Sail slides instead of luff tape into furler

[Poignard]

Posts 39 and 40 have it exactly right.

Although I didn't get round to converting my genoa before I sold my boat, I had done quite a lot of research and I was in no doubt as to the benefits of slides, but only if they were Kiwi slides.

Ordinary slides were unacceptable because they would prevent a tight furl and pose a risk of damaging the sail. Refueler [post #31] confirms this last point.

The hard part of the Kiwi slide is enclosed entirely within the foil groove. The only parts that come into contact with the sail are the soft webbing tabs.

The Kiwi slides I bought were quite expensive and I would not have been willing to spend that much unless I firmly believed it was justified.

 

[doug748]

The Kiwi slides have fabric extensions that will fold flat & not dig into the furled sail. The ones you show will stick out & dig into the sail causing the damage some have spoken about earlier.

Indeed, but I am responding to BrKa + Biggles Wader who are having problems sourcing sail slides to get the job done. At least four people up the thread may well have actually done it and report no problems.
The damage spoken about seems to be conjecture.

.

 

[BrKa]

Is it possible to print sliders, or is the plastic produced too weak?

I'd love to try that.

 

[BrKa]

My roller genoa has plastic slides into the track and has worked well for over ten years now.

Where did you get the slides?

 

[PeteCooper]

Where did you get the slides?

They were on the boat when I bought her, but I think they are available at most chandlers, or a local sailmaker would sell you some.

 

[oldbloke]

Looking at those Kiwi Slides, I would have thought that they were do-able diy, just need a bit of plastic rod to wrap the tape round. Only problem I can see is how to securely fasten the two together

 

[Poignard]

Looking at those Kiwi Slides, I would have thought that they were do-able diy, just need a bit of plastic rod to wrap the tape round. Only problem I can see is how to securely fasten the two together

The tape is not on the outside of the plastic slug. It is enclosed within it.

The only time the tape comes into contact with the foil is when the sail is furled.

 

[dunedin]

They were on the boat when I bought her, but I think they are available at most chandlers, or a local sailmaker would sell you some.

What size boat are you using these sail slides on? The forces on the furler on our boat weighing near 10 tons are enormous when winching the jib in bar tight for beating with a part reefed sail in a F6.
Clearly the forces would be much less in smaller boats, and even more in bigger boats.

 

[PeteCooper]

What size boat are you using these sail slides on? The forces on the furler on our boat weighing near 10 tons are enormous when winching the jib in bar tight for beating with a part reefed sail in a F6.
Clearly the forces would be much less in smaller boats, and even more in bigger boats.

She was a 26ft Ecume de Mer - decent sized jib for the size of boat.

 

[Biggles Wader]

These are they:

View attachment 190476


Although the nominal size is 8mm, the measured diameter is 7.5mm.

I have 15 of them. Unused, of course,



Here is somemore information about Kiwi Slides:

Sail Slide - Kiwi 4 sizes6mm (09412B)

Kiwi Slides and Handle Holster - Practical Sailor


View attachment 190486

View attachment 190485

I had a measure up and those are definitely too big to fit in my foil.

 

[Poignard]

What size boat are you using these sail slides on? The forces on the furler on our boat weighing near 10 tons are enormous when winching the jib in bar tight for beating with a part reefed sail in a F6.
Clearly the forces would be much less in smaller boats, and even more in bigger boats.

A larger sail would have a longer luff and hence more slides, so the load per slide need be no more than it would be for a small sail.

 

[dunedin]

A larger sail would have a longer luff and hence more slides, so the load per slide need be no more than it would be for a small sail.

But the sideways crushing forces on a traditional mainsail slider are much more with a bigger sail.
Hence why the Kiwi slides with soft attachment are so much better designed for this application.

 

[BrKa]

What size boat are you using these sail slides on? The forces on the furler on our boat weighing near 10 tons are enormous when winching the jib in bar tight for beating with a part reefed sail in a F6.
Clearly the forces would be much less in smaller boats, and even more in bigger boats.

I tend not to unfurl my sails completely to spread the load over the sail

 

[[194497]]

I'd be interested to see how many of the people posting on this thread are actively out there cruising right now. As opposed to dreaming about it or reminiscing about a trip they did thirty years ago.

And then ask how many of those currently active cruisers have a fridge, etc.

A larger sail would have a longer luff and hence more slides, so the load per slide need be no more than it would be for a small sail.

Assuming that the total load on the luff is proportionate to sail area, if the luff slider spacing stayed the same, a bigger sail would have heavier loading per luff slider. Put simply, there's more sail behind each slider on a bigger sail.
That said, the sliders and attachments would also presumably be bigger and stronger for a bigger sail.

 

[Poignard]

 

[Poignard]

Looking at those Kiwi Slides, I would have thought that they were do-able diy, just need a bit of plastic rod to wrap the tape round. Only problem I can see is how to securely fasten the two together

Here's a rough sketch showing the construction of the Kiwi slide.