Tack to mast attachment

[Randy Gadikian]

How is your tack attached to your mast?  I have an ugly lashing that seems to work well, but I think there has to be a better way.  I am concerned about the luff pulling the track off the mast under tension.  

Randy Gadikian,

Phoenix Rising

NS 26C

Buffalo, NY

[ken...@gmail.com]

I’ve never had one come loose lashing with good knots l,but a soft shackle should work well if you could buy or make the right size. 

Ken Julian

NS 26C#9 “Blue Note”

Fredericton, NB

On Jul 4, 2024, at 12:29 PM, Randy Gadikian <ra...@gadikian.com> wrote:

How is your tack attached to your mast?  I have an ugly lashing that seems to work well, but I think there has to be a better way.  I am concerned about the luff pulling the track off the mast under tension.  

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[Joe Valinoti]

I’ve always had a decent regular shackle there without any problems.  One thing to remember is always tension the halyard before a reef clew or the choker.  Do it the other way and you can start having slide or track problems.

 

Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA

~~~~~(\_ ~(\_ ~(\_~~~~~~~~~~

[Donald Mc Nees Jr]

The Tack isn't normally attached to the track and shouldn't be. It should be shackled to a pad eye just below the track. I like soft shackles.
If it is attached to the track, tensioning the choker, which pushes the clew (boom) aft, could put excess tension on the track via the foot of the sail.
Real damaging tension can come from raising the boom end with topping lift with maximum choker tension on. You could rip a sail foot or pull a track screw.
Spend some windless day tied in your slip with the sail up figuring out what happens when you pull on one control line to the other control lines. Mark the halyard for full hoist and your reefs.
Mark your reef lines.
Mark your choker line for reference.
Keep as low a tension on everything as you can, harden up as wind pressure increases, let off as it drops.
Don Mc, NS 22 "CHEERS" Salish Sea

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[Bob Neches (Me Gusta, Nonsuch 26U #233)]

Although the tack isn't attached to the track and shouldn't be, Joe's advice is independent of that and there are good reasons for not tightening the aft (clew) reefing lines or the choker until the halyard is tight. 

Unless the halyard's tight, the forces exerted by any of the lines pulling the sail aft will go only on the slides nearest the tack, rather than being distributed across all the slides.

Concentrating those forces is how you rip the sail or pull out the mast track, both of which are experiences well worth avoiding.

Attaching the tack to the track would make that even worse, but since the whole point of a tack is to hold that end of the sail down, doing so wouldn't make sense in the first place.

-- Bob
   Me Gusta
   Nonsuch e26U #233
   Looking forward to seeing folks in Toronto:
        https://nonsuch.org/2024-INA-International-Rendezvous-Status

[Ernie Abugov P/O NS22 o/b #56 "Moustaches"]

I, too, have had a shackle there (to the big solid padeye below the track.) The clew of the sail is lashed to the tail end of the boom.

Ernie A. in Toronto

[Donald Mc Nees Jr]

Totally agree. To put in a reef set the halyard to the reef mark on the halyard, tighten the tack line to its mark, ease the mainsheet and tighten the clew line to its mark on the clew line. Clew line blocks on the aft end of the boom also have to be in a position to pull a little aft as well as down. 

 To shake out a reef I release clew, then tack and then crank halyard.

 Chocker should be on the loose side for all until the sail is set.

 This should be practiced on that calm day at the dock when you are establishing the marks on you halyard and reef lines.

Don Mc #16 NS 22 Salish Sea.

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[Bob Neches (Me Gusta, Nonsuch 26U #233)]

And, for those who choose not to follow Joe's, Don's, and my most-excellent advice, please remember that there are a couple of important tricks to know when reinstalling a pulled-out mast track.

DO NOT assume you should simply drill a big, deep hole in the mast and put in a bigger, longer bolt.

-- Bob
   Me Gusta
   Nonsuch e26U #233
   Looking forward to seeing folks in Toronto:
        https://nonsuch.org/2024-INA-International-Rendezvous-Status