Does anyone have experience with Ronstan ballslide batten cars on a Charleston mast? Strongly considering getting a set for the full length battens as the batten compression makes the mainsail somewhat difficult to > hoist and requires a trip on deck to pull it down when dropping. Appears to be a great product, not requiring a track, thus much less money than Harken and others. Also allows for addressing the batten slides only vs. replacing all slugs, as would be required with a special track.
Leon
Akula-San Francisco
C380#144

Leon,

I installed the Ronstan Battslide Cars 2 years ago, when I bought new sails.You will need more than just the batten cars, there are cars in between the battens as well. It works well for me. I too didn’t like much having to go forward to pull down the sail.
In practice it depends on how quickly and accurately