I have a 22 ft. It has an external sail track with the old bronze metal slides. I plan to replace all with Ronstan Nylon slides. Practical Sailor tells me they will slide better with less stick. So does my sail loft person so I’m doing it. Do not want to spend money on Tides Strong Track. Anybody else do this? Lee
Lee,
I do not have experience with the Ronstan nylon slides. I do have experience with stainless steel and bronze slides as well as the Strong Track system, all on Nonsuch 26es.
What ever you decide to do, do not lose the bronze slides. They are expensive and you may want to go back to them.
The stainless steel worked fine. The bronze worked better especially after I started putting a drop of dish soap on them before I hoisted the sail. When I was getting the boat ready I would take the dish soap to the mast. When I pulled the sail cover off I would add a drop of soap to each slide. The soap acted as a temporary lubrication and cleaned the slides and tracks when it rained.
I read a lot about how good the Strong Track preformed so I installed the system. Contrary to the experience of most people, I found the sail dropped better and was at least as easy to hoist with the bronze slides than with the Strong Track. I know large numbers of owners have found the Strong Track to work way better than bronze but that was not my experience.
My sail does not have full battens and I have been told the Strong Track makes a bigger difference if used with full battens.
Before you go down the route of changing the slides try the dish soap. Also check that the masthead sheave and the turning block at the base of the mast are running smoothly. If it won’t make it too small for your hands, going down a size in the halyard also makes hoisting easier. If you decide to go down in size on the halyard, go low stretch.
Hopefully someone can speak from experience regarding the Ronstan nylon slides.
Mark Powers
La Reina 26C
Vancouver, B.C.
Lee: My boat came with a Strong Track and it’s great!
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
PS: Note how most of us normally sign off. This tells everyone what you have and where it is. Makes it easier to answer.
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Tides works very very well. Bronze slides need to be smooth and no burrs bumps or bends. And the track needs to be smoothly aligned. Nylon … no idea
Hello Lee -
Both Mark and Joe are correct. (And they have a wealth of experience - heed their words). I sail an N22, like you. I have the original stainless steel track and, thank heaven, BRONZE SLIDES (which cost around $35.00 a piece in Canada). On my boat (which happens to be the same size as your boat…), they work beautifully. My old rumpled sail dropped like a rock with them. My pretty new MACK Cruising Dacron sail also drops like a rock even though it is as flexible as a piece of plywood (because it’s still new).
I don’t use dish soap to lube the slides - I use the spray on dry lube called McLube. I do this twice during a 6 month season and I sail a fair amount - lots of lightning-quick sail drops. And, my main halyard could even be thinner than my existing one. That said, dish soap works perfectly - it’s a great trick.
I have never heard anyone actually sing the praises of nylon slides UNLESS they are used as part of a STRONG Track set-up. I have heard some folks grumble that they tend to stick. They aren’t a metal and they will suffer from wear and tear, WAY more than a slide made of metal. They could get slightly misshapen as they catch a tiny burr in the metal track, causing them to hang up.
Joe’s boat is big and Mark’s is bigger than mine. I do know that the Strong system works well and must be working well for Joe if he says so. But, it’s a bunch of money and I am CERTAIN that if you clean all of the gunge out of every bronze slide (they’ll be filthy inside, trust me - it’s a one hour job, if that) with a bit of varsol or alcohol (no, NOT hand sanitizer) and use Joy (the best) dish soap or McLube, that sail will drop fast and totally. And, as the experts say, check that the masthead sheave and the turning block at the base of the mast are running smoothly.
And something else that has come up on this forum a lot … TRY running your the halyard STRAIGHT back to your winch from the bottom turning block. Don’t have it gather friction running along the deck or going thru an organizer or being muled thru another block. All of these “detours” add a hell of a lot of friction making the sail tougher to raise and slower to fall.
With no disrespect to Practical Sailor or your sailmaker (who, to be very fair and blunt, is probably quite concerned about making a living right now), Nonsuches are different animals, unlike most other boats. Mark and Joe know their onions. Go slow. Try their tricks - they work.
Stay healthy.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Mark, great to read your response. I purchased Strong track from a sail loft at a boat show about 5 years ago. He promised it would be the panacea of sail handling. It was not! They installed and it never performed as promised. I know know there are many factors but "I’m installing a smaller halyard line as well per your input! Thank you. Lee
Ernie, thank you for your response and ideas as well. I’m going to clean the track and slides first to see what that does. My boat is on the hard for winter in a boat yard still closed to public on weekends so I will meet all the “self-isolate” guidelines and then some!! I downsized to the N22 because my wife and I are over 70 and still want to sail without leaving the cockpit. I’m also going to downsize the halyard line to 5/16 inch line. The boat is in LaConner, WA. Lee
Lee -
You guys will have a ball with that boat. My N22 is a windsurfer with a washroom and flat-screen TV. Goes like a locomotive. Easy-peasy singlehander (with me having a bad lower back, to boot).
Enjoy it.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Z Fat Cat has a full batten main with strong track, and a doyle stack pack. hoisting and dropping all done from the cockpit, whole system works beautifully.
Will B
Z Fat Cat N30C #181
Bainbridge Island, WA
Lee,
Our 22 (1986), now sold, came with the original 1986 sail which ran in the bronze slides. A bit of dilute dish soap in a spray bottle up the track always gave easy hoists and fast drops. I purchased a newer sail from another 22 owner here on the forum and it had 2 stainless slides at the top and the rest were nylon. Drops were jerky to say the least. Even with dish soap. Some was due to the 2 full battens on the newer sail. After the 1st season with that sail I had a sailmaker install my old slides on the newer sail. Happy again.