HS Mast Slider System - Size 40, Single Headboard

The Antal HS Full Batten Mast Slider System is designed for boats with full batten mainsails that experience high loads and compression-loading on the mainsail luff.
Originally designed for racing sailboats, the HS System's reliability, durability and simplicity have proven invaluable for cruising and charter boats as well.

The system’s aluminium sliders contain HS composite low friction fiber inserts that run on an aluminium track mounted on the mast.
HS composite fiber is a new material that’s durable over long periods of use and offers extremely low friction coefficients. The material is made from special resins strengthened with fiber and is self lubricating.

The track is made from hard coat anodized aluminum alloy and is designed to be installed when the mast is vertical.

HS Mast Slider System advantages –
• The low friction properies of HS material allow the cars to be shorter than standard ball-bearing car systems, thereby reducing the stacking height at the mast when the sail is down - an important benefit
• The lower cars can easily be removed from the track when the sail is reefed, thereby keeping the tack low to the boom
• Minimum friction under load
• Less maintenance than ball bearing car systems
• Cars can easily be removed and re-installed on the track whenever the mainsail is changed

How the HS Slider System works –
Each batten end fitting is attached to a slider with a triaxial joint to ensure that the batten can freely orient itself under all points of sail. At least one simple slider should be attached to the sail with nylon webbing between two battens. A headboard is attached to the sail with webbing and is secured to the slider (double or triple) with a clevis pin which allows the headboard to pivot and to be removed. Four different slider types may form a Full batten system: simple, with joint, headboard slider and double. What changes are the ways they are connected to the mainsail and their function in the system. All components’ dimension and the distances of the sail from the mast are found in the sheet Full Batten Systems – Measures. Simple slider. This slider takes an intermediate position between two sliders with joint. It is sewed to the sail with a webbing. It usually has small dimensions as it is the slider with the lowest load in the system. Slider with joint. Its function is to be connected to a batten receptacle with a threaded pin. It is usually bigger than the simple slider because battens stress sliders more than webbings. Antal designs symmetric batten receptacles mounted inside the batten pocket. Headboard slider. The slider which takes up the highest loads is realized double, triple or quadruple. With higher loads the headboard slider will need a higher number of sliders, or sliders with greater dimensions. Large mainsails or sails with wide roach require stronger headboard sliders. Headboard sliders are provided with a pivoting bracket for the coupling of the headboard. Also, Antal makes Fast release push pins available for a quick connection between sail and slider. Double slider. Where reefing points are and in correspondence of the clew angle, one may want to use a double slider with a double webbing connection to the sail. This because the outhaul and reef lines load up the tack angle at the mast.