main sail
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:22 amMy main sail had slides of various sizes on the luff, so when I worked on the sail I replaced all the slides with the largest ones that will fit comfortably in the track.
My reasoning was that if they just fit yet slide freely, there is less likelihood of them twisting and jamming. They run up and down the mast well, however, because of the bigger diameter they are also longer than the smaller diameter ones. They take up more vertical distance in the track and I have to drop 9 slides below the pin in the track to get the boom cover on. I have contemplated cutting them shorter.
BTW if they don't run up ad down the mast freely, a little detergent works like magic. I keep a spray bottle with water/detergent mix handy.
Cheers, John
My reasoning was that if they just fit yet slide freely, there is less likelihood of them twisting and jamming. They run up and down the mast well, however, because of the bigger diameter they are also longer than the smaller diameter ones. They take up more vertical distance in the track and I have to drop 9 slides below the pin in the track to get the boom cover on. I have contemplated cutting them shorter.
BTW if they don't run up ad down the mast freely, a little detergent works like magic. I keep a spray bottle with water/detergent mix handy.
Cheers, John