MacGregorSailors.com

We finally got our out Saturday. One thing I found is that the mainsail dogs just fall out of the mast when you lower it. The halyard is run aft so that kind of defeats the purpose. On my 23' Clipper Marine the boom would slide up and down on the mast so I’d just raise the boom above the sail feed slot, but the boom mounting bracket on the is riveted. I doubt I’ll drill out the rivets and re-rivet it every time I rig the boat. On my 19' Gulf Coast there was a cover for the slot - I think Blue Water Yachts makes a little cover for the slot on the MacGregor but I wondered what experience others had with this.

Others have made a unit to do what your talking about. They use pvc to do it. I talked to BYW about theirs because I think it would be better as in thinner walls ect.. once installed. The lady mentioned as a reminder that it would need to be taken off each time for trailering so it is basically best if kept mast up at a marina. I want one, just haven't ordered it yet. Another popular method is to just tie a line around the mast above the feed. I drilled a hole the size of a pin above the feed and pinned it which is another method.

I used the line method at first, now the pin and eventually the feed cover.

Gary

If I understand correctly... I use a "Sail Track Stop" like the one on Kelly-Hanson Marine's website - works fine.

Rod

Bungee cord tight around the mast just above the slot but below the bottom sail slug will work fine.

Jim

I use the rounded Sail Stop from West Marine. I think this is what you are referring to

Allan

When we were out I used the line around the mast method, and I've used a sail stop in the past. The OCD part of me wants the sail down nice and close to the boom when it is not deployed... maybe I just need to get over it. If the cover doesn't fit nicely it doesn't help because the dogs get caught in the track when you are trying to hoist. The one I had before had a thumb screw on it which made it easy to take off and put on.

Thanks for all the input!

Alan

We have gone through way too many of those "slug stops" and this season I want to drill a hole for a quich release pin on a lanyard!

I have the round version of the sailstop shown above. After loosing the first one over the side, I added a tether to the boom and have not lost one since. I just used heavy fishing mono and crimps to make the tether. It is around the threaded shaft of the sail stop. Since you never unscrew it all the way it works great.

valdez53 wrote:We have gone through way too many of those "slug stops" and this season I want to drill a hole for a quich release pin on a lanyard!

I've lost several of those thumb-screw mast track stops, so after the last one I drilled a 3/16" hole through both sides of the mast track, at the top end of the "feeder slot". I can close it now with a quick pin, a clevis pin, a bolt, a zip-tie or even a short length of 3/16" line tied through with a square knot - and that's the cheapest thing of all to replace when I lose it over the side!