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delmarrey · 29-05-2010, 12:24

Are your halyards inside the mast and did you check them?

If internal halyards, try raising the main with the other halyards a little bit slack. If it makes a difference then you'll know.

The tighter the main halyard (heavier the sail) the harder it will tighten around another halyard.

Then you can use the process of elimination by tightening each of the halyards, one at a time, to see which one it is.

Another thing you can do is check to see if there are any wear marks on the other halyards where they are normally resting inside the mast..

I once had a problem with the running-light-wires getting caught in a halyard.

DeepFrz · 29-05-2010, 13:12

You probably have checked this but...can you tell if its jamming at the head of the sail or is it down lower. Like when the lower portion of the sail starts to raise.

Also, one of the strong points of the strong track is that the sail just drops when the halyard is released. Does your sail drop or do you have to haul your main down? If it just drops, does it come all the way down? If it does drop it would point to what Del and Dino have suggested.

If it doesn't drop or doesn't come down all the way, maybe the problem is lower down, and something to do with the sail.

Another possibility is maybe the headboard is twisting in some way when the weight of the sail gets large enough.

svcambria · 07-06-2010, 13:28

The resistance you are encountering on hoisting your main could be due to in-line twist of the main halyard - twist not passing through the sheave. Easy to test by putting a swivel on the halyard, less easy fix is to try a halyard with a smaller diameter.

SailArkansas · 29-03-2011, 18:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by mestrezat

My boat has Strong Track on the mast for raising the mainsail. I've owned the boat for the past year and it has been a bear to get the main up to the top of the mast since day one. It's not real bad till I get it about 8-10 feet from the top and then it binds up and is a lot harder to get up(yeah I know its heavy). Even with me at the mast pulling down on the halyard and my wife at a winch, it is still everything we can do to get it up to the top. I just had all the standing rigging replaced and it is still tough getting it to the top.

The mast is nice and straight so that's not the problem.

Any suggestions?

I bought my boat about 7 years ago and had the same problem as you from the start. I tried all the usual things including a new halyard etc. I finally decided on a Strong Track system which I bought from SailCare. They are the same company that cleans and refurbishes sails. I sent them my main for them to do the modifications required for using the track.

After installing the track system I was really disappointed. The main dropped easily but still raised really hard. Had to use the winch and couldn't ever consider single handling the boat.

I posted my problem all over the place and got all the same answers you did in your postings.

Then one day I had an idea. Could the full length batten tension be working in reverse. In other words just as the battens force the roach out, couldn't they be forcing the slides into the back of the track? Just about the same time one of my responders on SailboatOwners.com posted that he thought the problem was the battens.

He suggested that I remove the battens and try hoisting the main and see what happens. I removed the battens and lubed up the slides with McLube and the thing flew up the mast.

When SailCare did the modifications on my main they put velcro closures on the aft end of the batten pockets. When I originally installed the battens I thought 'the tighter the better' because I didn't want to lose one. Wrong! The battens should be lubed with McLube before being replaced in the pockets and then slid in just enough to eliminate any wrinkles in the batten pocket. The lube helps the batten 'pop' when the sail shape reverses.

The big test will see if this works over the long run but so far, the sail raises by hand with just a little effort when directly into the wind. I have lazy jacks that I don't like to slacken so if she is not pointed directly into the wind the battens will catch on the jacks so that is a good indication on my boat that I am not dead into the wind.

I believe the same thing was happening before the track system was installed and it was even worse because their was absolutely no way to retension the battens short of cutting them. They were captive between the fore sail slides and the aft batten pocket enclosures. These enclosures were screwed closed so the battens couldn't be touched.

I now see where there are enclosures that have a tensioning screw in them and even a line activated system for releasing batten tension on high performance rigs.

I hope this solves your problem..let me know.

P.S. I tried sending you a message but I am a new member and the system wouldn't all it.

**hpeer** · 30-01-2012, 19:44

Bumping the thread to see if the problem was ever resolved????

Kinda interested as I just installed the Strong Track this weekend and am waiting for the sail modifications to be complete.

I bought the track through Rigging Only and the guy there was adamant that the Strong Track batten cars be used, not the nylong webbing type, as the webbing type allows the cars to twist the slides, thus causing them to bind.

Also our sail had no head board, which can allow the lead slide to bind badly. We are having a head board installed.

Will be interesting to see how well this works on our boat. It has been a bear to get the main up. We are counting on the Strong Track to make a big difference.

mestrezat · 30-01-2012, 21:36

I started this post so let me tell you how we're doing now. Our main goes up the mast a bit easier but(in my opinion)not as easy as I would have thought. We're now in Fiji after a "puddle jump" and even after 16,000 miles and 3+ years on board, and heaven only knows how many hoists we have done, it still binds but now only a bit(in that last 6 feet or so). With the topping lift all the way pulled up, the vang, reefing lines, and main sheet loose(heading into the wind), we can get the main up but it still requires the use of the winches on the cockpit. I'm normally standing at the mast helping the sail up as my wife operates the winch. After so many lifts, we have a system now.
We used the deburring device Strong tack sent us and replaced all the sail slides, the batten cars,and even loosened the battens as suggested in the earlier post. Does the sail go up, yes but it takes both of us to do it. Coming down is another matter--greased lightening there.
Oh well, it is a boat and we all know that that requires some give and take in how things operate. It's all part of a cruisers life.

**hpeer** · 31-01-2012, 04:43

Mestrezat,

Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear you are still having difficulty after so long.

SailArkansas · 31-01-2012, 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpeer

Bumping the thread to see if the problem was ever resolved????

Kinda interested as I just installed the Strong Track this weekend and am waiting for the sail modifications to be complete.

I bought the track through Rigging Only and the guy there was adamant that the Strong Track batten cars be used, not the nylong webbing type, as the webbing type allows the cars to twist the slides, thus causing them to bind.

Also our sail had no head board, which can allow the lead slide to bind badly. We are having a head board installed.

Will be interesting to see how well this works on our boat. It has been a bear to get the main up. We are counting on the Strong Track to make a big difference.

My experience since loosening the battens has been exactly the same as Mestrezat's. McLube and a winch are required to raise. I do use a downhaul to lower but barely have to pull. Overall it is easier than it was before the track was installed.

I am curious about the cars that your vendor suggested. Is this a change from the original slides that were offered? It seems like my slides attach to sail using webbing. If they have come out with a better system I would be interested in upgrading.

zeehag · 31-01-2012, 09:19

have you tried greasing it?

SailArkansas · 31-01-2012, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeehag

have you tried greasing it?

I have used McLube in the past prior to raising the main. Is there something else you could suggest in the way of lubricant?

tamicatana · 31-01-2012, 13:55

I don't have track, but I have a luffrope main, and I MacLube it every time I raise sail for the day.

I've not seen a better lubricant, unless you want to do it on the cheap with an off brand of dry silicone.

jjones1349 · 31-01-2012, 14:57

My sail is 540 sq.ft. (cat boat, not catameran) and have a strong track. I also use a winch bit and Milwakee right angle drill...just purchased an Anderson 40st winch to be installed in the spring. I am not a big guy and not getting any younger. The sail is no problem to raise with this setup although tailing was required.
I think that a full batten sail would make a difference as it only makes sense that the force from the leach of the sail would put pressure on the cars especially at the top of the hoist when the whole leach is putting the pressure on.
Perhaps a winch bit on a drill will fix this problem...the drill works on all the winches on the boat and saves on electric winches $$$...
Maintinance on the mast/track might also be useful as last year I left it for launch day and the weather didn't permit this chore. The rain made application of Boeshield T9 to the mast and dry silicone to the track impossible. A good cleaning of the track might also be beneficial as spiders love the enviroment of the grove of the strong track. This year the chore will be performed before launch date.
I am trying to make my boat a single handed sailer as finding crew is difficult in the working world where lots of people have kids and non-sailing lives.
Cheers