Mastgates

[s2sailorlis]

Thought some folks might be interested in this solution for closing up your mast slot.

I finally got around to doing this as it makes reefing much easier, and it allows the sail to fold down a bit tighter at the mast.

I considered fabricating my own, but heard good things about a company called mastgates. He’s got a database of many mast profiles and custom fabricates the gates.

Below is a picture of the gate, and mounted on the mast. Works perfectly and the slugs don’t get hung up at all. The plastic “rivets” are easily removable, yet firmly keep the gat in place.

[wikakaru]

I have a Mastgate for my Typhoon. I was pleased with the service I got from the 1-man company that makes them and have been using one (a different style also made by Mastgate). I was going to use Mastgates on my CD22 and mentioned it to the sailmaker who was measuring for a new mainsail, and his suggestion was to use a jackline on the luff of the mainsail for all the slugs below the reef points. He said any kind of mast gate tends to snag the slugs (which I have sometimes found to be the case with my Typhoon's Mastgate). This way the slugs for the bottom part of the sail are above the gate when the sail is dropped or reefed, and only come into play when the sail is fully hoisted.

Something like this:
https://shop.bwyachts.com/category-s/454.htm

That's the theory. I will have to let you know if it works as advertised once my new mainsail is delivered.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[wikakaru]

Just picked up the new mainsail yesterday. The jackline seems to work as advertised--the mainsail sets well, and all the slugs stay above the sail stop when the sail is dropped, without any problems flaking. The one factor to consider is that the stack of slugs, and thus the sail, sit about 6 inches higher when the sail is dropped than it would if a Mastgate was employed.

I would say that if you need the mainsail to sit lower, for example, if you have an existing sail cover that you need to make the sail fit under, then a Mastgate would be the way to go. If, as was our case, you are ordering a new mainsail and cover at the same time, then a jackline on the luff with a track stop above the gate is a good solution.

Here's a photo of the sail set so you can see how the jackline is attached.

IMG_3596.JPG

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[s2sailorlis]

Jim I’m trying to envision when reefed, how you get the new tack attached to the reefing horn if you aren’t removing the slugs?

I haven’t experienced any slugs getting caught on my gate. I followed the installation instructions to the letter, including the minor honing of the feed slot using a dremel tool. At first when I received the slot, it seemed unnecessary to do, but it prevents the slugs from getting stuck.

Nice having a crisp new sail for the season!

[mgphl52]

Jim I’m trying to envision when reefed, how you get the new tack attached to the reefing horn if you aren’t removing the slugs?

The luff is not directly attached to the slugs. Instead, the jackline runs through luff attachments and the slugs. When fully hoisted, the jackline is taut and keeps the luff close to the mast. when reefed, the jackline is loose and allows the reef tack to reach the horn.

[Markst95]

Thanks for the pics- I've had this system described to me before but couldn't wrap my mind around it. Is the top of the jackline tied off to the sail or mast. Looks like it would take some extra time if you pull the sails off after every sail.

[wikakaru]

Here's a follow-up after finishing last year with the jack line lacing for the luff attachment. It was a nice theory, but it didn't work in practice. I was not able to get the reef cringles to reach the reef hooks even with plenty of slack in the jack line.

This season I installed a mast gate, switched the jack line to normal plastic shackles, and added some rope loops run through the reef cringles to reach the reef hooks.

If anyone is interested, I wrote a sort of review of the two types of mast gates offered by mastgate.com in this thread: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... 30#p210730

Here is a photo of the mainsail luff up to the first reef point as I currently use it:

IMG_6937.JPG

Smooth sailing,

--Jim

[Steve Laume]

You should have kept the jack lines after you put the mast gate in. I have had mains, on Raven, with and without jack lines. It is easier to flake the sail without them but easier to reef, with them. The jack lines allow you to get all the extra canvas out of the way when you go to reef, Steve.

[wikakaru]

You should have kept the jack lines after you put the mast gate in. I have had mains, on Raven, with and without jack lines. It is easier to flake the sail without them but easier to reef, with them. The jack lines allow you to get all the extra canvas out of the way when you go to reef, Steve.

It would be easy to re-add a jack line, but so far I don't think I will. As you say, I like the way the sail flakes with the shackles better than with the jack lines, and I don't have a problem with the excess sail when reefed. However, my sail slugs are closer together than is typical, so there isn't a big flap of sail hanging down when reefed. I had the sailmaker put the slugs close together to combat a problem I had with an annoying luff chatter when reaching.

--Jim