Mast Gate

[TRWXXA]

Ahoy, all!

I am getting my mainsail converted to lugs, to make single-handing a little easier. I'm not enjoying the cockpiit full of Dacron I get when lowering the sail with the luff rope.

Can anyone steer me in the direction of a proper mast gate to help keep the lugs in the track? I have seen the offerings at mastgates.com, but I am wondering what folks here may have had sucess with.

Thanks!

[tomodda]

Hi Chris!

Nice boat name! Water of life indeed....

As for keeping your mains'l SLUGS in place, I personally don't think one needs a mast gate. Either use a track stop right above the slot :

https://www.davisinstruments.com/produc ... rack-stops

Or simply tie a line around the mast above the slot, even an extra sail tie will do. FWIW, I tie a Larkshead, around the whole mast - start by pushing the bight of your Larkshead thru the gap between the luff and the mast, pull the tails thru the bight, and Bob's your Uncle!


Of course my method means that you'll have a somewhat sloppy "bundle" if/when you flake the main to the boom. But for "douse the main, motor to the dock," who cares. Same for leaving the dock to make sail. You can make it all neat later, if you want/need. But if you're just trailer - daysailing (ie pulling the boat out after each sail), then consider taking the boom off the mast and simply wrapping the main around the boom. Better for your sail as compared to flaking it down.

[GreenLake]

What Tom said.

But if you are set on having a gate, why not make your own. Judging from the ones offered on the site you linked, there's quite a bit of variation in design. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a version that you could have someone produce with a 3-D printer.

But bending a short strip of thin stainless steel so it "grabs" the edge of the track and tying it off with a bungee at an eye in front of the mast seems perhaps the easiest route for a roll-your-own.

[jalmeida51]

I used a mast gate from mastgate.com. It was made of stainless steel. Not cheap but worth the price. Much easier to reef, especially if you single hand your boat. I did try using a track stop from Davis Instruments but it left a large proration of luff high up on the mast slot. I couldn't secure my sail cover due to all the slugs and sail were too high. If you don't use a sail cover a track stop should work and much cheaper.

[TRWXXA]

Hi Chris!

Nice boat name! Water of life indeed....

As for keeping your mains'l SLUGS in place, I personally don't think one needs a mast gate. Either use a track stop right above the slot :

https://www.davisinstruments.com/produc ... rack-stops

Or simply tie a line around the mast above the slot, even an extra sail tie will do. FWIW, I tie a Larkshead, around the whole mast - start by pushing the bight of your Larkshead thru the gap between the luff and the mast, pull the tails thru the bight, and Bob's your Uncle!


Of course my method means that you'll have a somewhat sloppy "bundle" if/when you flake the main to the boom. But for "douse the main, motor to the dock," who cares. Same for leaving the dock to make sail. You can make it all neat later, if you want/need. But if you're just trailer - daysailing (ie pulling the boat out after each sail), then consider taking the boom off the mast and simply wrapping the main around the boom. Better for your sail as compared to flaking it down.

Thanks. I thought about "Water Dancer", which sounds great in Irish Gaelic. In Scottish Gaelic, not so much.

I'm going to try the sail stop, but the slot might be too high (boat is in winter storage so I can't check right away.) That might make the slugs stack impractically high. We'll see.

C.

[TRWXXA]

I used a mast gate from mastgate.com. It was made of stainless steel. Not cheap but worth the price. Much easier to reef, especially if you single hand your boat. I did try using a track stop from Davis Instruments but it left a large proration of luff high up on the mast slot. I couldn't secure my sail cover due to all the slugs and sail were too high. If you don't use a sail cover a track stop should work and much cheaper.

I can do the sail.stop thing, but yes, I do have a sail cover, and the sail will stack too high for that.

Was mastgate.com good to work with? What mast profile did you use? I can never remeber if the DSII is a Selden or a Dwyer spar.

C.

[TRWXXA]

What Tom said.

But if you are set on having a gate, why not make your own. Judging from the ones offered on the site you linked, there's quite a bit of variation in design. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a version that you could have someone produce with a 3-D printer.

But bending a short strip of thin stainless steel so it "grabs" the edge of the track and tying it off with a bungee at an eye in front of the mast seems perhaps the easiest route for a roll-your-own.

If someone had a .obj file for a mastgate, I'd print one lickety-split. I don't have the CAD background to design one on my own, though.

[GreenLake]

You might have better luck finding someone in the 3D printing community who can run you up a CAD file from your measurements, than finding someone here who has gone that route already. That guess is based on the assumptions that most owners already have a solution that they are happy with and probably had that long before 3D printing became mainstream. Or they may be like me, rather preferring to make things the old fashioned way. But who knows, perhaps someone will stumble over this thread and contact you.

[jalmeida51]

Hey Chris,
My boat was a Daysailer1 built by Rebel. The mast was a Dwyer. I believe Mast gate had the dimensions already but I did send them the dimensions of the slot. I found them good to work with and shipping was prompt. You could call Dwyer Spars and ask them if they could make you a mast gate.

John

[TRWXXA]

Hey Chris,
My boat was a Daysailer1 built by Rebel. The mast was a Dwyer. I believe Mast gate had the dimensions already but I did send them the dimensions of the slot. I found them good to work with and shipping was prompt. You could call Dwyer Spars and ask them if they could make you a mast gate.

John

Good to know, John.

After a bit of researching, I believe my mast is a Dwyer, DM-284. I'm going to make a measured tracing of the slot, and send it to Mastgates. I'm sure it'll be an easy job for them, as it seems to be a pretty common spar extrusion.

C.