Barton boomstrut on movable boom?

NickNap

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3 Apr 2005
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I'd like to fit a boomstrut to my Pageant, but because the sail track opens out fairly high up the mast, I have to move the boom up to tie the sail and put the cover on (there's a pin through the mast to stop the slides from falling out) and down again before hoisting the sail.

I figure moving the boom up this much could allow a Barton strut to come out of its slot under the boom, plus make it difficult to get the boom down again when I next raise the sail.

Any suggestions?

The only answer I can think of is extend the sail track down so I don't need to keep moving the boom, but can't think of a way to do it short of riveting bits on. If this is the only answer, how could it be done so the slides run smoothly?
 

NickNap

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I wasn't able to do it bacause we couldn't overcome the problem of needing to move the boom up each time.

My sailmaker suggested bridging the gap (originally there for roller reefing, see attached pic) with a section of sail track, so that the boom could remain in one position and the sail come down to meet it when folded.

Pinnel & Bax supplied a section of sail track, but in the event it turned out there was no sail slider that fitted both my mast track and a Pinnel & Bax track.

At that point the only thing left I could think of was getting a section of sail track specially made to match the mast track. I'd still like to do it, but don't know how to go about getting such an odd shaped item fabricated (for a reasonable price)
 

shatnersbassoon

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Thanks for the info.

I have the same problem with the sail track not extending far enough, though maybe not to the same extent judging by your pic.
I used to have to move the boom each time, but found I can just about leave it in the correct position and still get the sail cover round it at the end of the day. I'll probably just make the sail cover a bit bigger for now, but it would be nice to get the track extended and be able to stow the sail properly.
 

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