An Ericson 32 Sailboat is shown with a crisp dacron mainsail raised.

Tides Marine Sailtrack 4: Test and Conclusion

I’ve had a few days out now, with my self-installed Sailtrack.  I can confirm that the sail raises and drops more easily than it did before the installation.  

I do still have to winch the last 25-35% of the sail at the raising, but it’s easier than it was before.  

On the way down, the last 25% of the narrow sail is impaired in part by the stiffness of my Dacron sail material.  I still have to hop up to the mast to manually flake the upper portion, but I’m not sure if that could be avoided. 

The sail slides that I sewed on with webbing from Sailrite seem fine and hold the sail evenly along the mast: 

The other knock-on effect is that the slides are taller than my old ones, and so that has affected the fitment of my sail cover.  The belly hangs out like a [fill in you favorite character/occupation] who can’t quite get his shirt down over his midriff.  

A navy sunbrella sail cover is shown, covering most but not all of a lowered mainsail.

I hope to add some Navy Sunbrella extensions to the cover at some point, so that it is easier to snap around the boom and more ship-shape. If I’m careful I can still get all of the Dacron tucked up and out of the UV light. 

Satisfactory for the present.