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 Post subject: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:48 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:48 am
Posts: 62
Hi,
My wife and I just purchased a 1981 H16 and we are having trouble raising the mainsail high enough to hook the sleeve into the clip. After trying many times and finding the sail stuck at the same place each time, we think it has to do with the tack plates on our sail not fitting into the mast track. Anyone agree or disagree with that (I'll attach some photos of the sail)? Is there a trick to fitting that part of the sail in as it goes up the mast?

Any thoughts on repairing these plates?

Thanks

Image

Image

edit: image links don't display on my browser, so I'll add them as text here:
https://imgur.com/zcntHK0
https://imgur.com/285UDFM


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:02 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:32 am
Posts: 424
Location: Lake Gaston, NC
The tack plates are not supposed to go inside the track. I can see by the pop rivets that your tack plates have been replaced, at some point. They were probably installed too close to the bolt rope.


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:36 am 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
Can’t tell for sure from those pics, but it kind of looks like your downhaul line is cleated off. If that’s the case, then the sail certainly won’t be able to be raised high enough to hook the halyard.

Release the downhaul and take the gooseneck (stainless steel slider that the front of the boom connects to) completely out of the track. You can even push the bottom of the sail up the track by hand if necessary (grab the bottom batten and push up). Then pull the halyard the last bit. Some lubrication (silicone spray) in the sail track will also go a long way towards making it easier to hoist your main. Only after the halyard has been hooked install the gooseneck into the lower sail track and tighten the downhaul.

I don’t think the condition of your tack plates has anything to do with the issue you’re experiencing. However, one of them looks like it is completely broken at the hole where the gooseneck attaches, so they should probably be replaced.

sm


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:19 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:48 am
Posts: 62
Tom King wrote:
The tack plates are not supposed to go inside the track. I can see by the pop rivets that your tack plates have been replaced, at some point. They were probably installed too close to the bolt rope.


Ah, thanks. I was hoping there would be some visual clue to that respect.


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:26 am 
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Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:48 am
Posts: 62
srm wrote:
Can’t tell for sure from those pics, but it kind of looks like your downhaul line is cleated off. If that’s the case, then the sail certainly won’t be able to be raised high enough to hook the halyard.

Release the downhaul and take the gooseneck (stainless steel slider that the front of the boom connects to) completely out of the track. You can even push the bottom of the sail up the track by hand if necessary (grab the bottom batten and push up). Then pull the halyard the last bit. Some lubrication (silicone spray) in the sail track will also go a long way towards making it easier to hoist your main. Only after the halyard has been hooked install the gooseneck into the lower sail track and tighten the downhaul.

I don’t think the condition of your tack plates has anything to do with the issue you’re experiencing. However, one of them looks like it is completely broken at the hole where the gooseneck attaches, so they should probably be replaced.

sm



Sorry, that part of the photograph is a red herring. We made something like 12 attempts to raise the mainsail to up to the sleeve-hook-catch. After two or three attempts we disconnected the downhaul entirely for the remaining attempts (the downhaul appears in the photo because we eventually gave up and set the downhaul to keep the boom from falling out of the track). After several more attempts I held up a batten as high as i could reach and let the halyard slack, so that there would be no tension on the bottom of the sail; it still caught at the tack plates even with no tension.

I'll try the lubrication, great suggestions!

Thanks again


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:13 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:11 pm
Posts: 151
i rub vigorously into the bolt rope with a bar of paraffin wax. hardware store purchase and 1 box is lifetime supply, ya those plates look shot. i would redo those rivets at least. drill them out and remove plates to see if holes are diff in the sail. with the plates that bad, it is possible that original holes in sail were torn out? move the plates a bit to get into better material? if so, patches/reinforcements need to be sewn onto sail and repaired properly. just thoughts


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 2:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:48 am
Posts: 62
raisehull wrote:
i rub vigorously into the bolt rope with a bar of paraffin wax. hardware store purchase and 1 box is lifetime supply, ya those plates look shot. i would redo those rivets at least. drill them out and remove plates to see if holes are diff in the sail. with the plates that bad, it is possible that original holes in sail were torn out? move the plates a bit to get into better material? if so, patches/reinforcements need to be sewn onto sail and repaired properly. just thoughts


ah, I hadn't thought about reinforcing to redo the plates, but I see your point. Fortunately, I have an beefy sewing machine around.


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 Post subject: Re: Mainsail tack plate
PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:31 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 12:36 pm
Posts: 11
The outhaul tension is tweaking the gooseneck slide in the mast groove and creating extra friction. Leave the gooseneck slide out, raise the sail then worry about attaching the boom. Also, if you spray Mclube Sailkote lubricant on everything (like the gooseneck slide, luff rope, mast groove, pulleys, rudder plunger, zippers on your tent...., etc) the whole boat will work better. But not the deck and trampoline because you'll slide off the boat.


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