Dropping the Main - Pointers Needed

[Seth]

Sure can!

Easiest thing is to buy it from a sailmaker. Drop your main off at the loft and when the kit comes in he will swap out the slides. This way, he is responsible for getting the ordering details right.
In the spring, have him come down and the 2 of you can install it (mast up or not) in under 2 hours. You will love it!

 

[dcapn@hotmail.c]

I have found that flaking the main halyard in a figure 8 pattern, starting with the bitter end, allows the halyard to pay out smoothly and the main drops better. Once the main starts falling if the halyard snarls or slows it in any way that will not help. Granted I have a full batten main with Schaeffer slides so it may not be as big a deal for you.

Another non-Ericson sailor in my club uses a downhaul on his main. Hes old and not so agile anymore so this allows him to get the main down from the cockpit.

RT

Using a down-haul line on the main is an excellent idea as the slides-channel on my E-38 is so tight that lube doesn't do the trick. This is especially useful if using a lazy jack or Dutchman system and the really smart side of this idea is that you will be able to retrieve your main halyard in the event that it leaves the sail or the sail rips in two...something that should definitely be considered if going blue-water cruising or racing.

 

[Christian Williams]

Yes, there is a struggle with mast track and sail slugs on older boats. I really, really, really don't like haul-down lines that go to the headboard, which in addition to everything else can foul themselves just when they oughtn't, offshore or anywhere else. Getting a sail down reliably is very important when things go bad. Consider a stuck gas pedal on your car.

We should be able to lower the mainsail on any point of sail, including dead downwind in a gale. It's how we reef.

In the end, the solution is a Tides Marine Sail Track (aka Strong Track). Easy to install yourself and somewhere between $1000 and $1500 depending on boat. It's in my top five improvements and appreciated every time, up and down.

 

[Rick R.]

Yes, there is a struggle with mast track and sail slugs on older boats. I really, really, really don't like haul-down lines, which in addition to everything else can foul themselves just when they oughtn't, offshore or anywhere else. Getting a sail down reliably is very important when things go bad. Consider a stuck gas pedal on your car.

In the end, the real solution is a Tides Marine Sail Track (aka Strong Track). Easy to install yourself and somewhere between $1000 and $1500 depending on boat. It's in my top five improvements and appreciated every time, up and down.

I agree, The Strong Track is wonderful.

Can actually drop the main like a rock fully loaded on any point of sail (not that you'd want to.....)!

 

[JSM]

Had a Strong Track on our last boat and loved it. After buying our E34-2 last year I wanted to install another Strong Track on it but ran out of money.
Instead we installed a down haul on the main per Mort Fligelman's instructions (thank you Mort!) in conjunction with a Mack Pack and lazy jacks from Mack Sails. Works like a Charm! close to 100 sails this season with 0 problems.

Here are the instructions I got from Mort. I attached the PVC tubes to the sail slug webbing with zip ties.

"It is a very simple thing....I took 1/2" PVC pipe and cut off 1-1/2" pieces and drilled s hole into each one....top and bottom, one side only, and attached them to every other sail slide.......Tied a 1/4 inch line to the top slide, ran it through the tubes down to a block at the base of the mast to a cleat at the end of the cabin top. Works great....and has for the past 10 years"