Hi Bill,
Let me put in my two cents worth...
All the big boats I've owned had sail slugs or slides (running on a sail
track). When I got my M15, the mainsail had a bolt rope, but the
previous owner had added slugs. The foot of the main had a bolt rope,
and feeding that into the boom slot was a two man job, which is why I
only did it once a year. The rest of the time, I just removed the boom
with the furled main and put it in the cabin when we headed to another
sailing area.
From your description of how you operate, you seem to be doing it the
hard way.
On LEPPO, the slugs were fed into the mast slot and then the sail stop
was put in, keeping everything in place. I have never tried hoisting my
main while trying to feed sail slugs into the slot. You are right,
doing that requires three hands....
My main was furled on the boom - I used bungee cord stretched along one
side of the boom, with an eye in the middle. On the other side of the
boom, I had two hooks, located halfway between the eye and the ends of
the bungee cord. With the main down, I would furl the main, grab the
bungee cord, pull it over the main and hook it under one of the hooks.
Then I did the other piece, and the sail is furled.
To set sail, I would unhook the bungee cord from the furled main, hoist
the main, and cleat it off. No fuss: no muss. Almost a one-handed
operation.
With the main up, I would then loosen the topping lift, haul in the main
sheet, ..... and away we go.
The same sort of operation was used on my big boats; sail slides running
in a mast track.
The advantages are:
1. You can easily drop the main - no pulling out the bolt rope to get
the sail down.
2. The main can be neatly furled on the boom for the night, and is
ready to go at a moment's notice (fire in the harbor; pirates attacking;
civil unrest, ....etc.)
3. From the racing standpoint, the bolt rope is probably more
aerodynamic, but that is of very little interest to me. I want ease of
handling; I want
a main to fall down when I release the halyard. This latter is a
function of the weight of the main; big sails fall down very easily and
can be contained with lazy
jacks; M15 main sails have to be persuaded to fall down - they
aren't heavy enough to fall of their own accord.
Connie
William B. Riker wrote:
> I'm getting old too but won't admit it. Ask my wife.
>
> It's been 9 years since I last used slugs and I don't remember all the
> reasons. I'm getting old. Oh, yeah. I said that already. Aerodynamics
> is part of the reason. When rigging at the dock, in the wind, you need to
> raise the main all the way, while shoving slugs up the slot. Let's see,
> that's one hand to aim the slugs, one to pull the halyard and one to keep
> the previously loaded slugs from dropping out. And I've only got two hands
> for singlehanding. Who said slugs are easier?
>
> With a boltrope, just start the first few inches, cleat the halyard and on
> to the next task. No need to flog the whole sail before you're out on the
> water and it's time to use it.
>
> I started handling boltrope sails under race conditions 54 years ago. It
> comes naturally and seems more seamanlike.
>
> Bill Riker
> M15 - #184
> Storm Petrel
>
> -----Original Message----From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 7:29 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: M_Boats: help with slug order
>
> What was the problem with slugs?
>
> Bill P.
>
>
>
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