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44 mainsail drop

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:08 am
by raleigh
I have recently purchased hull #20. I am having difficulty getting the mainsail to drop when I release tha hailyard. Has anyone else solved this problem.

Thanks for any insights from your experience.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 6:59 am
by mikeandrebecca
We're only on a 32 but even if we're dead into the wind, we still need to go to the mast and pull the sail down by hand. Perhaps rigging a downhaul would solve this problem.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 8:59 am
by chicagocat
I installed Tides Sail Track on my mast a couple years ago. UK Sails here in Chicago did it. It's expensive, but now the mast is almost frictionless. Very little effort in raising the sail, and it comes down completely when the halyard is released.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:51 am
by mikeandrebecca
That is what we have.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 1:02 pm
by maxicrom
We have the stock PDQ 36 classic set up (not the LR Cruising mast), and other than the occasional batten hanging up in the lazy jacks the sail comes down fairly easy.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 2:41 pm
by amytom
Ours is quite heavy going up (only pull up 1/3 by hand the rest of the way with winch) and requires someone pulling to get it down.

I've wondered if loosening the battens would make it easier?

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 11:27 pm
by Marc Gershel
I had that problem for about the first 4-5 years that I owned the boat, until I checked the halyard size. I found they were a slightly thicker metric size. I changed them to the smaller american size and the sails worked perfectly. I couldn't believe that I never thought of checking that for all those years.
Marc

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:16 am
by mikeandrebecca
We have new running rigging coming and I believe the halyards will have a little bit smaller diameter than what we currently have. I do hope that fixes the issue.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:50 pm
by raleigh
My boat hull 20 has harken sliders for bat cars. Does anyone have harken with ball bearings for their cars? If so does this make the main drop?

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 1:13 pm
by raleigh
My mainsail now drops like a rock.

I owe my success to Chuck O'Malley of Doyle sails in Annapolis. He did several things:

1 He moved my top battens to make them near parallel with the boom (and the other battens)
2 He replaced primarry batten cars with Harken CB cars.
3 He removed most of the secondary slider cars that would constantly bind.
4. He properly re-tensioned my battens.

I also changed my halyard as mikeandrebecca recommended.

The result is a huge positive change for me. Thanks to all for your comments.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:07 pm
by eepstein
One common problem is stress on the slides from a bad boom angle. Check your topping lift or rigid vang (if you have one) and lift the far end of the boom when raising or lowering. That might help.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:32 am
by amytom
We replaced our 1/2" main halyard with a higher grade 7/16". Wow! What a difference! I can pull it up all but the last couple of feet by hand. Dropping I still need to pull on the back of the sail to get it to rest in the stack pack completely. Also the last couple of feet coming down need to be pulled down by hand.
Made yesterdays 15 - 20 east wind even better- 7 knots SOG both ways in that wind with one reef out of the main as the blow picked up.

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:15 am
by mikeandrebecca
I haven't been on the forum in a bit but wanted to add that since changing to our new, slightly smaller diameter Dyneema halyard, the main sail drops MUCH more easily!

Re: 44 mainsail drop

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:30 am
by Marc Gershel
Something I just recently discovered, after 15 years. I have Harken battslides, and by accident, I found that they were upside down. I had the nut on the bottom of the car intead of the top. It does seem to make a slight difference. But the smaller dia. halyard, and a good occasional flushing of the cars with a strong hose or medium power washer has done wonders.
Marc