What sailor hasn't weighed against his mainsail so hard to hoist? And when it's time to lower it, you have to go to the foot of the mast to put your full weight on it. Next to you at anchor, a yachtsman drops his halyard and the mainsail drops quickly onto the boom. But what's his secret?
The first thought goes to the ball cart. Its mast must be equipped with ball trolleys. And yet, if an inspection of his mast shows a groove for slides, it is because he has chosen Tides Marine's Sail Track.
A well-proven product
This American product has been around for more than 25 years, but is not well known on this side of the Atlantic. It is an extruded polypropylene (Teflon) rail. This rail, cut to fit exactly into the groove of your mast, takes the place of your old slides. From now on, it will be used to slide new stainless steel slides. The result is amazing: the mainsail moves easily. This rail fits in the grooves of aluminium masts or on wooden or carbon masts by fixing small riders beforehand. It can accommodate all types of mainsails (full-batten or semi-lattened).
A very simple installation
The installation is very simple. Indeed, once the rail is cut to size (a system of taking dimensions with diskettes is provided to avoid any errors), simply slide it into the existing rail of your mast. No need to dismast or climb the mast. Simply push the rail from below, just above the gooseneck.
Then the old plastic slides of the mainsail are replaced by new ones made of stainless steel. No sewing required, the axis that opens to the new ones allows for an installation without material. And there you are, ready to go back to sea. An inexperienced person, who will have to read the manual to make sure that he is not mistaken, will take about 2 hours for a complete installation.
No loss of performance
Apart from the simple installation and the fact that you don't have to modify your sail, the Sail Track does not alter the performance. This is because the mainsail is only 1 cm back (thickness of the rail) and the 500 g/m of the rail has very little effect on the weights at the top. So much so that short-handed racers (Transquadra type) do not hesitate to install this solution given the comfort and efficiency it brings.
Zero maintenance
The one-piece rail from bottom to top requires no screws to fasten. No risk of losing parts (no balls either) or having to tighten them during the life of the boat. As far as maintenance is concerned, do not use a greasy product sprayed on the rail. On the contrary, just a rinse with fresh water, or even a wash with soapy water, but no more!
A fixed price
To simplify the price, Nautex international, which distributes the product in France (tel: 05 46 52 01 04), has decided to offer it at 165 euros /m. Regardless of the length (max. 19 m) and accessories (slides). Just ask for the ones you need and everything comes in the same package. As an example, a 12 m luff mast costs 1,980 euros including VAT. The rail exists in one size only, which fits on sailing boats with mainsails of 60 m2 for monohulls and 50 m2 for multihulls.
