Sail Slugs attachments breaking

[Jim Seamans]

Need the collective wisdom of the group.This weekend while we were out surfing the Chesapeake, a couple of sail slugs broke at some point. After going down wind for a couple of hours we started to turn back up wind and REEFED. At this point I foundthe broken pieces in the mast track. When we finally stop for the evening, I pulled the main out to check every slug. Besides the two broken ones there were a couple more with pretty good worn marks. There is onlya 1/8" of thickness plastic holding the round part into the track and to the sail. To me this seems like a great point of failure. Has anyone else seen this?Any suggestions on something better?Could have this happened while the sail was luffingin this wind while getting reefed? And no need toworry - just carry extras onboard.Saturday winds were hitting 18kts.JimS/V Java

 

[Bernie]

Lubricating Sail Track

Jim,I originally had some problems raising the sail with the sail slugs getting stuck in the track as they went up. I was worried about damaging the slugs when winching the main halyard and so I purchased some sail track lubricant at West Marine and sprayed it inside the track for its entire length. This seems to have solved my problem. In bending on the main this past weekend, I inspected each track slide, and they were all still in good condition. I am not sure if this is the cause of your problem, but lubrication may be at least a partial solution. In any event, I think I will follow your suggestion and keep an extra couple of sail slugs on board. I already need to buy a couple of sail stops since one of my guests knocked the stop off the mast track and over the side this weekend while trying to be helpful.Take care,Bernie

 

[Dave Laing s/v WindSong]

Sail Track Lubricant

Bernie's post about sailtrack lubricant is good advice. Be sure to buy the lubricant specifically for sails/masts. Using WD-40 or something similar will attract dirt and "gum" things up.Dave

 

[Frank]

Replace them

All my slugs blew apart the first time I sailed my boat. It was more than seven years old and the sail was luffing. I replaced them all and carry spares. If you have shackles they are easy to replace. If they are webbed on your will need a needle and sail thread or a sailmaker. If yours are staring to go I would replace them all. You can use steel slugs instead of plastic but your sdail will tear before the slugs break.