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By the way, the reverse is applicable.

When raising the main, using the topping lift to raise the boom, will also make the last few inches or millimeters of raising the main, easier. Considerably less lateral stress on the slugs.

Never though of using the topping lift while raising the main. I just have mine at the "mostly level when the sail is down" setting while raising the main. I'll try lifting it a little next time. Thanks.

Yeah, you guys are giving me ideas . . .

I can hopefully help with some of your questions. I had a 1999 26X and it was set up for solo boating. Most important to me for that is all lines led to the cockpit, and a roller furler. The next would be an anchor system ready to deploy. I carried one on the bow and one in a homemade lazerette. As far as a topping lift, that is way down the list of priorities. The pigtail works ok, and actually has some advantages.

To run the lines aft you will need turning blocks on the mast base and another on the cabin top. You can also install an organizer plate under the mast to attach blocks for turning the lines at the base of the mast. I prefer attached turning blocks that do not rattle around. The other system can be removed while trailering. The main halyard is run on the STB side normally, and the Jib halyard on the port side. Small clutches hold the halyards at the cockpit. Hopefully you can see that in the photo. You will also most likely have to buy new halyards as they are probably too short to reach the cockpit. My roller furler line was led down the port side.

The autopilot is also down the list a ways. I would like one, but there easy alternatives. The times you might want an autopilot are when you do need to leave the cockpit. When properly set up, that will only be during lowering the main, reefing or going to fix an issue with the jib. All of those are short term and a bungee locking the wheel, will hold course long enough to do those tasks. An autopilot will do it better. When they work.....
Also, autopilots come in handy when you need to go make a sandwich or cocktail. The bungee locking my wheel worked good enough for that too. But that's because it's easy to make a quick adjustment from the companionway. An advantage of small boats! I cruised solo in the PNW for 2 months and the only "must have" for that trip I needed to add was a depth finder. Depending on where you go, a depth finder should be near the top of the list. If you sail only on a small lake with a known depth then you really don't need one. If you are in unfamiliar water, or going to anchor out for the night and sleep, you want to be very certain you know the depth and have the proper scope out.

The best solution for the sail slug opening is a Mastgate. You can make your own DIY version, or look up mastgate.com. You want a mainsail with slugs and a reefing point, or 2. Lazy jacks can be made fairly easily and are above an autopilot on my list. I always thought of going with the BWY stack pack system to really have it easy.

I would also add a boomkicker. I always forget to attach the pigtail when I drop the main. The boomkicker saves a knock on the head when the boom comes down first and fast. That can happen with a topping lift also. The pigtail limits the side to side action of the boom when stowed. You can also pull against the pigtail with a bungee and secure the boom to the STB lifeline. That opens the cockpit for cocktail hour. A topping lift will need an extra line to keep it secured from swinging.

Figure out a way to rig preventers. Just a simple line tied from the boom forward is better than nothing, but there is a right way to do it.

As for the PFD, absolutely yes. And strap a waterproof portable VHF radio and a strobe light to it.

Those are just some of my thoughts on your questions. Hope it helps.

I kept wondering how I could reef the sail if the slugs/ sail fell out of the track. I was thinking there needs to be something that holds the slugs in. Sure would make folding the sail easier too! Thanks for all your info, like the boom kicker idea, don’t need any more lines to tangle. I will read this again and again good stuff!

The mast gate is an alternative to a slug stop. A mast gate is a very doable solution to preventing the slugs from coming out when lowering the sail, but a mast gate will have to be open in order to reef, no different than removing the slug stop.

NiceAft wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:31 pm The mast gate is an alternative to a slug stop. A mast gate is a very doable solution to preventing the slugs from coming out when lowering the sail, but a mast gate will have to be open in order to reef, no different than removing the slug stop.

? I reef all the time with the gate closed ? Why does it need to be open? Did I read it wrong?

No, you didn't.

I can't reef without removing the slug stop. When I reef, the slugs go beyond the opening in the mast, and that can't happen without removing the slug stop.

Now, when someone with your sailing experience, and I am not being sarcastic, tells me otherwise, I listen. If your saying that the mast gate is low enough on the mast to allow the sail to drop far enough to have an efficient reef. I believe you, and have learned something.

Thanks.

NiceAft wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:04 pm No, you didn't.

I can't reef without removing the slug stop.
Thanks.

I don't have a slug stop. I just have a mast gate up pretty high on the mast so when I lower my main the entire sail goes all the way down to the boom.

When I reef I let the sail down until I can grab the reef cringle and then I hook it on the reefing hook and then I pull the halyard back up. (What a hassle) - THEN! I have to go BACK to the cockpit and grab the line that is tied to the leech reefing cringle and I just pull that line through the outhaul. I have a reefing cheekblock on the mast too but I usually don't use it unless the wind is really blowing.

I guess I really need to rig up a single line reefing set up INSIDE the boom. Yet another mod I still need to noodle on.

When I reef I let the sail down until I can grab the reef cringle and then I hook it on the reefing hook and then I pull the halyard back up.

I have only seen a mast gate covering the opening on the mast for slug access and removal. Never thought of installing it higher up the mast.

NiceAft wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 3:19 pm

When I reef I let the sail down until I can grab the reef cringle and then I hook it on the reefing hook and then I pull the halyard back up.

I have only seen a mast gate covering the opening on the mast for slug access and removal. Never thought of installing it higher up the mast.

Yeah, the mast slot opening on the 2014 M boat is way up high so you can load the entire mainsail onto the mast. You put the slugs into the mast gate opening and they slide down to the boom - just keep loading the slugs just like loading bullets into a clip - they all fall to the bottom of the mast - then lock the gate closed and slugs are trapped!

The only thing the mast gate does on the 2014 M boat is keep the slugs from falling out as you raise and lower the mast.

What you described is the same thing with a slug stop. Remove it, then put it back.

The big advantage then to a mast gate is that you can’t drop a mast gate and have it go overboard. I always keep a spare slug stop on board. One never knows.

It's more than that - the big deal is that the opening for the slugs is not right at the boom - it's way up higher on the mast so you don't need the halyard to load the main. When the gate is down low on the mast you need to load the top of the sail first, and then pull it up out of the way so you can get the next slug in and so forth. It's a pain in the ass in heavy wind.

With the mast gate up high (over 2 feet high) above the boom you load the sail BOTTOM SLUG first. No need to attach the halyard at all. Just open the gate and put in the bottom slug then the next lowest slug and then the next and they all fall to the boom trapped in the slot. All the slugs including the head peice and slugs fit into the mast with the gate open and don't fall out. Then just close the gate. No halyard needed to load the sail.

NiceAft wrote: ↑Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:31 pm The mast gate is an alternative to a slug stop. A mast gate is a very doable solution to preventing the slugs from coming out when lowering the sail, but a mast gate will have to be open in order to reef, no different than removing the slug stop.

The Mastgate from Tom at mastgate.com solves that problem. It creates an open channel for the slugs to slide all the way down. Once you get it installed, it just stays in and the main can be raised and lowered fully. Tom makes them himself in Vancouver, WA and it takes some measuring and test fitting, but he will make you a part that is custom fit to your boat. The slug openings in the mast of these boats are made by hand, so each mastgate he makes can be a little different.

As usual I am doing a really bad job communicating. It's my biggest flaw - I have lost many jobs because of my poor skills.

- The big deal about the 2014 boat is that the opening for the sail in not near the boom at all. I don't know when Roger made this change to his boats but by the time he got to the last boat he had this figured out pretty well.

The mast gate on 'boat' is over two feet above the boom:



So you can load the entire sail into the mast with the top screw of the gate just slightly open - I don't even take the screw out - I just loosen it up a little and the slugs will slide in at the very top of the gate - the bottom of the gate is still screwed against the mast. There is nothing to stop the sail from sliding all the way down to the deck of the boat except the boom!

In fact I have often raised and lowered sails with the mast gate open - the slugs will not fall out as long as the bottom of the gate is screwed tight. The reason I close the top of the gate is because the main head plate can fall out when the sail is down if the gate is fully open because my halyard is so short -



(damn Scotsman MagGregor was so cheap he shorted my halyard!) But his gate design is brilliant.