Sticking mainsail

[fireman181]

Went sailing yesterday -- Great weather in Georgia -- went to drop the main and had to pull down by hand. The slugs were sticking in the sail slot, what does the group recomend to lube with that will not attract dirt.........Tahnks

Buck

[Giulietta]

Any Silicone spray or a grease for zippers they sell at west marine

[SailorMitch]

Sailkote works great for that -- dry lubricant you can spray on. Spary all the slugs and as far up the track as you can reach.

[sailingdog]

I'd second the McLube SailKote recommendation. Good stuff. Buy it in the big bottle and use a spray bottle to apply it.

[fireman181]

Thanks, I wondered about sailkote.........

[sailingdog]

The spray can is nice, but really expensive compared to the bottles of the the stuff. If you need it to be applied in a fine mist, go to your local kitchen supply store and buy an oil mister bottle, and use that.

[SawWhet]

If all else fails and the other products are not at hand a few drops of liquid dish soap works great and will actualy clean the dirt off the track.

SawWhet

[Jeff_H]

Often a sticking mainsail is the result of goop building up in the luff track, so the first step is to clean out the track. I have used Sailcote or simple silicone spray with great results. I have used a bloeshield product with good results. I have heard folks talk about using liquid soap but personally had terrible results when I actually used it having to go up the mast to clean the mess out.

Jeff

[sailingdog]

The only problem with liquid dish soap, is that if there is enough to work properly, there is usually enough to turn into a nasty gummy mess.

Originally Posted by SawWhet

If all else fails and the other products are not at hand a few drops of liquid dish soap works great and will actualy clean the dirt off the track.

SawWhet

[T34C]

I have to agree with Jeff on this one. You really nead to clean the track first, then lube.

Try using a slug with a little bit of a rag wrapped around it. Attach to halyard to raise it up the track and a small line also attach to bring it back down. Coat the rag with something like WD40 and pull it up and down the track as needed to clean. You may need to change rags a few times. When you feel the track is pretty clean, replace rag and now coat with Sailkote, hoist and retrieve a couple times. Should be good to go.