cutting a wider the groove in the mast

[Peapod]

I've always know about loose-footed mains, and I've sailed with both fixed and loose.  But I serendipitously learned about a loose luff main.  Yes, you heard me right - loose luff.

What happened is this.  My sail slides for the mast were aging or broken, so I removed them, ordered new ones, attached them to the sail luff, and to my dismay discovered that there's no way to get them into the slide without disassembling the hinge.  Well, I'll wait until the winter before starting on that. 

So meanwhile, I'm sailing with the luff unattached to the mast, and to my surprise, it works!  It actually gives the sail some additional versatility, because the downhaul affects sail shape more than ever.

That being said, I still think performance is better with the slides in their groove, so this winter I intend to cut and widen the slot at the very bottom of the mast stub, well below the hinge.  Then, for the rest of the season the slides will be above the pin and the hinge, so the opening in the stub won't be in play and nothing can fall out.  Is that the way others have done it?

[kevnh]

Hi Peapod,
I wouldn't do it.
Disassembly of the mast hinge to bend on the sail is a 5 minute job, once at the beginning of the season and again before winter.
If you put the cutout too low it may be just as annoying to get the sail and gooseneck in there; too high and everything may fall out when you have it folded up for traveling.
I've had my SunCat for one season and I promised myself I wouldn't do any mods before sailing it at least a year.  You'll find that things that seem a little counterintuitive at first are actually well-thought out,
-Kevin

[Catawampus]

I thought i was going to have the same problem, but with the mast down, I found that I could work the sail slugs "up" the groove from the hinge BEFORE installing the foot on to the boom. Good Luck!

[Craig]

I strongly recommend that you do NOT mess with the mast slot! Flying the luff is also not a good idea for several reasons. First the sail is not cut and stressed for it so you run a high risk if damaging the sail. Second you are concentrating all the force generated by the sail on the goosenecks which again are not designed for that amount of stress. and thirdly, I would suspect that the pointing ability of the boat will be reduced and you will not be able to sail as close to the wind. The air flow across the sail will not be as smooth. The mast will create  significant turbulence across the detached sail especially when sailing close to the wind. Lastly,as to the slot, any serious non standard modification will affect the resale price of the boat. Just some thoughts from a former Suncat owner and current Horizon Cat owner.

[capt_nemo]

DITTO on Craig's comments.

Couldn't have said it better.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!

capt_nemo

[Peapod]

Thanks for warning me off, Craig.  Same to Capt Nemo.  If there's a way around cutting the groove, I won't do that.  And I never thought about the stresses I was putting on the sail and the goosenecks in the meantime, but now that you pointed it out I can see that it doesn't seem like a good idea to sail that way even for a short time.

I think that when I drop the mast and insert the new slides, I'll put one extra slide in the groove in case one breaks and let it go along for the ride until needed.  And I'll use plastic snap-in luff shackles so I can easily remove the sail and bend it on twice a year.  Does that sound reasonable?

Eric

[capt_nemo]

Sunlight (UV) does funny things to anything plastic, especially under load.

Although more expensive, recommend you consider the small stainless shackles with thin screw bolt closures for attaching sail slides/slugs.

capt_nemo