any tricks for lowering main on a 5.8 other than tipping boat sideways and manually unhooking ,tried mast rotation but sail does not unhook.any tips would be appreciated.

On the halyard ring, which way does the knot go, forward or back? Try reversing it.

That makes a BIG difference on my Hobie 17 !!!!

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
www.tcdyc.com

The 5.8 system should be pretty reliable. The basics are to have someone heave on the halyard to raise the sail slightly above the hook. Then rotate the mast hard one direction (you really need to get it to 90 degrees of rotation). Then, with the mast still rotated, pull down on the sail and hopefully it's unhooked. If that didn't work, try again but rotate the opposite direction. If that still doesn't do it, take a close look at your knot and do as Dave suggested and reverse it so the bulk of the knot is on the other side of the ring.

or make an eye splice around the ring so you have no knot at all.

works for us.

NO, Not unless you know what you are doing

It works for some rings

It does not work for others

It really screws up some by jaming in the sheave at the mast top.

Plus, sailmakers are starting to attach the ring to the sail.

Carl

I use a ring that has the shackle welded to it. Knot aft. Works everytime.

Ah - finally something I know something about. Implement the following and you should not have any problems

1.) Get Murray’s part number 01-4216 (or simular part thereof) and install ASAP with the knot facing to the rear.

2.) Sailcoat the snot out of your sail tract and the luff rope of your sail.

3.) When getting ready to lower your sail, pull (more like yank) on the halyard until it stops, and HOLD IT THERE.

4.) With your other hand (or crew) grab your mast rotator and swing the mast so the leading edge is facing the starboard hull (trailing edge to the port hull) and HOLD IT THERE.

5.) Now, let go of the main halyard and pull on the sail – it should come down, and if you have no tangles in the halyard, and sailcoated the snot out of it, it will not require any major mussel building assistance. And at this time you can let go of the mast rotator.

Hope this helps

thanks for everyones input I will try again using youre ideas

It sounds like the Nacra has the same hook as the Hobie 21 and 18, if it does then I've seen people get hung up by:
1: Not releasing the downhaul enough. Take it off all the way. You can also put your hands flat on either side of the sail at the luff while standing in front of the mast and pushing the sail up the track a little so you aren't trying to pull the entire luff up.
2: Trying to raise the sail to clear the hook with the sail at an angle to the mast. If the sail isn't coming straight out of the trailing edge of the mast it can bind and be very difficult to pull the sail up.

John

Another possible problem:

You must make sure that the halyard starts out on the correct side of the hook as you raise the sail, otherwise it will never hook. Mine stays in place most of the time and works great. Then, on race day or when some hot beach Betty is watching, the line jumps unnoticed to the other side of the hook and I can't get it to hook without a lot of wasted time and labor.

Second tip:

I do NOT use a twist shackle. This aligns the ring fore and aft. After I raise the sail I rotate the mast and hook to starboard into the ring, then pull down to ensure it's hooked. To drop the sail I raise the sail one inch and the ring jumps off the hook...CLICK!. Rotate the mast to port to be certain but that's really not needed. This method never fails. Never...unless the halyard is on the wrong side of the hook to start.

Make sure that your n5.8 is facing the wind – otherwise you can do all those tricks described above and still have problem lowering your main.

Just my 2 c

Next time you're going out on that 5.8, give me a call (or e-mail). I'll help you rig it so that it won't get stuck up there.

Jay

First off, my apologies for dredging up a topic which seems to be well-hashed out. I know this is an 'old' thread, but I really need some advice. This is also for a Prindle, not a Nacra.

I am still having a lot of trouble with unhooking my P-18 mainsail - I haven't managed to do it successfully yet, and while I'm getting good at tipping the boat over on it's side, I'd prefer to actually 'do it right'. Can I get some clarification on a few of the items/ideas/descriptions mentioned here?

I read this thread before re-rigging my boat, and ordered the Aussie ring from Rick, and have omitted the twist shackle as well. I've tied the halyard with a bowline to the offset loop in the ring, and the welded shackle is attached to the head. This keeps the ring almost perfectly parallel to the hook, and I have no trouble getting the ring on the hook! Given how close the welded shackle is to the mast and the length of the hook on the mast, I don't see how there is enough room for the hook to clear the side of the ring when the mast is rotated. When I'm raising the main, the ring pops over the hook with a very distinct sound - I think the hook forces the edge of the ring out.

The Prindle manual clearly shows the twist shackle being used.

So, my questions:

1. Most folks have talked about 'being sure to tie the knot facing towards the rear'. I'm a little puzzled by this. Without a twist shackle, the option is to have the offset Aussie welded loop (lanyard?) to either port or starboard. Is the implication to have the bulk of the body of the knot towards the rear?

2. Maybe I do really need the twist shackle? Without it, the ring is aligned with the beam instead of fore and aft as David describes above. It also doesn't rotate easily, which I had expected would help, but seems to be hurting. I am not sure if there is enough room between the top sheave and the head of the sail to accomodate that much "stuff".

I have used some McLube SailKote very liberally on both the luff and the track, but the last foot or so of hoist is a real trial. Right now I'm using some cheap nylon for a halyard, which stretches way too much for me to be able to tell if the ring is moving at all once it's locked up there. I am going to replace it with some Stay-set this weekend, and try again.

Any extra tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

Whoa! Despite three proof-readings, I just realized that above where I said, "parallel to the hook" I meant "perpendicular".

Watch your batten tension - apparently super tight battens can make hoisting tougher. Second, having the line exit the ring toward the mast will tend to tip it foward and away from the ring as it is hoisted for release. That said, when releasing, try to keep a little tension on the halyard while you rotate the mast AND pull down on the sail (this will take three hands). Be certain you are rotating the mast at least 90 degrees when trying to unhook and it might be helpful to have someone bend the clew of the main toward the center of the boat while everything is rotated (to twist the main away from the hook).

Jake - thanks for the quick response.

So, heretofore, I have been keeping maximum tension on the halyard while trying to rotate, and the rotation has definitely been 90 deg. It has been a two-person job for sure.

I gather from what you say, that your sail will actually sort of stay put at a height above the "locking" height - until you pull down on the downhaul?

I will try to do what you suggest, but I think I'm also going to pull the sail up the track while the mast is down to get a look at what types of clearances I've got. I may have too big a knot too far up the halyard, and be jamming into the sheave.

I was so desparate the last attempt, that I'd attached a length of 1/8 in. line to the ring in an attempt to be able to have crew pull the ring off to the opposite side while I was rotating the mast. No joy.

Thanks!

Scott

You SHOULD be able to pull the mast all the way up, keep a slight amount of tension on the halyard (enough to just keep the sail from sliding back down), rotate the mast, and with the mast rotated and someone maintaining that slight tension on the halyard, pull down on the sail - you shouldn't need downhaul to pull it down. Remember that when you pull down, the mast must still be rotated sharply and it will probably help to have someone keeping a little bit of tension on the halyard. Sometimes, however, these things defy all logic and maybe NOT putting tension on the halyard will let it come loose. Sometimes rotating the mast in the other direction will make it come off easier...point is, use these instructions as a guide but mix it up until you find the combination of sequences that will unhook it - you'll get it.

Bend the hook on top of mast slightly to one side.Always remember to rotate the mast a little to that side after you pull the ring up..pull the sail down a little bit before letting the mast go back to center.
seems to help on a 5.8 and a couple 6.0's around here.

DaveW

Charlottesville. Nice place. I went to school at St. Anne's and UVA. Where do you sail around there?

When I had trouble unhooking the main on my I-17R I found that disconnecting the boom at the gooseneck allowed me to rotate the mast way past 90 degrees and always got the sail down. I don't know if this will work for you, but I figured I'd mention it.