onto the grommet in the sail? Ron Mehringer h26 Hydro-Therapy
Never mind
Never mind. I just found them in the Sailrite catalog. Thought both halves of the system would be sold together, but the shackle is listed separately from the slide. Ron
Never mind. I just found them in the Sailrite catalog. Thought both halves of the system would be sold together, but the shackle is listed separately from the slide. Ron
The slug
In my case I broke two slugs. The shackles were just fine. Probably happened during a gybe. Ron Mehringer
In my case I broke two slugs. The shackles were just fine. Probably happened during a gybe. Ron Mehringer
Slugs worn out...
This past winter I had 2 slugs replaced because they were worn down to the metal core. Both were at the mast end of the full battens. Fair winds, Tom
This past winter I had 2 slugs replaced because they were worn down to the metal core. Both were at the mast end of the full battens. Fair winds, Tom
Broken Slugs
I recently had 5 out of eleven slugs break in one afternoon. I have a 1995 H23.5 and notice the slugs just become brittle with age. On my sail 3 of the slugs had to be attached via a cloth strap and thus had to be sewn into place. There are two parts to the other slugs; one that rides in the track and the other plastic piece attaches the slugs to the sail through a metal eyelet. West Marine carries the part that goes into the track, but I was never able to find the other piece. Finally, I went to the Doyle Sailmakers in Alameda, CA. They don't even carry the second part, but they were able to replace all the slugs (now attached by cloth strips) for $81.
I recently had 5 out of eleven slugs break in one afternoon. I have a 1995 H23.5 and notice the slugs just become brittle with age. On my sail 3 of the slugs had to be attached via a cloth strap and thus had to be sewn into place. There are two parts to the other slugs; one that rides in the track and the other plastic piece attaches the slugs to the sail through a metal eyelet. West Marine carries the part that goes into the track, but I was never able to find the other piece. Finally, I went to the Doyle Sailmakers in Alameda, CA. They don't even carry the second part, but they were able to replace all the slugs (now attached by cloth strips) for $81.
Broken Slides
I hope this will help. The Majority of Slides used in any mast are Nylon except for the head slide(Usually). Nylon is of course prone to eventual UV Degradation, but they should last a long time. The Mainsail Luff slides or slugs, are guides and are not designed or intended to really handle the full sail load, that is the job of your halyard, and the Luff Rope in the sail. The most common fault of slide failure, is not enough Halyard tension. If you see "Scallops" in your luff, it means that you are point-loading your slides. When this occurs, your slides are taking all the load of your sail, instead of the halyard. When sailing, as wind pressure increases, it may be necessary to adjust your halyard tension to avoid loading the slides. This is also common when reefing, adequate halyard tension is not applied, and the slides are taking all the load. Now, couple that with the increased shock load of a tack or Jibe, and those little slides are going to have a tough time staying in one piece. Most Sailmakers should have a pretty good stock of different style slides or slugs that will work even if they aren't exactly the same kind as you had. But they may not have the plastic shackles. The reason sailmakers use webbing to attach the slides is because the webbing will articulate better than a shackle and it tends to distribute load better than a single point like a shackle.
I hope this will help. The Majority of Slides used in any mast are Nylon except for the head slide(Usually). Nylon is of course prone to eventual UV Degradation, but they should last a long time. The Mainsail Luff slides or slugs, are guides and are not designed or intended to really handle the full sail load, that is the job of your halyard, and the Luff Rope in the sail. The most common fault of slide failure, is not enough Halyard tension. If you see "Scallops" in your luff, it means that you are point-loading your slides. When this occurs, your slides are taking all the load of your sail, instead of the halyard. When sailing, as wind pressure increases, it may be necessary to adjust your halyard tension to avoid loading the slides. This is also common when reefing, adequate halyard tension is not applied, and the slides are taking all the load. Now, couple that with the increased shock load of a tack or Jibe, and those little slides are going to have a tough time staying in one piece. Most Sailmakers should have a pretty good stock of different style slides or slugs that will work even if they aren't exactly the same kind as you had. But they may not have the plastic shackles. The reason sailmakers use webbing to attach the slides is because the webbing will articulate better than a shackle and it tends to distribute load better than a single point like a shackle.
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