Mailport: October 2011

Strong Track

I recently upgraded to a Tides Marine Strong Track (PS, August 2011) on my Hood 38, and added slides to the fully battened main (had plastic slugs on the existing, but newer main), and it has made raising the main a piece of cake. The problem, however, is that now the reefing ear rings do not reach the boom hooks. Have any good ideas on how to address this?

Joseph D
Via www.practical-sailor.com

The Strong Track we installed for the August 2011 evaluation was for a new mainsail, so we did not have any of the problems sometimes associated with retrofitting a new main to the Strong Track. However, we got this a useful tip from reader and Island Planet Sails owner Dave Benjamin (www.islandplanetsails.com): “The fix is easy and well within reach of most DIY-minded sailors. Simply obtain some webbing, reuse the rings, and create new dogbones (reefing ear rings) of an appropriate length. Pay attention to how the existing ones are made. Chances are that you can roughly copy the same technique. Although your stitching will not be as pretty as a professional sailmaker, it can be just as sturdy.” Any other readers have a different suggestion or DIY fix for retrofitting an existing main to a new Strong Track?

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