MacGregorSailors.com

Jeff,

Could you post a few photos for those who are not familiar with what you have described

Hmmm, LakeMac26C already provided excellent photos of one of the issues we have discussed in this thread. The replacement sail slugs he received from BWY don't quite match the original slugs in our Rolly Tasker sails. They the eye to slug distance is different, as is the length (shorter) of the slug compared with the ones on the RT sail. I understand LakeMac26C interest in getting an identical sail slug to the originals on his sail. I would like to find some way to get a few extras too As for providing an image of a mainsail jack line, I am stumped. I looked all over the web, and Mac Sailors, and cant find a single image of how the line works to keep the slugs lined up with the grommets (holes) in the sail when the luff is taut, and how they allow the sail to be reefed in combination with the sail stop.

I did my first solo on the Mac the other day during a perfect sailing day. I'm ambivalent about the jackline at this point because I could see an advantage to it in combination with my sail stopper. I install the stopper below all the sail slugs just before raising the halyard and while lowering it. The last few sail slugs have so much play up and down the jackline that it did give an advantage to this setup as you could install all the slugs and still have the clump of sail loosely on the deck...it allowed for a great deal of imperfection while raising the sail.

Did your RT sail come with a sheet of paper explaining the jackline system? It still reads like Greek, but I'll scan a copy of it in a few mins. Now that I've been using it, I kinda get it. One main mod I want to make before totally abandoning it is to make some kind of quick tensioner for the jackline like a kind of jam cleat so that I don't have to rely on tying a kind of half hitch in it while sailing in a stiff breeze to get the tension right.

I can't seem to find the instructions that came with the sail which explained the jackline. Here is a photo of the jackline. It's the thin white rope that goes through the luff and attaches to the first (from the bottom) sail slugs. It keeps those first few sail slugs very flexible along the luff until you hoist the mainsail. Then the rope has to be tensioned properly with a knot.