Ballside Cars vs Strong Track

[Chark]

I'm considering improvement in ease of lifting, reefing, and dropping my main and would appreciate any input about Ronstan Ballside cars vs. Doyle Strong track.

[sded]

Do you mean Tides Marine Strong Track, or is Doyle doing something special for you? Strong Track sure zips the sail down when I dump the halyard. Lots of other users in my marina have it and are happy with it. Haven't used the Ronstan cars. As far as lifting, none of them really help a whole lot-the sail still weighs what it weighs, although a little friction reduction is always good. A power winch is much more useful if that is your concern.

[Chark]

Doyle apparently markets the Tides stuff in Annapolis. It certainly seems to be cheaper than anything else, and your comments support its quality.

[squarerigger]

I was typically using a right angle drill motor with a winch bit in the chuck to assist with raising my main. Since the installation of a strong track the job has become much easier, not that it flys up there exactly, but normal load on the winch handle is sufficient to do the job.

Ray