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E-27 Reefing and Sail slugs

stuartm80127

Member II
I just purchased a 1976 Ericson 27 for seasonal use on a Colorado lake. While installing the main/boom into the mast I must first insert the gooseneck for the boom into a five inch slot in the mast and then lower the boom so that it rests about five inches below the slot. I install a slug retainer to prevent the boom from going up the mast and exiting the slot. I then feed the main sail slugs upwards into the same 5" slot and install a retainer slug to prevent all of the sail slugs from running down out the same slot. After doing this I noticed that I could not reef my mainsail because doing so would require that either the boom or the sail slugs pass over this 5" slot. There are no obvious signs of anything ever being done around the slot area to allow for reefing.

Are there any after-market plates that can be screwed into the mast which would prevent the slugs from exiting the slot? Such a plate would require that I drill & tap into the mast and then secure the plates with machine screws. Has anyone fabricated such? How have other Ericson 27's solved this problem?

Thanks in advance.

Stuart
 

hcpookie

Member III
stuartm80127 said:
Has anyone fabricated such?

Yes. In the sailnet archives is a PDF of a magazine article that explains how to do this. Basically just two aluminum strips cut to cover both sides, then drill & tap for screws.

How have other Ericson 27's solved this problem?
If you don't install the bottom-most slide, you can reef the main. Maybe not the best answer but it works...
 

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Jacklines

Or, you can have this added to your main. Do a search on this and you will see several explanations here on the site, but it works like this: Instead of attaching the lower slugs (from the second reef point down to the bottom slug) to the grommets in the luff of the mainsail (as they are now), a 1/4" or so rope is spliced onto the grommet by the second reef point, and then woven through the other gromets down to the tack. The slugs are located in their usual spots, but this line is run through the eyelets on the slugs-they are attached to the jackline instead of to the actual grommets. This allows the sail to pull away and down from the mast track when you are reefing..while leaving the slugs in the mast track.

Any sailmaker can do this for you, or you can look up some of the descriptions and do it yourself. In fact, I will bet you a beer if you walk your dock and look at enough other sailboats, you will see several set up this way-and you can duplicate what you see. This is normal and conventional, and solves this problem. Of course, as Pookie says, another approach is to modify the mast track as he says so the slides can come lower. On some boats this is enough, while others might still need a jackline to get a fair lead to the reefing hook-it is important that you do not stress the sail in directions it was not designed for, so be careful.

Good luck!

S
 

stuartm80127

Member II
Follow-up on sail slugs.

Made a 3.75" sail gate out of two strips of aluminum from Lowes. Cut and shaped with Dremel and bent to fit curvature of mast. Secured to mast with two #8 screws on each side. Works great - thanks for the tips.

Stuart
 

Quiet Magic

Member II
Metal Plates

As metioned earlier, I have the metal plates that screw over the 5" slot in the mast. However, this does not solve much. When raising the main the sail slugs still get caught in the metal edge created by putting the plates over the mast. Has anyone has come up with a way to remedy this?
 

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Yes, you can't have the plate overlapping the mast; it has to be be shaped to fit exactly flush with the inside of the mast track--ie. exactly the same length as the opening in the mast, and then bent inwards slightly the amount of the mast metal thickness, so that when you run your finger inside the mast track, it feels smooth. Then a bit of McLube dry lubricant, and it works great!:egrin:

Good luck!
Frank.
 

BrianP

Member II
bungie cord

I had this problem and just simply hooked a bungie around the mast and surprisingly seems to work for now but am going for a better aproach. the cord just chatches the slug just right and has give but does not fall out of groove.
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Is this what your talking about Seth?

Is this what your talking about Seth? See the picture. Also check out the web link for several other options at:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&client=safari&rls=en&sa=N

I have not as of yet seen what your talking about while walking the docks with a beer. Most of the boats have sail covers on them. I have read your previous explanations and haven't been able to visualize what your describing. I am still studying the attached photo.

I have made the plates as described above but I have not installed them yet for fear that the slugs will catch.

Fortunately the main sail area on the E-27 is not that big. I have never reefed it. When it starts blowing over 20 knots I just take in a few wraps on the furling Genoa or just use the full main. I really need to resolve this problem myself. My 30+ knots day will come some day.:esad:
 

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Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
I think I get it now.

I think I get it now. :egrin: See picture and read this description:

Mainsail jacklines permit the luff of the sal to fall away from the slugs in the track when you reef it, thus permitting the reef tack to be pulled down to the gooseneck without loosening a sail stop.
*
Jacklines are a good solution for the trailerable sailboat. You don't have to mess with removing the screws to a mastgate every time you bend on the mainsail
Just be careful, please, when you reeve the reef lines. With all those extra lines, you can end up with macramee -- if you get the jacklines and reef lines tangled, you'll have difficulty hoisting the mainsail.
 

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