SAIL SLUGS/ SAIL SLIDES

[knot smart]

hey guys

I found a used rig for my bene 352. the rig came off of a 34' c&c. the rigger at the boatyard said he could make it work..upon closer inspection I noticed that the sail slides are different. the sail slides on the used rig are round and the slides on the original setup are flat.

so, my question is....moving forward, are the sails made different? meaning, if you're buying sails, can you put a sail with flat slides in the mast?? it seems to me that the perfect metaphor is "you cant put a round peg in a square hole".

that I would have to buy sails that have "round slugs"..which is something I don't want to do..i want to find a used set up but that I can put stock sails on ..

thanks for the feed back

jason

[captjeanette]

Hi! The answer of course is "it depends". In some cases a round sail slug will fit in your track but to be certain, I would ask the size of the slug in the sail you want to purchase and then make a determination on whether it would fit. Not all slugs are the same size nor are the tracks. You can always have the slugs replaced with the appropriate ones at a sale loft but the cost might negate the deal you are getting on the sail. If you can get a size on the slug and purchase one at your local chandlers you could always try it in your sail track to see if it works out.

Good luck.

CJ

[Bash]

Your rigger is probably assuming that you'll change the slugs on your sail to match the new slides. This is not a major operation for a sailmaker. Regardless, you should address this question to the rigger.

[Lake-Effect]

I believe you could have the luff slugs/slides changed for no more than $200 total. I'm extrapolating from what it cost us to have our sail converted from boltrope to slugs.

[cal40john]

Sail slides used to be put on with small shackles. Unscrew, replace slide with the one that fits your mast and done.

Seen a lot sewn on with webbing now. Undo the stitching holding on the webbing and change slides then restitch.

Nylon Flat Sail Slugs - Installing - YouTube

[Ryan H]

I had a similar problem last summer. I bough a good used mainsail that came with 1/4" round slides and my mast takes a 7/8" square internal slide. For mine all I had to do was order the square slides online with plastic clips and switched them over. The slides themselves are pretty inexpensive, if the sail doesn't allow for them to clip on it shouldn't be much of a problem to sew them on by hand.

[Jim Cate]

Changing sail slugs/slides is an easy DIY job, even for an amateur. Nowadays, most sails on boats of your size have them webbed on. And this is an easy and non critical process of hand stitching. Once you have done a few it will only take 5 minutes or less per slug.

The usual nylon slides are adequate for most of the luff length, but it is often better to use metal ones on the headboard (if fitted on your sail) as the loads can be quite high there. Most good chandlers will have them, or any sail loft or order from Sail-rite or Bainbridge.

Good luck with it.

Jim

[egodsey]

Replacing the sail slides/slugs is an easy DIY job ... once you have the right parts. I have found Sailrite to have the best selection as well as the lowest cost.

Sailrite stocks Slugs

Regards,

E. Godsey