Interesting set-up mod

[alsantini]

Well, I was out on the Gulf yesterday in light winds but wonderful sailing anyway.  Good to be out on the big pond again.
The boat ramp was a bit crowded, so I stepped the mast and hit the water.  Once out on the Gulf I went to raise the boom into sailing position but it was stuck with what I believe is a worn sail slug.  After pulling, twisting, swearing, etc for 10 minutes, my back was killing me.  I went back to the cockpit to get water and stretch out my back.  Looking at the main halyard, I thought "wonder if I can pull the main up with the halyard?"  I pulled on the halyard, the sail went up and eventually pulled the boom up with it.  Walked forward and put the long pin in place.  Voila....  Maybe this is how you all do it and I have been the slouch, but this was super easy.  My relatively new sail is still stiff and twists the slugs.  Once twisted they jam in the slot where the mast meets the stub.  Pulling it up with the halyard straightened the slugs so they went through the split easily.  I will only raise up the boom in this manner from now on.  Thought I would share this...  BTW, my back still hurts from the initial failure of getting the boom into sailing position.  As my Grandpa used to say, "We get too soon old and too late smart!"  Sail On everyone and if you are in the Venice FL area, shoot me a PM and let's go sailing.  Here until mid April with a short stint home for the holidays.

[slode]

That's the way I always do it.  Once in a while the boom gets stuck at the hinge point, but if you cleat the halyard, go forward and give it a little wiggle to free it, then pull the halyard the rest of the way up it works fine. 

But if you're going to be out for some time and plan on lowering the sail, and re-raising it, definitely put the pin or a stop in place to keep everything above the hinge.

[Cpy23ecl]

I'm curious if others have to struggle to raise the main.  If there is much wind at all, its all I can do to raise the main all the way - to the point where I've considered adding a winch for the main halyard.  As small as the main is I didn't expect it to be so difficult to raise.

Fred

[slode]

Fred,

Are you leaving a good amount of slack on the main sheet when raising the sail?  A tight main sheet doesn't allow the boom to move in slight wind shifts or direction changes and can put quite a load on the luff of the main making it hard to raise.  Leave enough sheet out so the end of the boom can swing through an arc at least as wide as the boat.  Make sure the boom vang is loose too if it's on.

In heavy winds I actually find it easiest to roll out the genoa first.  You sheet that in tight and let the boat go into irons.  Then let the boom out on the same side and raise the main.  The head sail keeps the boat pointed to windward so you don't have to fight steering into the wind when you're single handed, you still need to leave the main sheet loose until the main is all the way up.  This procedure works well for lowering the main too.

[Vectordirector]

Hi All,

I had the problem of the goose neck getting stuck in the hinge when trying to raise the main.  My solution was to partially raise the sail until the goose neck was above the hinge while I was still at the dock and pinning it there with a 3 inch long 1/4" quick pin that hung from the mast, through the two holes on the hinge.  I could then pull the main up quite easily.  Not sure if all the boats had this pin but it was very useful when raising the mast too.   Also, a short spray or two of Sailkote spray or similar in the mast track before you raise the sail always helps make thing nice and slippery, used this stuff for 40 years. 

Sold the boat and don't have any pics, sorry

Vectordirector

[Cpy23ecl]

I make sure I have slack in the mainsheet and I don't put the vang on until the sail is raised (I keep it in the cabin unless sailing).

I'll have to try unfurling the jib before raising the main next spring.  Not sure why but I've always raised the main first on every boat I've owned.  Probably because my first boat didn't have roller furling and raising the main made the boat ride steadier on our typical 2-3 ft waves on Lk MI.

Now that you mention sailkote I don't remember if I sprayed the mast track before launching.  I might not have and that would definitely help.  That's been something I've done with all my other boats but as the eclipse was brand new I may have missed that step this year.

Thx

Fred

[alsantini]

Just to add a bit of info.  When I purchased my Eclipse the main was a bear to raise.  With the sail off, I stepped the mast and realized that the sail tracks did not line up perfectly so the slugs had to skip over the not lined up section, which was rough to the touch.  The mast lined up perfectly.  I took a small round file to the mast stub and smoothed over the track.  Voila.  The slugs move easily, and a bit of McLube finishes off the tracks.  The problem I had 3 days ago was not a misalignment problem although the slugs are getting worn and need to be replaced.  One of them that is about half way up the sail really hangs up in the split.  It is on my list of things to do probably today.  I also need to re-seal the collar around the mast stub.  A just about annual re-seal to cut down on water leaks around the mast.  Sail On     Al

[Roy]

Hi Al. Welcome back to Venice.  I went sailing  a week ago and was able sail all the way to Sarasota from Venice. Wind coming from the East so it was a straight shot with 15 knot winds. Hope to see you out there soon.

Roy