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