Mainsail: Add Slugs Grommets and Shackles

Описание: Mainsail Add Slugs Grommets and Shackles
by Prof. Robert George Mertens, Ph.D.

On the shakedown cruise/maiden voyage of the Windrose, many problems were found, not the least of which was the motor that was flooding (with water, not gasoline) because of a pitted (damaged) exhaust plate, which was only discovered after a complete engine overhaul. We (Castro and I - Castro is my kitten's name) took the Windrose out, got stranded due to an engine failure, only 100 yards from the harbor, but very close to the sea wall, with a very strong, hard north wind, driving us towards the sea wall. But for a strong anchor, we would have smashed against it.

One of the problems was trying, several times, to put the Windrose under sail, and sail away from the dangerous sea wall that the hard north wind was pushing us towards. Chief among those problems, in the strong winds and heavy waves, was the mainsail, sprawled all over the deck, making it nearly impossible to raise, quickly and efficiently.

Something that would have made a huge difference was, rather than a bolt rope, slugs, shackles and grommets could have been used for guiding the mainsail inside the mast track, keeping the mainsail bunched along the boom, rather than scattered and sprawled all over the deck, and also making for a fast and easy hoist. Note, here, that a bolt rope, when the mainsail is raised, must be guided INTO the mast track AS the sail is being raised, and this is much easier under calm and controlled conditions. Unfortunately, when you drop the mainsail, it slides OUT of the mast slide and onto the deck of the vessel (in the way, and also making it slippery to walk).

In order to remedy this problem for future expeditions, we use slugs instead of a bolt rope, to secure the mainsail to the mast.

The parts list for this is:

1. Shackles, plastic or metal, waterproof, rustproof, strong enough to hold the sail in place, sized to fit inside the grommets, long and wide enough to reach around the bolt rope (in this case, Nylon, 5/16" to fit inside the grommet, 1/2" wide, and 1 1/2" long), 1 ea for every 26 inches sail height + 1
2. Grommets, metal, waterproof, rustproof (in this case, 3/8" hole, metal, nickel-plated brass), 1 ea for every 26 inches of sail height + 1
3. Slugs, plastic or metal, waterproof, rustproof, sized to the mast slide (in this case, Nylon, 3/8" slug, 1/8" neck, about 1" long), 1 ea for every 26" + 1
4. Sail tape, standard Dacron, 3" wide, 4" for every 26 inches of sail height + 4"

Note: The shackles, grommets and slugs must be carefully measured and chosen to match each other, the sail, the bolt rope and the mast track.

Tools

1. Tape measure
2. Marker (pencil, pen or felt-tip)
3. Scissors
4. Exacto knife
5. Grommet punch kit with hole cutter
6. Small block of wood (if not included in punch kit)
7. Hammer
8. Drill
9. Work bench or table
10. Screwdriver

Music:

Remember Me by JR Tundra
Strolling Through by Silent Partner
Sugar Pines by Wes Hutchinson
Despite The Traffic by Wes Hutchinson
Seasonal by Silent Partner
Tonto by Silent Partner

References:

https://sailrite.wordpress.com/tag/sa...
http://www.sailrite.com/PDF/Slugs%20S...