I'm having trouble raising the mainsail on my '72 Dayasailer 1. The last 3 feet are so difficult that I have to put alot of strain on the main halyard, so much that I feel like it will break. Any hints?
Trouble raising main
- Thread starter jm1140
- Start date
- Status
- Jan 22, 2008
- 519
troubleshooting track
I'll review a few basics here, but if you could give a bit of background it might be useful in diagnosing your problem. If you have had the boat and this sail for a while and it is just stiff now, or has been getting stiffer in the past year or so, that information would be useful to know, as opposed to you just getting this boat or the sail or mast is new. You state that the last few feet are the problem. Check the upper track to see if there is dirt, sap, bugs or other foreign material in there that is causing the problem. Sliding a kleenex tissue inside the track will reveal any sticky spots or nicks. As well, check for any pinching of the track near the top. Whittle a thin stick that just slides along near the bottom of the track. If it pinches near the top, you may have to spread the track gently to resolve the pinch. Do so with a wedge rather than a lever... and gently! Assuming that you are finding nothing with the above items, the next likely culprit, may be an 'operational' issue. The bolt rope in the sailtrack accumulates or accentuates resistance the higher it goes as a function of three normal variables. The first is weight of sail pulling straight downwards. The higher it goes, the more weight of the sail is 'suspended' on the halyard hence the increased resistance. 'Sweating up' the halyard, may resolve your problem here. Simply, run the lower halyard around one end of the cleat, and while pulling back on the tail, grab the halyard about two feet up along the mast with your other hand, and pull straight back, This greatly increases the strain on the halyard more that you can pull down. I know this is where you are scared that something will break, but remember that when sailing the pull on component parts is significantly more that what you can inflict in this manner. If it breaks something (halyard sheeve, cleat, halyard), replace it now when there is no danger to you or your boat and consider it a problem fund prior to creating trouble on the water. The second factor is backpull friction. If your boom is not supported by a topping lift, as the sail is hoisted the leech of the sail pulls back against the inside aft part of the sailtrack, increasing frictional resistance. The greatest resistance is of course where the angle is greatest, near the top. Either support the back of the boom or install a topping lift and engage it while hoisting the main. You can actually wreck a sail by stretching the cloth along its leech by hoisting the weight of boom at the same time as raising sail. There are many accounts of new sails, already blown out by this method. Use a topping lift or boom crutch. The third factor is unlikely, but should be reviewed. If you 'anchor' your boom down prior to hoisting the sail, either by having a pin through the mast above the gooseneck, or engaging the downhaul, or cunningham, you may have difficulty raising the last few feet of halyard. That is because you are trying to stretch the bottom few feet of the sail near the bolt rope, with a pull at the top of the sail, furthest away from the resistance, that is without speaking of the added resistance of the top blocks, and the halyard cleat. To rectify this problem, either hoist the main first, without engaging the tack pin until is is all the way up, or allow the boom to lift (even lifting the boom a bit in the last few feet) as you haul down on the halyard. In either case the tack of the sail should lift several inches above where the boom naturally rests. You can now slide the boom up, engage the tack pin, and pull the boom back down with either the downhaul or cunningham, or engage the mast pin to prevent the boom from riding up, if your boat is rigged in this way. This stretches the bolt rope nearest to where the most weight and resistance is. (I should add that this mast pin was not a standard rigging item on the daysailer masts, but some sailers add this pin as a retrofit, to keep the boom down at its lowest point against its stop.) It may be that you have a combination of one, two or all three of these factors, in addition to some of the basic issues reviewed in the second paragraph. Let us know what you find. On my boat it was the third factor, which made the last three feet difficult. I have also heard of people spraying silicone spray inside their sailtrack and on the bolt rope, as these components age and develop frictional resistance.
I'll review a few basics here, but if you could give a bit of background it might be useful in diagnosing your problem. If you have had the boat and this sail for a while and it is just stiff now, or has been getting stiffer in the past year or so, that information would be useful to know, as opposed to you just getting this boat or the sail or mast is new. You state that the last few feet are the problem. Check the upper track to see if there is dirt, sap, bugs or other foreign material in there that is causing the problem. Sliding a kleenex tissue inside the track will reveal any sticky spots or nicks. As well, check for any pinching of the track near the top. Whittle a thin stick that just slides along near the bottom of the track. If it pinches near the top, you may have to spread the track gently to resolve the pinch. Do so with a wedge rather than a lever... and gently! Assuming that you are finding nothing with the above items, the next likely culprit, may be an 'operational' issue. The bolt rope in the sailtrack accumulates or accentuates resistance the higher it goes as a function of three normal variables. The first is weight of sail pulling straight downwards. The higher it goes, the more weight of the sail is 'suspended' on the halyard hence the increased resistance. 'Sweating up' the halyard, may resolve your problem here. Simply, run the lower halyard around one end of the cleat, and while pulling back on the tail, grab the halyard about two feet up along the mast with your other hand, and pull straight back, This greatly increases the strain on the halyard more that you can pull down. I know this is where you are scared that something will break, but remember that when sailing the pull on component parts is significantly more that what you can inflict in this manner. If it breaks something (halyard sheeve, cleat, halyard), replace it now when there is no danger to you or your boat and consider it a problem fund prior to creating trouble on the water. The second factor is backpull friction. If your boom is not supported by a topping lift, as the sail is hoisted the leech of the sail pulls back against the inside aft part of the sailtrack, increasing frictional resistance. The greatest resistance is of course where the angle is greatest, near the top. Either support the back of the boom or install a topping lift and engage it while hoisting the main. You can actually wreck a sail by stretching the cloth along its leech by hoisting the weight of boom at the same time as raising sail. There are many accounts of new sails, already blown out by this method. Use a topping lift or boom crutch. The third factor is unlikely, but should be reviewed. If you 'anchor' your boom down prior to hoisting the sail, either by having a pin through the mast above the gooseneck, or engaging the downhaul, or cunningham, you may have difficulty raising the last few feet of halyard. That is because you are trying to stretch the bottom few feet of the sail near the bolt rope, with a pull at the top of the sail, furthest away from the resistance, that is without speaking of the added resistance of the top blocks, and the halyard cleat. To rectify this problem, either hoist the main first, without engaging the tack pin until is is all the way up, or allow the boom to lift (even lifting the boom a bit in the last few feet) as you haul down on the halyard. In either case the tack of the sail should lift several inches above where the boom naturally rests. You can now slide the boom up, engage the tack pin, and pull the boom back down with either the downhaul or cunningham, or engage the mast pin to prevent the boom from riding up, if your boat is rigged in this way. This stretches the bolt rope nearest to where the most weight and resistance is. (I should add that this mast pin was not a standard rigging item on the daysailer masts, but some sailers add this pin as a retrofit, to keep the boom down at its lowest point against its stop.) It may be that you have a combination of one, two or all three of these factors, in addition to some of the basic issues reviewed in the second paragraph. Let us know what you find. On my boat it was the third factor, which made the last three feet difficult. I have also heard of people spraying silicone spray inside their sailtrack and on the bolt rope, as these components age and develop frictional resistance.
Trouble raising the main
Mt problem was number two--in the heat of trying to get the mainsail up quickly in a gusty breeze that changed its direction all too frequently, I forgot to engage the topping lift. The last three feet were impossible until I got over my frustration and eased up the after end of the boom. I also have lubricated the sail track and sail with lubricant recommended by West Marine. It's expensive, but it does work.
Mt problem was number two--in the heat of trying to get the mainsail up quickly in a gusty breeze that changed its direction all too frequently, I forgot to engage the topping lift. The last three feet were impossible until I got over my frustration and eased up the after end of the boom. I also have lubricated the sail track and sail with lubricant recommended by West Marine. It's expensive, but it does work.
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