sail slug/sliders

[bastonjock]

Hi Guys

ive looked in the mods section for this and i can find pictures of the mod,What i would like to know is that on the sails there are plastic attachments,what are these called and are they a DIY type job or do you need a sail maker to fit them

Matt

[beene]

Hi Matt

Do you mean these..

[bastonjock]

Hi Beene

yes ,ive found the "sliders" that go in the mast,but im not sure about the part that attaches to the sail

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

that's called a shackle.
Sailrite Shackle

Bob T.
"DāBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

[beene]

im not sure about the part that attaches to the sail

Do you mean at the Head of the sail, or the slugs to the eye's in the leading edge of the sail. If it's the Shackle, he's a pic of one to the left of my furlur.....



... and another one holding my mainsheet control to the traveler...



G

[bastonjock]

it was the shackles guys,i want to rig my mainsail so i can do it all from the cockpit

do you need to add extra holes to the mac 26x standard doyle sail?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

there's two ways to go:
1) with "spur" grommets (nickel or brass) and a shackle that fastens thru the grommets




or

2) without grommets using shackles that have stainless screws on the aft side of the bolt rope



i did it myself with the grommets and like it just fine. with grommets it looks most professional IMHO.
others on this board have saved time & a few dollars using the shackles that don't require grommets. your choice.

SailRite Shackles

Bob T.
"DāBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

[johnnyonspot]

I used the sailrite screw shackles, did the job by myself, and have had no problems with it this summer despite being out in some fairly heavy winds. They key is the fact that the screws penetrate the sail immediately behind the bolt rope, meaning the stress is still almost entirely on the bolt rope itself and there is very little if any chance at all the sail will rip at the point where the screw penetrates. I was going to use the grommet method, but after going through the significant work necessesary to install the first grommet I abandoned the plan and went with the screw shackles. (It helped that I had mistakenly ordered the screw shackles and the grommets thinking they could be employed together and then found that there was absolutely no way the screw shackles were big enough to go past the bolt rope far enough to accommodate the grommets). If you choose the grommet route, be advised you will have to cut holes in the sail for the grommets and will have to obtain a grommet setting tool. IMHO, installing the grommets is one big PITA! Took me all of 30 minutes to install the slugs with the screw shackles.

[bastonjock]

thanks guys for the responce,ill just have to import some from the States,ive been buying my Mac gear from over there as the dallar to pound makes it a great deal at the moment

what size of sliders/shackles did you order for the sails? and how many do you need?

Matt

[Bill Earnhardt]

I used 3/8" slug nylon round #23319 and purchased 20 of them @ .40 ea.
and shackle plastic screw-on 5/8" #24105, and 20 of them @ .80 ea.
dont forget the sail trac stop round #3543 1 plus a spare @ 8.99 ea.
I think I only used 17 of them, so I have some spares.
it took about 30 minutes, and I did it with the sail on the boom, and boom attached to the mast. very easy up grade. used sailrite

[johnnyonspot]

IMHO, forget about the sail track stopper and instead just use a bungee under the bottom slug, and run the bungee around the mast cleats, or drill a small hole through both sides of the slide and insert a... I forget what they are called, not a cotter pin, but the other thing that is straight one side and loops around and back and is kinked on the other to keep it in when inserted. The stopper sailrite sells for this purpose will inevitable fall out of the track, because you cannot tighten the knurled knob enough to keep from falling out. When it falls out, the slugs fall out and the stopper will inevitably fall over the side and be lost unless it has a lanyard on it, but even if it does it will fall out. Best bet is to just use a bungee or even a piece of line. Its cheap and reliable, and ubiquitous. Stoppers, at 9 bucks, are not cheap. There are other good threads on the board regarding this very subject.