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Main sail feeder

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Anthony Cannone

3/31/2025 11:37 AM

Hello fellow Ensign sailors,

Does anybody have experience with a feeder/guide for the main sail bolt rope into the mast track?

I've attached an image of one I'm considering but I am wondering if its worth the $$ or if an alternative is available.

Thank You,

Tony Cannone

Ensign 530

Bryce Bordnkecher

3/31/2025 11:59 AM

My boat originally came with that Spinlock feeder. I swapped it out for one from Seasure b/c the design was more low-profile. I thought that would help it feed better by keeping the bolt rope closer to the mast and more inline with the slot. I still have to keep my hand pressed on the sail/bolt-rope/mast-slot to keep the sail from binding in the groove as I raise the main.

Screenshot 2025-03-31 at 10.53.00 AM.png

Bryce Bordnkecher

3/31/2025 11:59 AM

Bud Brown

3/31/2025 12:03 PM

Anthony,

Never tried something like this because the bolt rope on Lorelei has been sprayed with McLube and goes up and down so easily.

This looks enticing, but my bet is that the bolt rope will still get caught between the two balls because mainsail fold-backs cause a lack of alignment. The best day sailing, singlehanding solution for ease of raising and lowering the mainsail has been slugs and a slug stop above the bolt rope slot in the mast. Of course, that small gap between the aft side of the mast and the luff results in a small loss of performance, but when you're out for fun, who cares? Slugs also cause a higher bulge where the main gathers which often affects the fit of the cover.

I don't see anything on this fitting that prevents it from sliding up and down. Perhaps it's used with a slug stop.

Best regards,

Bud Brown

281.468.6909 cell and text

Brian Munroe

3/31/2025 12:09 PM

On my other boat I use Tides Marine sail track and loved it.

I do not know if that system has been applied to an ensign.

Brian

From: Anthony <ensignsailing@ensignclass.com>
To: Ensign <ensignsailing@ensignclass.com>
Date: Monday, 31 March 2025 11:37 AM EDT
Subject: [Ensign Sailing] Main sail feeder

Hello fellow Ensign sailors,

Does anybody have experience with a feeder/guide for the main sail bolt rope into the mast track?

I've attached an image of one I'm considering but I am wondering if its worth the $$ or if an alternative is available.

Thank You,

Tony Cannone

Ensign 530

Attachment(s):
mainsail-feeder-rf-ma.jpg (28.3 KB)

Patricia Metzler

3/31/2025 2:05 PM

Hi Tony,

I had unsuccessful experiences with two different mainsail guides; each had to be returned with great difficulty (ordered from overseas, Latvia, I think).

I ordered the one you pictured and it was an epic fail for us, because the head board did not fit between the hard metal guides.

Then, I had high hopes for this one, thinking there was sufficient room for the head board. Nope. It was slightly better, but didn't work. I returned it and the seller said he never got it, even though delivery records showed it was delivered back to the seller. Finally gave up on getting my refund after a few months of back-and-forth..

Bryce mentioned that he still had to have hands on either side of the sail, which defeats the purpose to me. My biggest concern is needing to have someone on deck to drop the main in rough conditions, or in an emergency.

Good luck, and please post something here if you find a successful solution. One guy in our fleet swears by slugs in the sail, and I have to admit they do slide more easily, though not without their own problems.

Pat

Anthony Cannone

4/1/2025 7:48 AM

Thanks everyone for your input.

After my post and thinking more about the sail hoisting process it occured to me that the sail headboard could be an issue.

I think I'll try the sail lube first. The lube could also be used on the boom to aid in outhaul adjustments.

Regards,

Tony Cannone

Ensign 530

Bud Brown

4/1/2025 1:08 PM

Tony,

Another consideration that would probably make your day sailing life easier is going with a loose footed mainsail. Not class legal, of course, if you are racing, but a slot cut into the outhaul track 10 inches in front of the (end of boom) outhaul pulley and a slug at the clew would allow you to just slip the slug into the track and not ever have to (one-person) feed the outhaul boltrope ever again.

I hope you are not having to take the main on and off every time you want to go day sailing...

Best regards,

Bud Brown

281.468.6909 cell and text

Patricia Metzler

3/31/2025 2:11 PM

PS on my earlier post - Our old main has a thicker bolt rope than the newer one; the newer main does raise and lower better; but no amount of McLube on the bolt rope will get the thicker bolt rope to slide without binding! When your pants are too tight, you still have to wiggle and tug! ;-)

On Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 2:03 PM Pat Metzler <jibwench@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Tony,
I had unsuccessful experiences with two different mainsail guides; each had to be returned with great difficulty (ordered from overseas, Latvia, I think).

I ordered the one you pictured and it was an epic fail for us, because the head board did not fit between the hard metal guides.

Then, I had high hopes for this one, thinking there was sufficient room for the head board. Nope. It was slightly better, but didn't work. I returned it and the seller said he never got it, even though delivery records showed it was delivered back to the seller. Finally gave up on getting my refund after a few months of back-and-forth..

Bryce mentioned that he still had to have hands on either side of the sail, which defeats the purpose to me. My biggest concern is needing to have someone on deck to drop the main in rough conditions, or in an emergency.

Good luck, and please post something here if you find a successful solution. One guy in our fleet swears by slugs in the sail, and I have to admit they do slide more easily, though not without their own problems.

Pat

Bryce Bordnkecher

3/31/2025 3:17 PM

Hey Pat, who makes your Main sail?

Fortunately for me, I have sufficient space between the bolt rope and head board to feed through a prefeeder.

I single-hand a lot, and I believe the pre-feeder definitely helps me raise the Main or at least frees up a hand. It should be acknowledged that it is not perfect. I don’t think it is possible to just stand in the cockpit and raise a bolt rope Main… unless I’m missing something. I think you absolutely have to climb up on the cabin and raise the main from the mast.

For my particular pre feeder, the luff of the sail needs to be more forward and horizontally in line with the feeder/mast. If I try raising with a lot of sail pulling from further back in the middle of the cockpit, the bolt rope will jam in the feeder. The spinlock version might handle this angle of attack better. Maybe I’ll switch back this year and give it a test.

My process is to pull the Main halyard down with one hand and while the sail is being raised I’ll keep it pressed into the mast slot/groove. After one pull to get it started and past my usual sticky spot at the beginning/head of the sail, it’ll usually just go without the hand pressing the sail into the slot and I can use both hands to raise the main. I'll pull down the main halyard and pile it forward on the deck. Once raised, I’ll pull the main halyard through the cheek block at the mast and cleat. I do it this way because there is less drag on the system while raising and occasionally, the bolt rope will jam up going into the slot (usually in the same spots too). I’ll just ease the sail back down a couple inches and help guide it in again for a pull. My Main sail is from 2019 I think (Banks Sails), and maybe a newer sail would feed a little better start to finish, but once in the groove my sail moves great. Bolt rope size is perfect. My process does sound a little clunky, but it's pretty quick.

I also want to mention that I bought too large of a main Hayward—10mm. Don’t make this mistake. 8mm would definitely feed through the lower cheek blocks a lot easier.

If you want to be able to stand in the cockpit and raise the Main, I think it has to be on slugs already sitting up on the boom.

TLDR

A pre-feeder does help, but it's not perfect, and you will have to be on standby to fix a jam.

- Bryce

Patricia Metzler

3/31/2025 3:49 PM

hi Bryce,

Thanks for the reply. My older main is a North, and newer one is quantum

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