Brains Trust
New (to me) yacht with new (to me) issues that I am sure we can sort out

When lowering the main, the sail doesn't drop as quick as I expect or even as far as I expect. I find myself having to hank most of it down by hand. I have recently sprayed the sail track and carts with a lubricant (made slight improvement), no apparent tangles in reefing lines or anything obvious. The only thing I can think of is that the main halyard is reasonably thick and much thicker then the rest of the lines and this could cause some resistance.

What could I be missing

How's the masthead sheaves? Wrong size sheaves for the rope , or any issues up there make hoisting and lowering difficult.

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Sectorsteve said..
How's the masthead sheaves? Wrong size sheaves for the rope , or any issues up there make hoisting and lowering difficult.

Yes. Hoist a line up instead of the main and see if problem is halyard or sail track.

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Trek said..

Sectorsteve said..
How's the masthead sheaves? Wrong size sheaves for the rope , or any issues up there make hoisting and lowering difficult.

Yes. Hoist a line up instead of the main and see if problem is halyard or sail track.

brilliant. I should have asked this question before I unstepped ! That'll work!

My sheaves were worn in fact they were square. Now I can raise and lower my main by hand . No winches required

If not masthead, try feeding halyard into mast entry sheave. I can have no wraps on the halyard winch and the sail is still slow to drop. Stand next to the mast and feed it, its down in seconds.

Hi Toph

If the sheeves etc check out ok what length boat do you have and what diameter are the existing halyards

On my 28 footer i had old 12mm double braid/wire halyards which i replaced with 8mm Dyneema and the sails go up and down much easier

I think it was well worth the money

Regards Don

Are you lowering it with the mainsheet or vang on too much?

Raise the boom with the topping lift slightly.

Thanks for all the replies.

So it wasn't the the vang or mainsheet being too tight nor the topping lift. Obviously I thrived the easier options first.
So I am still hopeful it is a too thick halyard causing friction (I tried your option too Shaggy).

It is either that or up the mast I (my wife ) will go to look at the sheeves...

A simple fix is to fit a retrieval line which are handy even if everything is in good order.
Tie a 4 or 6mm cord from the sail head to usually the top reef point. Make it so when the sail is hoisted the cord is tight. With a retrieval line it is just a matter of hauling the sail down. They are particularly good when the wind is blowing as you can tie the sail down tight.

I fitted the tides marine track system last year only got a chance to use it twice since last Christmas. The main drops like lightning now....it's still hard to host only due to the weight of the sail. Is your main hard to hoist Toph?

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Ramona said..
Raise the boom with the topping lift slightly.

That is one many of us miss.