Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

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Brian-Up-North
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Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by Brian-Up-North »

Hi,
I am getting severe sail luff friction in the mast slide by the full length batten. It is really difficult to get up our down.

Has anyone tried a pressure reducing slider to solve this problem like this?
https://www.rutgerson.se/product/pressu ... ing-slide/

Thanks
Brian
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March
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by March »

I use Sailkote slug lubricant. Spray it in the groove at the beginning of each season. Works pretty well.
With your mast down, you might want to double-check the groove itself and see if it's not kinked. Take a slug and slide it through, from one end to the other. Slugs come in different sizes and yours might be too large, too
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Jeff
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by Jeff »

I agree with March, the pressure reducing slides seem like overkill on the Macs. I have sail slugs & like March suggested, I just spray the mast track with dry lubricant once a year, usually when I take the mast down for trailering to the Beer Cruise. 13 seasons & no problems yet. I'm going down to the boat this Saturday, I'll try to remember to take a picture of a slug in the track so you can compare size to the ones you have. My dads old Mac got a dent in the track when he accidentally dropped the mast once, was easy to fix the small bend that was slowing his down with a small pair of channel locks. Hope this helps.
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yukonbob
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by yukonbob »

What March said about the sailkote, but also pull the boom up with your topping lift (if equipped) to take the pressure off the slugs, or get someone to push up on the boom.
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dlandersson
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by dlandersson »

Ditto March :P
March wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 2:30 pm I use Sailkote slug lubricant. Spray it in the groove at the beginning of each season. Works pretty well.
With your mast down, you might want to double-check the groove itself and see if it's not kinked. Take a slug and slide it through, from one end to the other. Slugs come in different sizes and yours might be too large, too
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WinSome
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by WinSome »

I just yesterday sprayed dry lube onto all slugs as raised the main. It dropped very nicely. Also found must keep the boom from dropping to much. All the tips were helpful.
DaveC426913
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by DaveC426913 »

Me three.
  • Dry lube in track and on slides at launch.
  • Always head into wind when pulling down main to take off side pressure.
  • Raise topping lift.
  • I installed a main sail downhaul. Runs from sail head to a block on the mast boot and back to the pit. Very handy for single-handing when you can't be wrangling a sail at the mouth of a harbor.
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WinSome
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by WinSome »

Hey Me Three? Along With your down haul , do you use lazy jacks to assist when solo. I’m trying to determine if it’s useful.
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dlandersson
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by dlandersson »

I have lazy jacks and I find them very useful :wink:
Funtasia wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:10 pm Hey Me Three? Along With your down haul , do you use lazy jacks to assist when solo. I’m trying to determine if it’s useful.
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by DaveC426913 »

Funtasia wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:10 pm Hey Me Three? Along With your down haul , do you use lazy jacks to assist when solo. I’m trying to determine if it’s useful.
I do.

At first, I would not have put them on myself - It was the mate's idea. I envisioned it as unnecessarily complicating mast stepping and unstepping.

They're somewhat useful - a convenience, not a necessity, to be sure.

They do complicate and slow stepping and unstepping. It's not like other lines; it is a loop with permanent attachments up out-of-reach near the masthead, and it also goes under the boom twice. If you aren't very careful sorting your lines beforehand, this can result in line-crossings that may not be undoable without lowering the mast.

I've made one mod to the stock lazy jacks - the stern pass of the line under the boom is unhookable, so it can be brought forward to the mast and lashed out of the way of the boom. That allows me to install and detach the boom without the jacks preventing it.
I can go into this in more detail of anyone's interested.
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kurz
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by kurz »

DETAILS! Thanks!
DaveC426913
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by DaveC426913 »

kurz wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2019 3:44 am DETAILS! Thanks!
Remind me tomorrow when I go to the boat. I'll take a pic.
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by DaveC426913 »

Awesome. I found my original schematic.

This is my lazy jack setup. It is pretty much out-of-the-box system you can buy at BWY:

Image

(I think the cam cleat for the bitter end might be an addition but I can't remember)

The only change I've made to it since installing it is to substitute an open eyestrap for the existing closed eyestrap on the underside aft of the boom:

Image

You can see that I haven't riveted the loop. This allows the lazy jack line to be unhooked.

I found this to be a very important modification. If the lazy jack is captured by a closed eyestrap, it stays attached to the boom. You can't take the boom off without completely unthreading the lazy jacks.

And that is a real PITA, come launch. It is very easy to get lazy jacks twisted around each other or around halyards when the boom is down (more than very easy, I would say it is the default). And you will be in a lot of trouble of you get the mast up and discover that later - when the blocks you need to unthread and rethread are 25 feet above your head.

So I keep my lazy jacks on 365 days.

On haulout day, I simply unhook the line from that open eystrap, undo both ends of the lazy jacks but leave them on their overhead blocks - and lash the lower ends of the lazy jacks to the mast under the boom. Now I can remove the boom with impunity.
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by DaveC426913 »

BTW, I also use a single loop of bungie as a tie-down.

Image
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kurz
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Re: Sail luff friction in mast slide - solutions Pressure reducing slide?

Post by kurz »

these little things make life so much easier!
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