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Sail cares fast track system

stnick

lee nicholas
Went sailing today out by Anclote light . the sail was a bear to get up. I even just changed out the winch ion the spar to a 14 self tailer.
It ate the number two sail slide.. Now i can live with out that slide but i'll go up the rig soon to find out why !I think the track is to blame...
I'm thinking a fast track system to make it easier for my wife/ first mate to handle it !
How do you guys like yours? How much track did you get M 384 ? do you like there slides? any advice is welcome.. Lee/ Wind Rose
 
Hello. I have to admit, the previous owner really did an outstanding job of updating a Morgan. With that said, he installed the Tides Marine Strong Track. If you give a good tug, the sail actually goes up further, then drops back down to the line length. It's that easy to raise. My wife has no problem raising it either. After acquiring the boat, we installed a stack pack for the main. The sail comes down in about 2 seconds and stowed nicely in the pack. Can't comment on how much track PO used, but if you want an investment in safety and ease of use, I highly recommend it.

Chris
SlowDance
 
I added the Tides Marine Strong Track to my M-382 in 2006. It's worth doing. I ordered it through Mack Sails in Stuart FL (they had built my main). From the invoice it looks like I got 41 feet of the track. I had a little left over, but keep in mind that this was for a 382 with the shorter mast. (Also, the invoice specifies that the track was 7/8", but again yours may differ.)

I have a full-battened main, so there were five slides for the battens, twelve regular slides, and one specifically for the headboard. I don't remember the details, but I changed all the slides myself without any difficulty. All in all it was a manageable do-it-yourself project.
 
Lee
We've had the Tides Marine, Strong Track system on our boat for about 10 years now. It is one of the best additions made to the boat, and my wife, Bonnie, agrees. I'd advise not going with a substitute or another brand. The Tides Marine system is simple and well proven to work. It is also pretty easy to install yourself. Google them for more info.

Jim
 
I ordered the Tides Track system today. I'm tired of having to oil the slides just to get my main up and down.
 
When i got my Morgan there was the main sail track issue. Looked like fast track was the only answer. Others in my marina have it and love it and it just worked.
I had plastic slides.. tried Mc Lube no good result at all.
So i put up the old sail that came with the boat Bronze slides. It worked great !
So i put it in the truck both the old rag and the new full batten lose footed sail.
Sailmaker said i'll pull the slides off this sail and resew on the new sail 65.00. He told me the new SS slides are still not as good as the old bronze due to the external track design..
So far so good !!
 
I'm ready to install Tides Track system.
My mast is up, I don't wont to climb mast to measure length of existing external stainless steel track.
If anybody has exact dimension for Tides extrusion for Morgan 383, 384, please let me know.
My boat is 384. Any advice for Tides slides and installation will be helpful. I will install track myself.
Yurek
 
You can measure by pulling a tape measure to the top with the halyard. Order a little extra track and you can cut the extra off the bottom after you install it. You push it up from the bottom so no need to go up the mast to install. Install is pretty easy. Remove the boom, slide the track up overtop the existing SS track, install a set screw to hold it, reinstall the boom. It might help to have a helper to push it up the track.

I had problems with the standard slides with pins. The retaining ring for the pins works out, and then the pin falls out. On my new sail I special ordered the pinless slides, which are also cheaper.
 
Thanks Warren:
I was confused, in their printed guide they say measure external track length.
On their web page they advise method you describe.
Yurek
 
Be VERY precise when measuring the sail track width. I'm on my 2nd Tides track. It is a great system, and I love it. However, my original mast track was not one of their standard sizes, so they sent me the next closest Tides track. Because the Tides track was slightly large, it began to "pop off" of the original track above the spreaders. I had to remove and reinstall the entire track 3 times to make it from Puerto Rico to Grenada. The width of my original metal track is 27/32".

The good folks at Tides had to custom cut a track to fit. The replacement track was EXTREMELY tight and very difficult to install. Sliding it up to the spreaders was not bad, but it was a battle the rest of the way. However, it appears the problem has been fixed, and I haven't had any trouble since replacing. I have about 5,000 nm of sailing on the replacement track.

Here you can see how loose the original track was. The second photo shows what it looked like after it had popped off.

IMG_2715.jpg
20180501_184103.jpg
 
Be VERY precise when measuring the sail track width. I'm on my 2nd Tides track. It is a great system, and I love it. However, my original mast track was not one of their standard sizes, so they sent me the next closest Tides track. Because the Tides track was slightly large, it began to "pop off" of the original track above the spreaders. I had to remove and reinstall the entire track 3 times to make it from Puerto Rico to Grenada. The width of my original metal track is 27/32".

The good folks at Tides had to custom cut a track to fit. The replacement track was EXTREMELY tight and very difficult to install. Sliding it up to the spreaders was not bad, but it was a battle the rest of the way. However, it appears the problem has been fixed, and I haven't had any trouble since replacing. I have about 5,000 nm of sailing on the replacement track.

Here you can see how loose the original track was. The second photo shows what it looked like after it had popped off.

That is good advice, and interesting. My track was measured and ordered by my sailmaker when he measured my rig for new sails. So I don't know if there was anything unusual about the size. The track is not tight and slides up very easily, but it has never popped off.

Certainly, measure twice. I think Tides also has a short 3" piece that is used to connect to that halyard to precisely measure the length. My sailmaker did not use that, but I wound up with it when the track arrived. It might be a good idea to get that from tides before ordering the track to test the fit.
 
I ordered our Tides Sail track through our sailmaker. Before he placed the order he sent me two templates with multiple choices on each to choose which matched my existing sail track. Once I matched the right style my existing track was he placed the order. The track itself was about 4" too long and I had to remove those 4" and reshape the sail slide entry at the bottom near the gooseneck. The system has been up since 2006 and has been rock solid. The slides and batten cars are sewn on with webbing.

Jim
 
I am also very pleased with my Strong Track and highly recommend it. I had Chesapeake Sailmakers then install their EZ main system. Probably the best boat units I ever invested in my 1980 382.
 
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