Trysail Track

Installation

Port Townsend Rigging added a trysail track alongside our mainsail track. PT Rigging is quite proud of the fact that they weld the track pieces together to form a continuous track. When they were done I ended up aloft to grind the weld because sail slides would hang up on it.

Installation drawbacks

The track as installed by Port Townsend Rigging mysteriously ended eighteen inches above the cabin top. This did not allow the trysail to live on the track without interfering with the mainsail. The trysail is for extreme conditions and is the last sail to be up in stormy weather; the last thing you want to do in bad weather is go forward and feed the sail onto the mast track. Since we wanted to leave the trysail on the mast, ready to go, we contacted Toss Rigging to extend the trysail track. This allows the trysail to be stored on the track below the mainsail.

Trysail track after Toss rigging lengthened it to accomodate the stack height of the trysail.

Sail slides - stainless or bronze?

The trysail as delivered would not hoist on our track. I went aloft and ground on the joint between welded pieces. It still stuck in other places, the stainless slides are stamped instead of cast and seemed to require some bending to make them all traverse the track without sticking. We opted for all bronze sail slides on the trysail - it was more expensive but the sail goes up and down without sticking.

Now the trysail lives on the mast track, safely below the main sail. We use the trysail as a steadying sail when the seas are sloppy. We haven't had to hoist it for extreme weather conditions yet, but are confident it will go up when we need it.

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