Snail Slugs

[irayone]

Hi I was told by MacGregor that snail slugs were not necessary. I was told that snail slugs bleed too much wind ??? Mac said I don't want them..
Any thoughts

[Hamin' X]

More likely to bleed bug juice than air.



~Rich

[Night Sailor]

For racers and performance freaks trying with great effort to get the last ounce of performance from thier boats, slugs do leak air. However if you belong in either of those categories, I think the Mac is the wrong boat for you since it is not designed to be a high performance sailer and no one can agree on how to give it a universal rating for around the buoys.

For us cruisers and oldsters not as spry, agile, or strong as we used to be, you can't beat the ease with which the sail goes up and down when furling, reefing and removing for travel. I especially like them when reefing in strong winds. And it takes less time to bend on the main when rigging at launch.

[AWKIII]

Are you saying someone at the factory told you they bleed too much wind and you don't want them?

[Moe]

The loss of sailing performance due to sail slugs is probably a single digit percentage of the loss due to the high freeboard that gives the boat standing headroom or the loss due to the squared off powerboat transom deep in the water that enables the boat to motor faster than hull speed. The compromise for the convenience of sail slugs is nowhere near those made to have a powersailor. In other words, worrying about sail slugs on a MacGregor is like worrying about the drag of a TV antenna on a motorhome.

[delevi]

I too was advised against slugs when I bought my boat new 4 1/2 years ago. The rationalle was that it adds to rigging time and you have to drop slugs when reefing. After a year of struggling with mainsail hoists, feeding the luff into the mast track, I went with slugs. It's like night and day. It also allows you to run your halyard to the cockpit. Can't beat it. I think any performance hit is negligable. The added time to rigging is about 2 minutes. As for reefing, there are two solutions. One would be jacklines which eliminate the need to drop slugs. Some claim that you can avoid jack lines with properly spaced slugs and fewer of them, though I just don't see it. My performance mainsail uses slugs and two sets of jack lines covering three reef points. I'm very happy with the setup.

cheers,
LD TRIPPLE REEFED!

[mikelinmon]

Yes and no, depends on who you are. If interested in performance; slugs degrade more than new stock main vs best brand (North/Ulman or any of the hot sailmakers), did not say older Mac main as thay are streched out by now. I'd buy a performance main, no slugs and have a boat faster only by side by side racing identical boats (the other poor sap has a stock main) and identical skippers several times winning most of the time, not always. It is a small advantage to have the best stuff, also a small advantage to use a bolt rope main vs a slugged main. Point is, if there is a point at all, slugs will degrade performance and if you are willing to pay thousands for better sails it is folly to use slugs. The max pressure differential on your sails is at the leading edge! If you don't want to climb up on the deck, get slugs, but you can't fold the main without wrinkles and you will give up some slight % of speed. I think a dealer should be able to read the needs of his customer and so advise. I never do that about performance, an error for certain. Will look at this better after reading these many letters.
Mike Inmon

[c130king]

Another curiosity question...

If you don't have slugs then how does the reefing work? Does the bolt rope come out of the track and just flake on top of the boom like it does with the slugs?

I can't imagine not having sail slugs. Seems as if single-handing would be a serious pain.

Thanks,
Jim

[delevi]

Mike,
I respectfully disagre. My with Quantum Fusion X sails with slugs will blow the doors off any other using stock sails without slugs. I sailed both. I also had the stock main without and with slugs. Performance change wasn't noticeable. That's why I didn't hesitate to get slugs on my performance sail. As for not being able to flake, I think a picture is worth a thousand words.


Jim,

Yes, when you reef w/o slugs, your bolt rope comes out of the track, just as it does when you lower the sail. You then have to feed it manually, bit by bit when you hoist. Slugs actually make it easier to flake. Some racers even use slugs. I talked to five sailmakers before ordering my Quantums and they all concurred that the hit on performance with slugs is minute.

Leon

[2BonC]

Please, what are snail slugs? I can´t find it in any dictionary.
Rainer

[Hamin' X]

Please, what are snail slugs? I can´t find it in any dictionary.
Rainer

Try Sail Slides.

~Rich

[c130king]

Rainer,

Sail Slugs. Essential kit for sailors IMHO.

Here is a previous post (with pictures) on this.

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... hilit=slug

Cheers,
Jim

[2BonC]

Ahhh, Mastrutscher , thank You all

Rainer

[pokerrick1]

What Moe said - - -plus - - - they are soooooooo taaaasssssty during a sail - - -I don't see how anyone does without them

Yes - - you DO want sail slugs on a Mac, the difference in raising and lowering the main is enormous - - - and if you singlehand much they should be mandatory IMHO

Rick

PS I see no moderator changed the title of this thread - - -Thank You.

PPS Always keep about a half dozen spare slugs on board - - - they do get eaten - - - I mean break.

[AWKIII]

Actually, there is a difference between sail slides and slugs.

A slug fits inside the channel of the mast and slides; outside.