Take mainsail out of track after use?

Oct 19, 2019
921
Albin Vega 27 Limerick
Hi all.
I recently bought a new Dacron cruising mainsail.
I'm very happy with it - and anxious to keep it in good condition.
At present I leave the sail slugs in the mast track when I furl the sail after use. I just pull the sail aft and pleat as usual, then secure onto boom with sail ties.

Some friends recommend opening the gate on the mast (above the goose neck track) and removing the sail.
Then wrap the sail round the boom.

What does the list think - is it worth the few minutes extra work?

John V1447 Breakaway

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie
 
Feb 12, 2008
337
We always roll our laminate sails and our dacron racing sails, but flake our dacron cruising sails on the boom.
For cruising sails, we don't think it is worth it. For racing, we try to keep the sails as smooth and wrinkle free as possible. tg________________________________
From: John.Kinsella John.Kinsella@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2013 6:10 AM
Subject: [AlbinVega] Take mainsail out of track after use?

Hi all.
I recently bought a new Dacron cruising mainsail.
I'm very happy with it - and anxious to keep it in good condition.
At present I leave the sail slugs in the mast track when I furl the sail after use. I just pull the sail aft and pleat as usual, then secure onto boom with sail ties.

Some friends recommend opening the gate on the mast (above the goose neck track) and removing the sail.
Then wrap the sail round the boom.

What does the list think - is it worth the few minutes extra work?

John V1447 Breakaway

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie
 
Sep 13, 2002
203
Most long term damage is going to come from UV, so I'd just put on a sail
cover and ensure there's not too much strain anywhere.

At any rate, that's what I've been doing since I bought my last suit of
sails about 20 years ago, and they're still looking pretty good, although
I've had to replace the UV strip on the jib a couple of times.

Alisdair