camp director g wrote:
the halyard pulls the top six or eight inches of the sail out of the mast track when I raise it completely to the top. As such, it always gets caught at the point where the mast extension (top part of the mast) connects when bringing the sail down. Any suggestions?
Also, just sliding the sail up and down in the track is generally difficult. Is there a way to make it easier?
First... "when I raise it all the way to the top" Does that mean you don't always fully hoist and lock the halyard in the fork? If the sail is not held at the top with the halyard locked in the fork... sailing tensions can pull the sail head out of the track. You can damage the track or sail luff rope if this happens and then have issues hoisting as described.
You could have too much batten tension.
You could be pulling hard on the halyard without properly feeding the sail at the feeder opening. This causes the sail to conform to the designed luff curve shape while hoisting in the (straight) mast... causing friction. less hoist tension the better. Feed the sail up the track at the bottom.
Sail hoisting and locking FAQ:
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=371