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Guest
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I have decided to have my fully battened mainsail converted to a track system - with recirculating ball bearing batten cars, and intermediate cars, on an external track fitted to the mast.
At the Southampton Boat Show I looked at both the Haaken and Frederiksen sytems which both seem excellent (if very expensive). However, my mast is ZSPARS and so I also looked at their system. It is much cheaper but looks very strong and well designed. It makes the Frederiksen Series 050 system (which is the recommended one for my boat) seem almost fragile in comparison. So I am inclined towards ZSPARS.
With all systems the track is fitted to the mast in lengths of around 2 metres or longer - usually with slugs that fit the mast's slot profile, but sometimes, I am told, with fixings tapped into the mast. ZSPARS have such a system, but they also (uniquely I think) can supply the track in one length. The advantage here is that there are no joins, and the track slides into the existing slot. This is obviously a mast down job, and I've spoken to my local rigger (who is a Selden agent and only has experience of Selden's RCB system), and he is of the opinion that a "proper" job is best achieved with the mast down, even with the usual systems which theoretically can be installed with the mast standing.
As far as the sail modifications are concerned, my only concern is that there are currently 2 sliders between each batten and with the new system there will only be one intermediate car. This means that if these are placed equidistant between batten cars I will have two redundant holes in the sail between each batten.
My reasons for wanting to install such a system are mainly because I want the ability to reef on most points of sailing, especially downwind, but also because I currently have a disastrous mast gate situation (just a hole cut into the mast) which is very difficult to overcome in any other way.
I have high hopes of the system which seems to me to be pretty much the best you can do, but I would be grateful for comments from any who have experience. I havn't seen anything on this in the magazines (but I think Andrew Bray has the Selden system on Firefly). I don't want to go to all this trouble and then regret it! The mast is about 16 m (luff about 15m). Boat is 38' and displaces about 10 tons. Single line reefing led aft with blocks in boom, gas filled rod kicker.
At the Southampton Boat Show I looked at both the Haaken and Frederiksen sytems which both seem excellent (if very expensive). However, my mast is ZSPARS and so I also looked at their system. It is much cheaper but looks very strong and well designed. It makes the Frederiksen Series 050 system (which is the recommended one for my boat) seem almost fragile in comparison. So I am inclined towards ZSPARS.
With all systems the track is fitted to the mast in lengths of around 2 metres or longer - usually with slugs that fit the mast's slot profile, but sometimes, I am told, with fixings tapped into the mast. ZSPARS have such a system, but they also (uniquely I think) can supply the track in one length. The advantage here is that there are no joins, and the track slides into the existing slot. This is obviously a mast down job, and I've spoken to my local rigger (who is a Selden agent and only has experience of Selden's RCB system), and he is of the opinion that a "proper" job is best achieved with the mast down, even with the usual systems which theoretically can be installed with the mast standing.
As far as the sail modifications are concerned, my only concern is that there are currently 2 sliders between each batten and with the new system there will only be one intermediate car. This means that if these are placed equidistant between batten cars I will have two redundant holes in the sail between each batten.
My reasons for wanting to install such a system are mainly because I want the ability to reef on most points of sailing, especially downwind, but also because I currently have a disastrous mast gate situation (just a hole cut into the mast) which is very difficult to overcome in any other way.
I have high hopes of the system which seems to me to be pretty much the best you can do, but I would be grateful for comments from any who have experience. I havn't seen anything on this in the magazines (but I think Andrew Bray has the Selden system on Firefly). I don't want to go to all this trouble and then regret it! The mast is about 16 m (luff about 15m). Boat is 38' and displaces about 10 tons. Single line reefing led aft with blocks in boom, gas filled rod kicker.