tpdavis473 wrote:
"A headboard slug will not work on a Hobie Comptip mast. The sail track in the comptip is too soft to take the leech loads. The headboard slug would pull out of the comptip and probably jam at the end of the comptip if you tried to lower the sail. The standard halyard lock system keeps the head of the sail high enough and close enough so the leech loads are taken by the halyard not the track."
I've made enough mainsails with slugs on the headboard to know that this is not the case. It's just a matter of having the proper length and diameter. Fiberglass is more brittle than aluminum, not softer.
As far as safety is concerned, I'd prefer to have a halyard made entirely of high tech line (Yale Crystalyne is my fave). Wire is old fashioned in today's high performance boats and subject to failure at the swages (I've had it happen to my shrouds on another boat). But the fork is there to control the mast bend and keep the mast in column, it works! BUT, it is one of the design choices that makes the boat less safe in some conditions (that is, when the wind or sea condition makes you want to reduce sail). Granted, I'm somewhat of a wuss and prefer not to go swimming when I wanted to go sailing--the water is just too cold where I sail in the Carquinez Strait to suit my 65 year old body.
I don't agree. The track on the comptip is more flexible than the track in the aluminum on my Hobie masts. Certainly easier to pull the bolt rope or any slug that would fit through the feeder out of the comptip than the aluminum. If it works for you, that's great.
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